YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Winter 2016

often state the serve size of 30g but there aren’t many people who only eat 30g of cereal! So make sure you consider what your actual serving size would be compared to the serving size stated on the package. STEP 5. Look at the ‘per 100g’ column Health claims The per 100g column allows you to compare different brands of a similar product – have a quick glance at a few different types of the same product and choose the one which has the lowest saturated fat/sugar/sodium or highest fibre. It might be a bit of a pain to do, but you only need to do it once. There are some products which by their very nature will be high in one of these nutrients (e.g. jam will always be high in sugar, chicken stock will always be high in sodium, olive oil will always be high in fat). All foods are very different, so its difficult to set targets that can be used across the board; but as a general guide, the healthiest products will have: Sometimes labels will include claims such as ‘low in fat’, ‘high in fibre’ or ‘a good source of calcium’. These claims can only be used if the food meets certain strict criteria, so they can be a useful tool in identifying healthier products. However, in some cases, these claims can be misleading to the untrained eye. ‘Reduced fat’ for example is not the same as ‘low fat’, it simply means that it is lower in fat than a comparable product. So ultimately it could still be relatively high in fat. • Sugar: less than 10g sugar per 100g (or if a product contains fruit less than 20g/100g) • Fat: less than 5g total fat per 100g (and the lowest amount of saturated fat possible) • Sodium: less than 300mg per 100g The bottom line is that overall, limiting the amount of highly processed, packaged foods you eat and opting for fresh, minimally processed foods wherever possible is the best way to ensure your diet is as healthy as possible. However, packaged foods certainly have a place in a healthy diet and are often important from a convenience point of view. Plus, some of them are just plain delicious. But having a quick glance at the information on the label and being able to work out what it means allows you to be more informed about what you’re eating and to choose healthier options. When it comes to food labels it pays to be skeptical Food manufacturers want you to buy their products and it’s their job to try and convince you to do so. There are strict laws about food labelling that manufacturers must follow so that consumers are not deliberately misled, but it can still be easy to fall into marketing traps. Here are a couple in particular to look out for. 16 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE WINTER 2016 Using other words for fat, sugar and salt: This is another common trick; here are some of the alternative names for fat, sugar and salt you might find in an ingredients list: FAT SUGAR SALT Butter Glucose Sodium Vegetable Oil Sucrose Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Lard Maltose Yeast Extract Palm oil Lactose Baking Soda Milk Solids Dextrose Vegetable salt Monoglycerides Fructose Sea salt Diglycerides Mannitol Sodium Bicarbonate Coconut oil Sorbitol Shortening Xylitol Margarine Corn Syrup Disacharides Honey Evaporated cane juice

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