{"id":1407,"date":"2016-09-28T04:45:49","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T04:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/?p=1407"},"modified":"2016-09-28T04:45:49","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T04:45:49","slug":"food-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/food-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"Food labels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nutrition labels can help you choose between products and keep a check on the amount of foods you’re eating that are high in fat, salt and added sugars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging. These labels include information on energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal), usually referred to as calories.
\nThey also include information on fat, saturates (saturated fat), carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt. All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion of the food.
\nSupermarkets and food manufacturers now highlight the energy, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt content on the front of the packaging, alongside the reference intake for each of these.
\n\"image001\"<\/p>\n

You can use nutrition labels to help you choose a more balanced diet. For a balanced diet:
\n\u2022 eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
\n\u2022 base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates \u2013 choose wholegrain or higher fibre where possible
\n\u2022 have some dairy or dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks and yoghurts \u2013 choose lower-fat and lower-sugar options
\n\u2022 eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein \u2013 aim for two portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily, such as salmon or mackerel
\n\u2022 choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
\n\u2022 drink plenty of fluids \u2013 the government recommends 6 to 8 cups or glasses a day<\/p>\n

If you’re having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.
\nTry to choose a variety of different foods from the four main food groups. Most people in the UK eat and drink too many calories, too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish or fibre.<\/p>\n

Nutrition labels on the back or side of packaging<\/strong>
\nNutrition labels are often displayed as a panel or grid on the back or side of packaging. For example, the image below shows the nutrition label on a loaf of white bread.<\/p>\n

\"image002\"
\nThis type of label includes information on energy (kJ\/kcal), fat, saturates (saturated fat), carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.
\nIt may also provide additional information on certain nutrients, such as fibre. All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion.
\nHow do I know if a food is high in fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt?<\/strong>
\nThere are guidelines to tell you if a food is high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar, or not. These are:
\nTotal fat<\/strong>
\nHigh: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g
\nLow: 3g of fat or less per 100g
\nSaturated fat<\/strong>
\nHigh: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g
\nLow: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g
\nSugars<\/strong>
\nHigh: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g
\nLow: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g
\nSalt<\/strong>
\nHigh: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)
\nLow: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)
\nFor example, if you are trying to cut down on saturated fat, limit your consumption of foods that have more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g.
\nSome nutrition labels on the back or side of packaging also provide information about reference intakes.<\/p>\n

Nutrition labels on the front of packaging<\/strong>
\nMost of the big supermarkets and many food manufacturers also display nutritional information on the front of pre-packed food. This is very useful when you want to compare different food products at a glance.
\n\"image003\"<\/p>\n

Front-of-pack labels, such as the label in the above image, usually give a quick guide to:
\n\u2022 energy
\n\u2022 fat content
\n\u2022 saturated fat content
\n\u2022 sugars content
\n\u2022 salt content
\nThese labels provide information on the number of grams of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt, and the amount of energy (in kJ and kcal) in a serving or portion of the food. But be aware that the manufacturer’s idea of a portion may be different from yours.
\nSome front-of-pack nutrition labels also provide information about reference intakes.<\/p>\n

Reference intakes<\/strong>
\nNutrition labels can also provide information on how a particular food or drink product fits into your daily diet.
\nReference intakes are guidelines about the approximate amount of particular nutrients and energy required for a healthy diet.
\n
\nRed, amber and green colour coding<\/strong>
\nSome front-of-pack nutrition labels use red, amber and green colour coding.
\n\"image004\"<\/p>\n

Colour-coded nutritional information tells you at a glance if the food has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt.
\n\u2022 red means high
\n\u2022 amber means medium
\n\u2022 green means low
\nIn short, the more green on the label, the healthier the choice. If you buy a food that has all or mostly green on the label, you know straight away that it’s a healthier choice.
\nAmber means neither high nor low, so you can eat foods with all or mostly amber on the label most of the time.
\nBut any red on the label means the food is high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugars and these are the foods we should cut down on. Try to eat these foods less often and in small amounts.
\n
\nIngredients list<\/strong>
\nMost pre-packed food products also have a list of ingredients on the packaging or an attached label. The ingredients list can also help you work out how healthy the product is.
\nIngredients are listed in order of weight, so the main ingredients in the packaged food always come first. That means that if the first few ingredients are high-fat ingredients, such as cream, butter or oil, then the food in question is a high-fat food.<\/p>\n

Food shopping tips<\/strong>
\nYou’re standing in the supermarket aisle looking at two similar products, trying to decide which to choose. You want to make the healthier choice, but you’re in a hurry.
\nIf you’re buying ready meals, check to see if there’s a nutrition label on the front of the pack, and then see how your choices stack up when it comes to the amount of energy, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt.
\nIf the nutrition labels use colour coding, you will often find a mixture of red, amber and green. So, when you’re choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make a healthier choice.
\nBut remember, even healthier ready meals may be higher in fat and energy than the homemade equivalent. If you make the meal yourself, you could save money, too.<\/p>\n

Credit: http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/Livewell\/Goodfood\/Pages\/food-labelling.aspx#Nutrition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nutrition labels can help you choose between products and keep a check on the amount of foods you’re eating that are high in fat, salt and added sugars. Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging. These labels include information on energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal), … Continue reading Food labels<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ekachaihospital.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}