For all you need to know about the nutritional content of our products and to be able to compare this with the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) of key nutrients, click on the right hand side panel to search our Nutritional Information database.
See below for information about the top 8 nutrients.
The Key Nutrients
Calories
The number of calories in any given food depends on the amount of energy the food provides. The number of calories a person needs each day depends on age, height, weight, gender and activity level.
To keep to a healthy weight, the energy provided by your food and drink should be in balance with the energy you use. If you take in more calories per day than your body needs, you will gain weight; fewer calories and you will lose weight.
Fat
Contrary to popular belief, not all fats are bad for you. In fact many are good or even essential for health and a zero fat or a very low fat diet can be harmful to your health in the long term. Fat, however, should be consumed in moderation as it is a rich source of calories.
Fat carries fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K which are needed in the body for various functions. It is also a source of energy for the body and, together with carbohydrate, can be important in fuelling physical activity.
There are two main types of fat: unsaturated (mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated) and saturated fats.
Unsaturated fats
Mono-unsaturated fats are found in nuts, avocado and olive oil for example. Poly-unsaturated fats are found in foods such as oily fish, cereal and margarine. They are soft or liquid at room temperature. Consumption of unsaturated fats can decrease ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol therefore you should aim to eat some of these, keeping within your Guideline Daily Amount.
Saturated fats
Saturated fats come predominately from animal sources and are hard at room temperature. This is the fat you see on meat products or that occurs in butter, lard or cheese. They should account for less than 10 per cent of your total energy intake as their consumption can increase ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.
The GDA for fat for an average adult is 70g and for saturates, 20g.
Another type of fat is trans fatty acids (TFA). They occur naturally in meat and dairy products, and by partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fat. They can make soft unsaturated fat hard at room temperature. Their consumption can increase ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and decrease ‘good’ HDL cholesterol therefore you should aim to reduce your consumption of them to less than 2 per cent of your daily diet.
For information on our TFA reduction programme, Click here.
Carbohydrates (including sugar)
Your carbohydrate intake should account for 50 to 60 per cent of your total daily calories. Carbohydrates can broadly be categorised into complex and simple carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are found predominantly in foods such as wholegrain bread and cereals, pasta and rice. They contain starches, non-starch polysaccharides and some starches referred to as resistant starch because they are not digested in the small intestine. These supply your body with energy, and are an essential part of your diet. They can aid digestion and help manage blood glucose levels.
Sugar is the term usually used to describe mono- and disaccharides. These provide simple forms of energy for the body, mainly broken down to glucose, which is required as an energy source for all tissues in the body.
On many food labels, sugar is shown as part of the carbohydrate section. Sugar will include 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 GDA for sugars for an average adult is 90g.
Protein
Protein is needed by our bodies to grow and repair itself. It is essential to the structure of red blood cells, for the proper functioning of antibodies resisting infection, for the regulation of enzymes and hormones, for growth, and for the repair of body tissue. Good sources of protein include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, soya, tofu, beans, pulses and lentils.
The GDA for protein for an average adult is 50g.
Fibre
Known also as ‘roughage’ - plant matter that your body cannot 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.
The GDA for dietary fibre for an average adult is 25g.
Salt and Sodium
Salt is the common name for sodium chloride and it is too much of the sodium in salt that is considered to be bad for your health. As a nation we eat too much of it. Many of us are regularly eating around 9g of salt a day. It is important to be sensible. Sodium is an essential nutrient and the body needs a small amount of it. Too much salt in our diet has been linked to problems like high blood pressure and heart disease. The adult GDA of 6g of salt is a maximum intake; the amount our bodies require for daily health maintenance can easily be obtained from a healthy balanced diet.
You may see a value for salt or sodium on food labels. To convert sodium to salt multiply the figure by 2.5 or to convert salt to sodium divide the figure by 2.5.
The GDA for salt for an average adult is 6g
For information on our salt reduction programme, click here.
How much of each?
This is where the Guideline Daily Amount comes in. click here. to find out more.
