How to decipher the nutritional values on food labels

I went to Sainsburys the other day to collect an Argos parcel. Seemed weird to me but that's what the automated text message told me to do. Any how, I asked at the customer service desk and I was mocked by the assistant for not knowing where Argos was inside Sainsburys store. It appears I am the last person on the Island to know of this wholly vital information.

I rarely visit Sainsburys, I don't work there, nor have I ordered from Argos for years…. 𝗠𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚?

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗗𝗔𝘀.

So, very briefly...

In the UK, many food labels use the traffic light system (red, amber, green) on the food packaging. This indicates if a product is high, medium, or low in fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt. The nutrition facts label on the back provides more detailed information, including calories, macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates), and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

The Traffic Light System:
Green: Indicates the food is low in fat, saturated fat, sugar, or salt.
Amber: Indicates the food has a medium content in fat, saturated fat, sugar, or salt. ** NOT ALL FAT IS BAD FAT!**
Red: Indicates the food is high in fat, saturated fat, sugar, or salt.

What else is listed?

Ingredients: A products ingredients are listed is in order of weight. So, the first few ingredients are what makes up the bulk of the food. … generally if sugar is listed in the first 3 ingredients, you know this is a high sugar product.
Calories: The total number of calories per serving - and usually per 100g of product.
Macronutrients: Information on fat, protein, and carbohydrate content per serving, or per 100g.
Micronutrients: Information on vitamins and minerals per serving or, per 100g.

Reference Intake (RI) or % Daily Value (%DV): This helps you see how much of a nutrient a serving contributes to your daily needs.
By understanding these key elements you can make a more informed choices in regards to eating healthily.

But how do you know how much you should be eating? Ah well, there are many factors effecting this. It can depend on your sex, age, health and fitness goals, your existing weight, your target weight, your daily activity levels.

Drop me a message and we can work on a fitness programme that suits your needs and nutrition advice to compliment your goals.