Food Labelling

Hope you are well. Welcome to the Capital Health Care Newsletter bringing you regular helpings of healthy eating tips, recipes and fitness training ideas.

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Food Labeling

1. KNOW YOUR FOOD: Make it your business to know what is in the foods you eat. The claims on the front of the pack are only part of the story, turn the pack over and read the ingredients list and the nutrition information label.

The ingredients list gives you all the individual foods in a product in descending order (by weight), so by just looking at the first few ingredients you can get a good idea of whether the product is made from mostly whole or refined foods. For instance, if you see that a product is made from 97% Whole Grain wheat, you can feel confident that it is a good choice because 97% of the energy is coming from Whole Grains rather than highly refined ingredients like flour and sugar.

2. THE WHOLE FOOD: Look for products with as many whole food ingredients as possible such as Whole Grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices and avoid products with long lists of refined ingredients. Weet-Bix has high whole food content, with 97% whole wheat grains.

3. KNOW YOUR ENERGY INTAKE: If you are concerned about energy intake be sure that you understand your own needs in relation to your ideal weight, age, gender and level of physical activity. Balance your intake against your needs. If you are confused contact a health professional such as your doctor or an Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD).

4. WHOLE GRAINS: Look for products which are high in Whole Grains as they provide essential nutrients such as fibre, folate, vitamin E magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, antioxidants and phytochemicals.

CHOOSE WHOLE GRAIN FOODS

1. Foods containing Whole Grains generally have visible grains which help you to identify them. Also check if the food looks highly refined in shape and texture.

2. Look for the following words in the ingredient list: whole grain, whole wheat, brown rice, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum or triticale. If a whole grain ingredient isn't listed as the first or second ingredient, than the product is unlikely to be a good source of whole grain.

3. Check the percentage of Whole Grain ingredients in the ingredient list is a minimum 51%.

What is Total Daily Intake (DI)?
Total Daily Intake (DI) is a set of reference values for the acceptable intakes of a variety of nutrients, as well as energy. The nutrients include carbohydrates, sugars, protein, total fat, saturated fat, fibre and sodium.

What are the DI values based upon?
The DI values are based on an average adult's daily requirement of 8700kJ. Your DIs may be higher or lower depending on your energy needs.

What is % DI?
Percentage DI represents on a single scale, the energy and selected nutrient contributions made by a serve of the chosen product to a person's daily requirements.

What are the DI values and what do they mean?

Energy: The energy DI is calculated based on the average daily energy requirements of an average adult. SEE THE TOTAL DAILY INTAKE (BELOW) COMPARE AGAINST PER SERVE…

Protein: The DI for protein is based on the average daily protein requirement for men and women.

All DI values are based on government recommendations such as the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDIs).

What do I do if I am pregnant or lactating?
Like children, the DI values are hard to apply to pregnant or lactating women, as they are based on the average daily intake of an average adult.

For further advice contact a health professional such as your doctor or an Accredited Practicing Dietician (APD). If you would like more information on getting to know your food, please contact us on 1800 HEALTH and speak to our team of qualified dieticians and nutritionists.

As you get older and metabolism becomes slower from 29 to 36 years of age we exercise less and tend to pack on excess kg. This is due to foods higher in complex carbohydrates and sugar. HI GI food causes the majority of weight gain in Australia.

Please see http://www.diabetessa.com.au/aspx/the_glycaemic_index.aspx

Hint: there is a fantastic chart on the bottom of the page print it out and stick it on the fridge.

PS: A chocolate bar at best on average is a massive 1800kj or about a 1.5hr bike ride absolutely flat out.

All the best
David
Capital Health Care

David Medlock
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