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Understanding Food Labels

Take a look at the food label to the right, from a typical processed food product.
In the UK all nutrition information is presented in a uniform manner, in the order shown.

For every value you have two figures - 'per pack' and 'per 100g'. If you intend to eat the whole pack go with this figure, otherwise look at the 100g figure, which will allow you to calculate the percentage of each nutrient in the product (7.2g protein per 100g = 7.2%). Read carefully - in this case the 'per pack' figure is lower than the 100g value, meaning that the total pack weighs less than 100g.

Energy
Concentrate on the 'kcal' figure. This is the number of calories in the total
product or the serving. Consider that the average male requires 2500 calories and the average female 2000 calories per day for good health. Judge for yourself whether the product you are about to eat makes up a small or large proportion of your daily calorie intake, and whether this food is to be a main meal or just a snack. Be warned that calories add up very quickly throughout the course of a day.

Protein
You need to increase your daily protein intake, to make up for the reduction in carbohydrate that you are likely to need to make to your diet. Look for higher protein content - the higher the better, up to 50g per serving.

Carbohydrate
Pay attention to both figures. Both are vitally important. 'Of which Sugars' is key in reducing the amount of artificial sugars in your diet. If this figure is equal to or greater than the 'carbohydrate' figure, then be wary of consumption. The lower this figure, in comparison to the total amount, the better. Try to avoid products with a high carb to protein ratio.

Fat
Of which saturates' is the figure to pay attention to. This should be no more
than 20-25% of the total fat content. Anything higher and you are heading for trouble. If the total fat AND carb contents are high throw that product back on the shelf!

Fibre
A vital part of a healthy diet, needed for good digestion and elimination. You need at least 30g a day for optimum health . The higher a product's fibre content, the better.

Sodium
Sodium = salt. A female's daily limit is 5g and a male's 7g. Judge the sodium content of a product, how much of it you intend to eat, and whether it is to be a snack or part of a main meal.

Per Pack
This is a quick reference figure. Don't rely on this. Concentrate on protein, carb and fat content instead.

Ingredients
It is crucial that you know what you are looking for here. Anything ending in 'ose' is sigar, in one form or another (glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose). Hydrogenated fats or oils are man made and highly toxic to the body. Avoid anything that contains these. Partially inverted sugar syrup is one of the worst kinds of sugar - processed and artificially created with not one drop of goodness.

From this short rundown of a product's nutritional information you can begin to see that it is vital that you understand exactly what it is that you are planning to eat, BEFORE you actually decide to eat it. Taking a few seconds to read this information could save you from stomach upset, wind, diarrhoea, obesity and future illness. Remember: "Eat in haste, repent at leisure!"