Read the label

It can sometimes be confusing when trying to work out how many calories, or grams of fat, etc are in any given product.  It is not helped by the fact that many major supermarkets have their own colour system to indicate these levels.

The best way to check your product is to look at the nutrition label on the packaging and check the values for 100 grams.  This way you will be comparing like for like.  All very well, but what does this mean?

You need to know if the values for fat, sugar and salt are high so you can make an informed decision based lifestyle goals you have.  Lets look at some values per 100 grams of product.

   Low                                 Medium                                 High

Fat                       Less than 3g                     Between 3-20g                      More than 20g

Saturated Fat        Less than 1.5g                  Between 1.5-5g                     More than 5g

Sugars                  Less than 5g                     Between 5-15g                      More than 15g

Salt                      Less than 0.3g                  Between 0.3-1.5g                  More than 1.5g

Now you are armed with this information it's time to put it into practice.  Next time you go food shopping try and take a little more interest in the nutrition label.  You may surprise yourself!

Don't be caught out by the zero fat products.  Flavour has to come from somewhere and if it's not fat then it will be sugar!

Nutrition labels will also show a Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) of 2000 calories (Kcal).  This is the average amount of calories for women (in the UK).  Your own calorie needs may differ as they will be based upon gender, weight, height, age and activity level.

Enjoy!