Many people are completely confused when it comes to reading food labels!!!!

We believe that to nourish your body and your mind that most foods you eat and enjoy should be unprocessed and as fresh as possible. The good news is that fresh foods don’t have labels. In supermarkets you find the fresh foods in the outside aisles.

However, there are times when for convenience or time we may have to fall back on buying packaged foods.

If you find yourself at the supermarket and standing in one of the middle aisles trying to work out what the “marketing” spiel on the food package means, this will hopefully help you.

Low fat or fat-free                  

• Less than 3 grams of fat per 100 calories

Commonly found in these products:

• Biscuits, cereals, sauces, frozen dinners, bread and snack foods

Lite/Light                                

• Usually indicates less than one third fewer calories or 50% less fat or sodium than a comparable product.

Commonly found in these products:

• Cheese, milk, butter, spreads, cream cheese, sour cream, olive oil, beer and potato chips

No cholesterol                        

• Cholesterol is only found in foods that come from animals, so any of the following foods can make this claim including fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, beans, peas and lentils.

Commonly found in these products:

• Potato crisp, corn chips, oils, margarine, nuts, pies, pastries, biscuits, sauces and donuts

Note: There is no causal relationship between cholesterol in food and cholesterol in your blood.

Baked not fried

• Implies that the food is low in fat. For some snacks, like pretzels, this is true but for others, like biscuit snacks, it means they are lower in fat (around 25%) but not necessarily low in fat. Check the nutrition information panel for the grams of fat per serve.

Commonly found in these products:

• Savoury biscuits, salty snack foods, pretzels, biscuits, oven-baked chips                 

Vegetable oil                          

• Vegetable oil is usually extracted from the fruit or seeds of plants. Most vegetable oils are a blend of canola, corn, soybean, safflower, palm and sunflower oils. They are highly refined and processed and high in omega-6.

Commonly found in these products:

• Potato crisps, kettle chips, instant noddles, fried fast foods, hot chips, donuts, biscuits, and toasted muesli

No artificial colours or flavours         

• This means “no synthetic flavouring” so any flavourings are made with natural ingredients from herbs and spices. These include enhancers (621, 627, 631) flavours (270, 262) and colours (160a). It makes the food sound healthier, even if it isn’t.

Commonly found in these products:

• Soft drinks, cordials, jelly crystals, snack foods, confectionery and foods aimed at children

Nearly all foods and drinks on the Healthy Inspirations plans are sourced from fresh produce and unprocessed meats, seafood, dairy, condiments and fresh or dried herbs and spices. 

If you stick to these fresh, unprocessed foods there is no need to be concerned about understanding food labels!!!! Eat fresh as fresh is best for your weight and your health.

To learn more about how to lose weight without bothering about reading food labels fill out the form below and one of our friendly coaches will contact you.