This is the first part in a 7 part series on using food labels to improve your nutrition.
This post is a short summary of the recommendations from all the other posts about using food labels to improve your nutrition.
Summary table: understanding what is defined as high or low
| High | Low | |
| Total Fat | More than 17.5g per 100g | 3g or less per 100g |
| Saturated Fat | More than 5g per 100g | 1.5g or less per 100g |
| Sugars | More than 22.5g per 100g | 5g or less per 100g |
| Salt | More than 1.5g per 100g (or 0.6 of sodium) | 0.3g or less per 100g (or 0.1g of sodium) |
Portion sizes summary
- Check the portion size listed on the packet before checking any of the other numbers
- Be mindful of your own portion size
Calories summary
- Make sure you know the portion size for the calories listed
- Some very healthy foods are high in calories, so just because a product is high in calories, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it
- Use the label to decide if a highly processed food is “worth the calories”
- Be aware that nutrition labels are not 100% accurate, so do not become obsessed with calorie counting
Fats summary
- Eat fats as part of a healthy diet
- Be mindful of portion sizes (there are 9 kCal per gram of fat)
- Limit your intake of saturated fats
- Focus your fat intake on unsaturated fats
- Be aware that products labelled as “low fat” may contain a lot of added sugar
- Avoid trans fats completely
Carbs summary
- Eat carbs as part of a healthy diet*
- Reduce sugar intake
- Fill half your plate with vegetables
- Remember that it is very easy to overeat on complex carbs – be mindful of portion sizes
- Choose wholegrain options where possible (pasta, bread, rice, cous cous etc)
- Remember that fruit also counts as a carb
- High fibre products keep you fuller for longer
*The quantity of carbs in your diet can vary greatly depending on your preferences. Diets like keto, Atkins etc are very low carb, whereas low fat diets will be higher carb. What is the “best” option? Whichever one you can do consistently, day in, day out.
Protein summary
- Eat protein as part of a healthy diet
- Choose a variety of protein sources
- Opt for vegetarian and vegan protein sources some or all the time
- If you are vegan, make sure you eat a good variety of protein sources to ensure you are getting all the amino acids needed by the body
- If choosing animal protein sources, opt for lean meats or fish most of the time
- Protein is digested slowly, so keeps you full for a long time
Salt summary
This one is simple: reduce your intake of salt.
- Reduce the intake of products with a high salt content
- Minimise the amount of salt added during cooking or at the table
Ingredient list summary
- Mainly choose products with an ingredient list you can pronounce
- Avoid too many products with a long list of additives
No “one size fits all” approach
As with most things in life, there is no “one size fits all” approach.
The recommendations above are aimed at generally healthy people, who do not have underlying health issues, which can be impacted by nutrition.
Health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancer, arthritis and many many others require a diet specifically tailored to the individual. That is out of the scope of this article. Before making any major changes to your diet, you should consult a doctor or a registered dietician.
Conclusion
The above food labels post is a very high level list of recommendations. To dig into each area further, I recommend that you read the post for each topic to get a full understanding.
Other posts in this series
