Download Know Your Labels - Salford Diabetes Care

Know your labels
Eating healthily is important for everyone and is especially
important if you have diabetes. This handy pull-out-and-keep
food labelling guide will help you to understand food labels
so you are more in the know about the food you are buying.
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Perfora
Know
your labels
Your guide to reading food labels
This is a lot
This is a little
(per 100g)
20g fat or more
5g saturated fat
or more
15g sugars or more
1.5g salt or more
0.6g sodium or more
3g fibre or more
(per 100g)
3g fat or less
1.5g saturated fat
or less
5g sugars or less
0.3g salt or less
0.1g sodium or less
0.5g fibre or less
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People with diabetes are advised to
follow the same healthy eating plan
recommended for everyone – food that is
low in fat, salt and sugar including plenty
of fruit and vegetables. Special diabetic
foods are not recommended and offer no
benefit for people with diabetes.
Guideline daily amounts (GDA) found on
many food labels, are a useful guide in
helping you to choose a healthy diet.
• Looking at the label can help you decide
whether the product contains ‘a little’ or
‘a lot’ of fat, sugar, salt and fibre.
• Use the ‘per 100g’ column on the label
to compare the make-up of similar food
and ‘per serving’ for different food.
• The above table shows you how much
nutrient is in your food/drink per 100g,
so you can compare between products.
However, check actual serving size too
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Guideline daily amounts (GDAs) are for
average adults, of normal healthy weight.
Individual needs will vary depending on age,
weight, and activity levels. People trying to lose
weight probably need fewer calories and fat.
Each day
Calories
Fat
Saturated fat
Salt
Fibre
Women
2,000 kcals
70g
20g
Less than 6g
24g
Men
2,500 kcals
95g
30g
Less than 6g
24g
• If the quantities fall between the
‘a little’ and ‘a lot’ figures this is a
moderate amount.
• The figures for sugar can’t tell you
how much of the sugar comes from
natural sugars (for example fruit
sugar known as fructose) and how
much comes from added sugars
(eg sucrose).
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* The GDA of sugar is currently under
consultation*
* The GDA of fibre is currently under
consultation however in the meantime
the above will be used*
The charity for
people with diabetes
Telephone 020 7424 1000
Website www.diabetes.org.uk
Registered charity no. 215199
• To see whether the product is high in
added sugar look at the ingredients
list, which always starts with the
biggest ingredient first.
• Remember you don’t need to avoid all
food and drink that contain a lot of
fat, sugar or salt – it’s the overall
balance of your diet that counts.
• Overleaf we decode some of the words
you may find on food labels.
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Crop
oration
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Energy
• The amount of calories (kcals) that a
food or drink provides.
• To keep to a healthy weight the energy
provided by your food and drink must be
in balance with the energy you use.
• If you take in more calories per day than
your body needs you will gain weight.
• To lose weight you need to take in fewer
calories per day than you use.
Score
core
core
Fat
• There are two main types of fat: saturated,
and unsaturated (polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated) fats.
• Reduce your total fat intake – particularly
saturated fat, as it is linked to heart disease.
• Choose unsaturated fats or oils, especially
monounsaturated fat, as these types of
fats are better for your heart.
• Eating less fat helps you lose weight. Being a
healthy weight helps your diabetes control.
Carbohydrate
• The figure for total carbohydrate
includes the carbohydrate from sugary
and starchy food and drink.
• Carbohydrates (of which sugars) tells
you how much sugar is present and
includes both added sugar and natural
sugar (eg fruit sugar known as
fructose and milk sugar known as
lactose).
• Added sugars include sugars such as
sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, invert
syrup, maltose and honey. The nearer
these are to the top of the ingredients
list, the more likely the food or drink is
high in added sugars.
• All carbohydrate increases your blood
glucose levels.
• Intense low-calorie sweeteners such as
Splenda, Canderel and Hermesetas can
be a useful alternative to sugar.
• Regular meals which include some
starchy food such as wholegrain bread
and cereals, pasta and basmati rice will
help to control your blood glucose
levels.
Salt
• Salt is the common name for sodium
chloride. It’s the sodium in salt that can be
bad for your health. Too much salt in your
diet can cause high blood pressure, which
can lead to heart disease and stroke.
• You may see a value for salt or sodium
on food labels.
• To convert sodium to salt multiply the
figure by 2.5. To convert salt to sodium
divide the figure by 2.5.
• Aim for less than 6g salt per day
Fibre
• Known also as ‘roughage’ – plant
matter that your body can’t digest.
• There are two types of fibre, soluble
and insoluble and both are beneficial
to your health.
• Soluble fibre, found in beans, pulses,
oats, fruit and vegetables helps to
regulate your blood glucose and
cholesterol levels.
• Insoluble fibre, found in wholegrain
cereals and breads, beans, fruit and
vegetables helps to keep your digestive
system healthy.
For individual dietary advice, ask your
healthcare team to refer you to a
registered dietitian.
For the latest on diabetes and
Diabetes UK, visit: www.diabetes.org.uk
For more information and support on
diabetes call the Diabetes UK Careline
on 0845 120 2960, Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm.
(Calls cost no more than 4p per minute.
Calls from mobiles usually cost more.)