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Food labels are not always easy to read and understand
it. This makes it difficult when you are trying to work out which foods are
healthy and which foods are full with fat. All food labels must contain the
following information:
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Ingredient List –
Lists the ingredients in descending order of predominance and weight.
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Serving Sizes – Each package must
identify the size of a serving. The nutritional information given on the
label is based on one serving of the food.
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Nutrition Facts – each package must
identify the quantities of specified nutrients and food constituents for one
serving. From this information, you can learn some very useful information.
The most important thing to remember is this:
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1 gr. protein = 4 calories
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1 gr. carbohydrate = 4 calories
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1 gr. fat = 9 calories
Here
are the examples for you…
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Grams
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Calculation
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Total
Calories
|
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Protein
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1
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1 * 4
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4
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Carbohydrate
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10
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10 * 4
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40
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Fat
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4
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4 * 9
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36
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How
to read the nutrition label
Saturated
fat can increase the risk of heart disease. It is so important to choose foods
low in saturated fat. The nearer the saturated fat is to nothing, the better.
This kind of fat is the fat we would like to avoid.
It
includes the three main types of fat; saturated, monounsaturated, and
polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are good for our heart,
saturated fat is bad for our heart. The good fats are coming from foods like
nuts, avocado, olive oil. But you should avoid eating this food in excessive
amounts (less than 10g of total fat per 100g), so it won’t gain your weight.
If
you are controlling your weight, it will be very helpful to check all the
contents of food. It is important to use the “per 100g” rather than using
“per serve”, as serving sizes differ from product to product.
This
includes added sugar plus sugar that naturally comes from the food, like
fructose in fruit, or lactose in milk. You should look the ingredients list
carefully, if sugars appears in the first three ingredients listed, the added
sugar content is high.
It
is not really necessary to look at the total carbohydrate content unless you
have a diabetes disease.
The
maximum daily sodium allowance for an adult is 2300mg per day. Many processed
food and takeaways are very high in salt. Too much sodium will bring the risk of
high blood pressure. It is also not good for our diet.
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Claim
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Requirements that must be met before using the claim
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Fat-Free
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Less
than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil
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Low
fat
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For
solid product, it must not contain more than 3g fat per 100g. For liquid
product, it must not contain more than 1,5g fat per 100g.
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Saturated
Fat Free
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Less
than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per
serving
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Cholesterol-Free
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Less
than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per
serving. Cholesterol free doesn’t mean the food is low in total fat or
saturated fat, so be very careful about this.
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Low
Cholesterol
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20
mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per
serving
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Reduced
Calorie
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At
least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food. It
doesn’t mean all food is low in fat are really low fat, such as reduced
fat cheese and chocolate.
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Low
Calorie
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40
calories or less per serving
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Extra
Lean
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Less
than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol
per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
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Lean
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Less
than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per
(100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
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Light
(fat)
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50%
or less of the fat than in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our
regular cheese)
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Light
(calories)
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1/3
fewer calories than the comparison food
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High-Fiber
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Must
contain 3 grams or more fiber per serving. It is a very useful for your
body, so keep a good eye on this.
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Sugar-Free
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Less
than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.
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Reduced
Sodium
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25%
less sodium (salt) than the regular product. Reduced sodium doesn’t
really mean low in salt. In fact they’re maybe still very high in salt,
such as reduced sodium soy sauce.
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Low
Sodium
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140
mg or less per serving
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Very
Low Sodium
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35
mg or less per serving
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