-
Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
What are the important things to look for on a food label?
Related Topic
Whenever we go grocery shopping one of my friends always looks at the back of the product to look at the label… what are important things to look for? Total calories? Fat? Sugar? -
Find a professional to answer your question
Find a professional to answer your question Search Now
-
1
Thanks
Melanie McGrice
Dietitian
Melanie McGrice is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, one of the few dietitians in Australia to achieve that status. Her success has made her an … View Profile
Yes, total calories (or kilojoules), fat and sugar are all important aspects to look at…..but really it depends on what your needs are. For example, are you trying to lose weight? gain weight? decrease blood pressure? are you on a low fibre diet? So, I'd recommend that you try to organise an appointment for an individual consultation with an Accredited Practising Dietitian, so that they can tell you specifically what YOU should be looking for.
But, here's a few guidelines for most Australians:
- snacks should have less than 600kJ
- avoid foods high in fat (more than 10g of fat per 100g)
- avoid foods that high sugar listed in the first three ingredients
That should get you started!
Best wishes,
Melanie, Accredited Practising Dietitian
www.health-kick.com.auReport this post
You must be a HealthShare member to report this post. to your account or now (it's free).
-
1
Thanks
Minal Patel
Dietitian, Nutritionist
Minal is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), and consultant dietitian working in a private practice in South Sydney, NSW. Minal strongly believes in providing personalised … View Profile
As has already been mentioned, it really depends on what you are looking for in the product and what your needs are. If you are trying to lose or gain weight-the total calorie content (or kilojoules) is important to look at because this is a measure of how much energy you will actually be taking in from that food (and at the end of the day if you take in an excessive number of calories for your needs, you will gain weight and vise versa for losing weight). If you are looking at your heart health, fats (total, saturated and unsaturated fat) are important to look at. If your blood pressure is high-sodium content is important to look at. For someone with diabetes- the total carbohydrate content of a food is very important to look at.
Also be careful of nutrition claims on product packaging-there are always a few claims that may be misleading!
I would recommend a visit to an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) for more detailed information about what you specifically should be looking out for when you go grocery shopping.
Good luck,
Minal
Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD)
Report this post
You must be a HealthShare member to report this post. to your account or now (it's free).
-
1
Thanks
Chris Fonda
Dietitian, Nutritionist, Sports Dietitian
As an Accredited Sports Dietitian, APD and athlete (springboard diver), Chris has both professional and personal experience in sport at the sub-elite and elite level.Chris … View Profile
Great responses from both Melanie and Minal. May I also add that other than fat, salt, sugar and energy, depending on what the product is, what else is it giving you? In terms of dairy foods, how much calcium per serve does the product give you? Try and choose diary foods which have 300mg of calcium per serve. With breads, breakfast cereals, pasta and rice what is the fibre content per serve? Choose products with 3g or more fibre per serve.
With salt, choose products with less than 400mg per 100g or even better less than 120mg per 100g. In terms of sugar, aim for less than 10g per 100g. For fat, choose products with 10g fat or less per 100g (< 3g saturated fat per 100g) in meat products and less than 3g fat (<1.5g saturated fat per 100g) in dairy products.Report this post
You must be a HealthShare member to report this post. to your account or now (it's free).
-
1
Thanks
Melissa Adamski
Dietitian, Nutritionist
I am an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) with over 15 years’ experience working as a dietitian – advising both businesses and patients. I am founder … View Profile
Also along with looking at nutrients, make sure you understand what a serve of the food product is. Sometimes the ‘numbers’ can look good on the label as the manufacturers list the serve size as being smaller than what you would usually eat/drink e.g. a 500-600mL milk that most people would drink in one sitting actually can actualy say ‘2 serves’.
So remember always look to see what the recommended serve size is and if you are comparing between different brands/products then use the per 100g column.Report this post
You must be a HealthShare member to report this post. to your account or now (it's free).
-
1
Thanks
Priya Iyer
Dietitian
With over 16+ years experience in the field of nutrition & dietetics, Priya specialises in rehabilitation (covering neurology, burns, aged care & disability) and has … View Profile
Well, as fellow colleagues have summarised the answer beautifully, I'll just add to it to help make everyone smart & healthy shoppers! Yes, shopping can be a complicated business as it is with so many brands on the market for each product & looking at those numbers on the packaging in addition to that can be onerous.
If you know what you are looking for, that's simple. If you are just after a healthier choice but time poor to look thro' the nutrition information panel & decipher those confusing nutrition claims, there is a solution handy! For all tech savvy shoppers out there, try the most useful smartphone app to help make healthier choices at the point of purchase - “FoodSwitch”. It even suggests other healthier options! For those who like to read the food labels, please check out this link below for useful information to shop healthy -
http://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/eating-well/how-understand-food-labels/food-labels-what-look
Happy shopping!Report this post
You must be a HealthShare member to report this post. to your account or now (it's free).
