Food Labelling - Help?

[Armageus]

Background: I've recently been told my Cholesterol is far too high, so I need to look at reducing my Saturated Fat intake


Can anyone explain the food labelling "traffic light" system to me?

I thought that the colours were related to the % of an adults reference intake, but I've found at least one example that makes no sense

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/317069140 - Pom Bear BBQ Multipack Crisps

Which makes reasonable sense - with a reference intake of 20g Saturated Fat 0.3g = 1.5%, so rounded up and excluding decimals = 2.00%


However


https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/270974142 - Batchelors Cup A Soup Chicken 4 Pack

So again 2.5g = 12.5%, so rounded = 13.00%


But why is 13% then Green and Low when 2% in the previous product is amber and Medium?

 

[Finners]

I've not done the maths in my head but is it not because at the bottom is says typical values per 100g so the traffic system is based on if you eat 100g of each.

 

[Zefan]

Ignore traffic light, look at the back. To aid general pick up and go convenience, research to become more aware of what ingredients are the culprit ingredients and what items tend to have them.

You really want to be avoiding that sort of processed food altogether.

 

[Jim99]

See this image: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/er5n0c3s/capture.png

Food labelling | British Nutritional Foundation

Looking at the nutrition information on food labels can help you make healthier choices.

www.nutrition.org.uk

It does depend on the per portion / per 100g figure, rather than just your RI.

That kind of makes sense, in that eating some beef that contains saturated fat whilst constituting the key calories in a main meal, is quite different to eating a bag of crisps that delivers little but starch and fat.

I agree with the other posters though, in general you'll be better off focusing on the back of the packet, the per 100g numbers, understanding portion sizing and relating that back to whatever daily intake targets you think are right for you.

 

[Armageus]

Ignore traffic light, look at the back.

I already am looking at the actual gram values (either via the per portion where listed) or per 100g and then working that out manually, just wondered if I was missing something with regards to the traffic lights.

You really want to be avoiding that sort of processed food altogether.

Already working on it - had become far too reliant on instant noodle pots and the like, so have cut those out, and had been using cakes etc as comfort food (I blame Lidl's bakery!) so have cut those out as well.

Have reduced red meat intake and cut down on cheese, as well as reviewing my portion sizes of everything else as well.

The problem is I didn't think I ate too unhealthily before hand (aside from specifically mentioned) - I was already eating wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, low fat spread, semi skimmed milk etc, lower fat options where available, and 2-3 fruit/veg a day.

 

[Jim99]

I already am looking at the actual gram values (either via the per portion where listed) or per 100g and then working that out manually, just wondered if I was missing something with regards to the traffic lights.


Already working on it - had become far too reliant on instant noodle pots and the like, so have cut those out, and had been using cakes etc as comfort food (I blame Lidl's bakery!) so have cut those out as well.

Have reduced red meat intake and cut down on cheese, as well as reviewing my portion sizes of everything else as well.

The problem is I didn't think I ate too unhealthily before hand (aside from specifically mentioned) - I was already eating wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, low fat spread, semi skimmed milk etc, lower fat options where available, and 2-3 fruit/veg a day.

It's worth mentioning as well that in some cases high cholesterol is more a symptom of your situation than a question of precisely what you're eating.

In theory your body should be keeping HDL / LDL in balance, and it seems obvious that eating less cholesterol will make your cholesterol numbers drop. But, that's not necessarily the case.

At one point my cholesterol was too high, and I lost about 20kg with a diet that included a lot of red meat, saturated fat etc. Apparently that weight loss was enough to knock the cholesterol down to safe levels and I've never had a problem since. So in my case I suspect the primary problem was excessive weight and calorific intake, rather than specifically what I was eating.

Not medical advice by any stretch, and clearly I know nothing about your circumstances, but sometimes a big part of it is finding a diet you can stick to in the long run that helps.

My diet felt very similar to yours when I got my high result, in that I avoided fat etc, but I was just eating too much.

 

[Zefan]

I understand that feeling, a lot of this traditional advice is a semi useful at best and a false sense of security at worst. I'm going through a sort of elimination diet at the moment (psoriasis is so fun) and have cut sugar, refined carbs and essentially anything processed basically completely, unless the wife makes a mistake on the food order it is more effort but it's clearly brought general inflammation levels down a huge amount (my skin is a pretty rad, literal red flag).

I am not a doctor but rethinking entire meals such as breakfast (aka, it really probably shouldn't be simply carbs plus milk at all) might help you think outside the box. I again am not a Dr but my instinct tells me that the intake of sat fat itself is likely a fine tune item rather than a course one, like generally cleaning up the diet of anything processed, exercise, general body composition, sleep, hydration, and micronutition. These things should help curb the chronic inflammation a massive amount of us live with which can have knock on effects. Again I am not a Dr pls don't trust me.

 

[Armageus]

It's worth mentioning as well that in some cases high cholesterol is more a symptom of your situation than a question of precisely what you're eating.

I still feel that it's probably a Symptom, but awaiting another couple of tests that will rule out a couple of other causes. It's a little frustrating though as my GP's knee jerk reaction was as you are overweight and have high cholesterol you need to make lifestyle changes now as well as starting on Statins.

At one point my cholesterol was too high, and I lost about 20kg with a diet that included a lot of red meat, saturated fat etc. Apparently that weight loss was enough to knock the cholesterol down to safe levels and I've never had a problem since. So in my case I suspect the primary problem was excessive weight and calorific intake, rather than specifically what I was eating.

I'm overweight, but not in the actual Obese category (but again have been Overweight for as long as I can remember with no issues until recently)

I am not a doctor but rethinking entire meals such as breakfast (aka, it really probably shouldn't be simply carbs plus milk at all) might help you think outside the box. I again am not a Dr but my instinct tells me that the intake of sat fat itself is likely a fine tune item rather than a course one, like generally cleaning up the diet of anything processed, exercise, general body composition, sleep, hydration, and micronutition.

I have made a few other changes that were probably long overdue anyway. For the last month or so I've cut down on coffee - previously my only drinks at work would be around 5 Large mugs of coffee, so have swapped a couple of those out for a glass of Squash (as I really don't like drinking plain water). And since being told late on Thursday to improve my lifestyle, I've managed to go on a 15 minute (brisk) walk 4 out of the 6 Days since.

Again I am not a Dr pls don't trust me.

Not sure I trust my Doctor at present, so happy to take any suggestions on board at the minute

 

[Nabinium]

The problem is I didn't think I ate too unhealthily before hand (aside from specifically mentioned) - I was already eating wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, low fat spread, semi skimmed milk etc, lower fat options where available, and 2-3 fruit/veg a day.

Perhaps the portion sizes have been contributing to the cholesterol too?

Sometimes it's not only about eating low fat and wholegrain stuff, but about calories and how much you're eating.

I've pretty much just repeated the more clever response by @Jim99, but well done on making the effort to significantly shift things. It's difficult when you get told by a GP that you've got X condition, so do Y now.

 

[dave28]

Should be listed here I think

Check the label

How to use nutritional labels on pre-packed foods to find calorie, fat, saturates, sugars and salt content information.

www.food.gov.uk

 

[alec]

I still feel that it's probably a Symptom, but awaiting another couple of tests that will rule out a couple of other causes. It's a little frustrating though as my GP's knee jerk reaction was as you are overweight and have high cholesterol you need to make lifestyle changes now as well as starting on Statins.

High abdominal fat, high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol are symptoms of metabolic syndrome
Ignore statin advice, all statins do is fix the cholesterol metric so it looks good in analyses, but not any of the issues.
Ignore saturated fat scaremongering.

Do what allows you to lose weight
Prevailing theory is that metabolic syndrome is driven by insulin resistance, so whatever lowers your blood insulin fixes it.
For me it was 16:8 intermittent fasting (comes with a bonus of less snacking), cutting out sugar and refined carbs, minimising ultra-processed foods. Some exercise, mainly walking

I have made a few other changes that were probably long overdue anyway. For the last month or so I've cut down on coffee - previously my only drinks at work would be around 5 Large mugs of coffee, so have swapped a couple of those out for a glass of Squash (as I really don't like drinking plain water). And since being told late on Thursday to improve my lifestyle, I've managed to go on a 15 minute (brisk) walk 4 out of the 6 Days since.

Coffee is not good nor bad, but juice/squash is definitely bad for the purpose. Sugar in liquid form
Walking is great, but try to make it 30-40min

 

[Armageus]

Coffee is not good nor bad, but juice/squash is definitely bad for the purpose. Sugar in liquid form

Coffee is a diuretic though. Reducing it has got to be a good thing.

I'm using the Robinson's mini squash - zero sugar, zero fat. So other than the sweeteners which probably aren't great in terms of being "processed", it should be ok to increase hydration?

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/308858245?srsltid=AfmBOorxBYTrpsUbEYNqIv149m8KiWVj4qgQWlvdOBgwDWhntsCE-4CY

Walking is great, but try to make it 30-40min

Not possible at the moment - I'm just about managing 15-20 minutes before work. Getting up earlier doesn't help as it's dark, and obviously now dark in the evenings.