Are you drawn to the words ‘low-fat’ like a bee to honey? Does the phrase ‘no added sugar’ in a pack of fruit juice give you the green signal to guzzle it down? Does that pack of frozen parathas say wheat flour? You imagine it could be ‘atta’ but it could well be ‘maida’ and it would be correct, if misleading. The bread may be brown not because of its higher wheat content but from the caramel used to colour it. As you can see, understanding food labels is not so simple. Caveat emptor is a good principle to remember when you are buying anything; and with packaged food, in a world of lifestyle diseases, it’s more important to look beyond the ‘best before’ date.

Nimmi Ittycheria, a nutritionist and diet consultant, says ‘low-fat’ is ideally less than 10 per cent of the daily allowance of fat, which is around 20 gm. If the label mentions more, then the break-up between the different fats is also important. Saturated fat has to be the least. What’s more, ‘low-fat’ does not necessarily mean low-Calorie as the product may be rich in calories from carbohydrates, for example.

Zero sugar, sugar-free or ‘no added sugar' could mean that a sugar substitute such as aspartame or sucralose or stevia, or caloric food-based options such as corn syrup or fruit juice (grape juice, for example) has been used. You only have to look at the list of ingredients on a pack of fruit juice or jam. The Calories you consume would be the same as sugar in the second case. Though there is research to support the benefits of alternatives to sugar, such as levulose and fructose, the blood sugar response could be high in diabetics and is person-specific, says Ittycheria.

She advises people to eat fresh, wherever possible. “Food labelling laws in India are very lax, and anything out of a box, bottle or packet needs to be viewed with suspicion given that the trend of convenience foods is on the increase. The same multinationals would be subjected to more stringent revelations on their labels overseas.” There is much to be wary of, as even a casual search on the Internet can tell you. Two weeks ago came the news that Subway is being forced to remove a chemical called azodicarbonamide — used in yoga mats and shoe rubbers to increase elasticity — from its bread in North America. The chemical is banned in other countries as it is linked to respiratory trouble.

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