Making informed decisions about the food you buy is a vital part of looking after your health and that of your family. Labels say a lot about the food we eat. However, it takes wisdom to know what they mean.
I would like to present three (3) steps to health success (to select the healthiest product)
1. Look at the claim on the label
2. Check the nutrition information panel
3. Read the ingredients list
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Energy
The nutrition label displays the quantity of energy (measured in kilojoules) found in both a serving and in 100 grams (or 100 milliliters if liquid) of the product. Serving sizes are based on how much of a particular food people usually eat.
You can use the ‘quantity per serve’ information to keep track of what you’re eating, and it’s especially useful if you are monitoring your daily intake of kilojoules or certain nutrients. The ‘quantity per 100 g’ information is useful if you want to compare 2 similar products, because serving sizes may vary depending on the manufacturer.
If you are trying to lose weight, you should pay particular attention to the amount of fat, sugar and kilojoules on the nutrition label. Foods that are high in fat and sugar tend to be high in kilojoules.
Protein
Recommended daily intake
The average amount of protein required for a healthy diet is about 1 gram per kg of body weight. This is normally well maintained in the average Australian diet. Slightly higher levels of protein may be required if you are doing frequent physical exercise.
Fat
Recommended daily intake
Men – 90grams per day
Women – 70 grams per day
Saturated fat
It’s also important to look on the label for the amount of saturated fat, which is listed separately from total fat. This type of fat is particularly bad for your health — a diet that is high in saturated fat can raise your blood cholesterol level and increase your risk of heart disease.
Carbohydrates
Recommended daily intake
Should consist of 50% of total energy.
Men – 250 to 300 grams per day
Women – 150 to 200 grams per day
Sugar
Recommended daily intake
Men – 128g
Women – 100g
Sodium
Recommended daily intake
500mg per serve Max or 2400mg per day Max
The amount of sodium tells you how much salt is in the food. Foods that are described as low in salt must have less than 120 milligrams of sodium per 100 g (or 100 mL for liquids). The salt content is especially important information for people with high blood pressure, because a low-salt diet is often recommended as part of the treatment for this condition.
Other relevant nutrients
Other nutrients, such as dietary fibre, calcium or iron, will also be listed on the nutrition panel if a claim is made about them.
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients are listed in descending order according to their weight at the time the product was manufactured. If water makes up more than 5 per cent of the final product, it must also be listed as an ingredient.
The amount of the key, or characterising, ingredient — the ingredient usually mentioned in the name of the product (e.g. apricots in an apricot muesli bar) — must be listed with a percentage indicating how much of the product consists of that ingredient. In some products, such as plain bread, there are no key ingredients.
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19Jun
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