Food Labelling and Nutrition

One of the ways of adopting healthy eating and lifestyle is being at the supermarkets, or the local store, looking at various food labels. Looking at labels is a gateway into what ingredients, and chemicals are in them, and to check the amount of fat, especially saturated fat, salt and sugar, which are the important nutrients.Excess fat can lead to weight gain, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure.Excess salt can lead to increased blood pressure which can likely develop into heart disease, or a stroke. Sometimes blood pressure is called the silent killer because there are no symptoms of having it, so unless this is checked, we would not know if we had it or not. For sugar it is important to choose foods that have natural sugars in them, for example, lactose found in milk, fructose found in fruit, and to minimise refined sugars, which can be found in biscuits, chocolate, fizzy drinks and alcohol.

People assume that calories should be looked at as well, this is correct to a certain extent. As long as the calorie consumed does not exceed the calories burnt during exercise, weight gain should not be expected. This is why in my previous article (the importance of walking) I explained why exercise is very important, one of them including losing weight.

In the UK supermarkets there are two types of food labels. Both of them are a great way of demonstrating if the product is high in sugar, salt and fat. One of them is called the Guideline Daily Amounts, and the other one is called the Traffic Lights Labelling system.

The Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) is used in supermarkets like Tesco, Morrisons and Somerfield, It was set up by the Food and Drink Federation in 2005. The team are come from a variety of backgrounds including the food chain, scientific experts, and the Industry Grocery Distribution (IGD)

The aim of this was to produce a consistent front and back of pack GDA system. When the values were released supermarkets showed the total recommended value per day for calories, sugars, fat, saturated fat, and salt.

The labels are displayed in percentages; this is so that the consumer can see how much of that nutrient the person has left for the rest of the day.

For example an item that contains 600 calories and 2 grams of salt, the GDA label would show that the item contains 30% of the recommended GDA for the day, for a woman (for a man this would be 24%)

For salt value it would state that the product contains 33% of the salt content for that day. Therefore the person has 66% left of salt to reach that maximum for the day. The food products label shows percentages of sugar, salt, fat, saturated fat, and calories.

The scheme has proved to be very successful as according to the GDA label website, there are in total 95 companies that have adopted the scheme, including food chains, and manufacturers. The scheme has gone international as well as the Food Company Kelloggs have launched the GDA in South Africa, and in Australia, where this is promoted by the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

The other system is called the traffic light labelling system, which is adopted in supermarkets including Sainsburys, Marks And Spencer, and Waitrose. This was produced by the Foods Standards Agency (FSA) and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) The system labels items in the form of traffic lights. Red meaning high in that nutrient, amber meaning the value has a medium amount, in that nutrient. Green meaning that the nutrient contains a low value in that nutrient. The system is very different to the GDA labels in that there are no percentages involved in the traffic lights system. Also all items are labelled either in red, amber and green. The aim is to choose items either with green or amber lights rather than reds, as they are considered healthier options.This is reassuring to the consumer if they would like to choose healthier options.

Overall both systems are a great way of influencing healthy eating and choosing healthy options, which will hopefully reduce the obesity epidemic in the UK. However UK health ministers would like a uniform front of pack food labelling system across all food products. There is currently a consultation into how this can be done, and adopted.

I am a qualified nutritional advisor with 4 years experience. I can support people with weight management issues and general wellbeing. You can view me on either my website on http://www.livelongrocks.co.uk. 

Or you can view me on my blog

http://www.livelongrocks.blogspot.com

Both of the above can help you with any nutritional support. Or if you have any queries you can, contact me through the websites above.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jules_Eke/1058652

"What do you think?" Comment in the box below.

5 Tips For Taming Hunger

Do you find that you are always hungry? Is the hunger insatiable? This can be very frustrating especially when you're trying to watch your weight or slim down. If you eat a meal, you want to feel full and satisfied and not hungry within an hour. It's important to note that if you are trying to slim down and the leaner you get, you will experience some hunger. That dieting hunger is inevitable because it's a survival mechanism. You are not dying of course, but your body is trying to preserve its body fat in case of a true famine. On the flip side, if you simply struggle with what feels like excessive hunger here are my top 5 tips for taming hunger:

Tip 1: Track Your Calories

Oftentimes people think they are consuming enough calories for their body but we've learned that most people are terrible at estimating calories. This tip is about using an app to track your calories so you understand exactly how much you are consuming. You won't have to track your calories forever but it will start to give you a clearer picture until you figure this out. For weight maintenance you will want to eat in calories, your body weight multiplied by 14-16. This is a starting point, it's important to monitor your weight and hunger levels. If you begin to lose weight eating those calories then increase them. Foods that are higher in calories are nuts and seeds so grabbing a small handful of those and eating them slowly can provide a boost. The fat in the nuts and seeds will also help with satiety.

Tip 2: Nutrients and Volume 

If you are eating a somewhat restrictive diet whether on purpose to avoid certain foods or good groups or that is just how you eat, you could potentially be missing out on key nutrients. A hunger signal from the body is driving you to eat more in order to acquire what's missing. Be sure to include lots of green vegetables and fruits to get those micro-nutrients in. Also, taking a greens powder mix daily will fill in those nutritional gaps. Alongside the nutrients think about volume. Volume foods are large in quantity, high in nutrients and low in calories. These volume foods will fill you up and keep you feeling full. Some great examples of volume foods are vegetables such as cucumbers, spaghetti squash, kale and zucchini. Berries are also great for providing nutrients and are low calories so have a bowl of sliced strawberries if you wish.

Tip 3: Drink Water 

The part of your brain that interprets hunger and thirst signals is the same and signals sometimes get mixed up. When you are feeling hungry and you have recently ate, try reaching for a fresh glass of water instead of food. Oftentimes, having a big glass of water helps stave off hunger for another hour or two.

Tip 4: Sleep 

When we get poor sleep, whether that be interrupted sleep or simply not enough hours it can affect our hunger levels for the next day. This lack of sleep will make you feel hungrier than normal and leptin levels go down. Leptin is our hormone that tells us we are full and to stop eating. Try working on creating healthy sleep habits in order to improve your sleep. Some tips for creating these habits are; set a schedule to lie down every night at the same time, dim the lights in the evening, remove all electronics and cell phones from your room, sleep in complete darkness, keep a journal beside your bed to write down any thoughts or ideas that pop up, and so forth.

Tip 5: Intermittent Fasting

Fasting (abstaining from food) has the ability to suppress appetite and reset leptin signals. A popular way to begin this protocol is to start with intermittent fasting. This is where you will fast for about 16 hours (mostly over night) and only eat your calories for the day in an 8 hour eating window. It depends on your lifestyle but it's easiest to have an eating window later in the day to enjoy a big dinner. For example; fast from 8pm until 12pm the next day. Drink only water, black coffee or plain tea and eat your food between 12pm and 8pm. The eating window can shortened as you see fit as long as you consume all of your calories for the day in the eating window. By doing this, you will suppress your appetite throughout the day and feel full and satiated eating your calories in a shorter time frame.

Feeling hungry can be uncomfortable but do some personal investigative work and find out what the culprit could be. Once you know where an issue may be then you will feel confident in knowing how to correct it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jessica_Ann/2408358

"What do you think?" Comment in the box below.

The Relationship Between Water and Weight Loss (Part 1 of 2)

Many people mistakenly think that water is an enemy to weight loss. However, retained water is easy to reverse. Fat loss is much more difficult to achieve. A lack of sufficient water can actually make it harder to lose fat because of the damaging effects to health when you lack enough water in your body. A lack of water could very well interfere with the essential functions involved in your body's metabolism of fat. To better understand this, you have to have some understanding of how body function, water and weight loss go together.

Water is at the centre of all life function. Water makes up at least 2/3 of your body. Water makes up more than 9/10 of your blood, where nutrients are distributed. Water is used by your body to properly absorb water soluble vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from the foods you eat. Drinking plenty of water helps your kidneys function better at removing poisonous wastes, weight and other wastes from your body.

In addition to its aid in metabolic function, drinking plenty of water can have major benefits in other parts of health. Water is responsible for helping your body regulate your body temperature. Water also helps keep your blood thin to prevent complications from clotting and hypertension. Water helps keep your joints and muscles well lubricated. Water is necessary to keep your skin healthy. Water can be beneficial in treating many headaches. So there are a lot of benefits to combining water and weight loss that go beyond just metabolic function.

One of the most important links between water and weight loss is that water can make your stomach feel full. Also, in some cases your brain may make you feel hungry if you are deficient in water because some water can be extracted from foods. In many cases when you feel hungry, you may actually be thirsty. So drinking plenty of water can help your brain distinguish better when you are actually hungry. So there is a lot more to water and weight loss than just maintaining proper metabolic function.

To test this out for yourself, just drink sixteen ounces of water the next time you are feeling hungry and you know you have eaten within the last five hours. After five minutes, you should feel less hungry. If you don't feel less hungry, you know it is true hunger and you probably didn't eat enough fibre during your last meal. It is a good idea to always carry a bottle of water with you and drink consistently throughout the day. However, you should not exceed 120 ounces per day without first consulting your doctor about your body's water capacity.

http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Gary_Holdon/45055

Image courtesy of Theeradech Sanin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"What do you think?" Comment in the box below.