eating your way to health...

How to reduce salt,

fat & sugar in your food
Healthy eating helps to keep you and your heart healthy. Eating a lot of some types of food
such as fruit and vegetables are good for your heart and can reduce the risk of coronary
heart disease. However, eating a lot of other foods such as salt, fat and sugar are bad for
your heart and health. Although salt, fat and sugar are all essential for our bodies and
should be included balanced diet, they should be eaten in very small amounts. You may
not realise that a lot of the food youre eating contains high levels of salt, fat and sugar, which
are hidden.

Reducing the amount of salt, fat and sugar

you eat will help you to...
lower your blood cholesterol levels
keep your blood pressure down
maintain or reach a healthy weight
reduce the risk of developing diabetes

Salt: the facts

Many foods have hidden salts so there is no
need to add salt to your food. Three-quarters
(75%) of the salt we eat is already in the
food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups,
sauces, bread and ready meals. You could be
eating too much salt without realising it.
Adults and children aged 11 and over should
have no more than 6 grams (this is equal to one
level teaspoon) of salt a day and younger children
should have even less. On average, most people
eat about 9 grams (equal to two teaspoons)
of salt every day, which is too much.

food products and lab els...

salt is usually referred to as sodium on
Tips for choosing food lower in salt...
Try to use less salt and more herbs and spices, mustard or
chilli to flavour your food when cooking.
Add less salt at the table taste your food first.
Look out for tinned products at the supermarket which
have no added salt.
Buy sandwiches with a lower salt filling such as chicken or
poached salmon, instead of ham, cheese and pickle.
Choose vegetable or chicken toppings on pizzas instead of
pepperoni, bacon or cheese.
Replace crisps with healthier snacks such as vegetable
sticks or fruit.

r
ckly get used to less salt, even afte
Did you know: Your taste buds qui
to like salty food.
a few weeks you will be less likely
Sugar: the facts
Sugars occurs naturally in food such as fruit and
milk but it is food containing added sugars that you
need to cut down on. Most adults and children eat
too much sugar and everyone should be trying to
eat fewer sugary foods and drinks.
Foods with added sugars contain few nutrients
except energy and tend to be high in calories.
Other foods such as cereals, bread, potatoes, meat
vegetables and fruit provide nutrients and energy
so you dont need to eat sugary foods. Sugary
foods and drinks can also cause tooth decay,
especially if you have them between meals.
Tips for reducing sugar...
Reduce sugar in your tea and coffee
gradually, aiming to have none at all
eventually.
Try to have alternatives to cakes or
biscuits such as a scone or malt loaf
with low fat spread or make your own
using half the amount of sugar.
Avoid drinking soft drinks as they
are high in sugar. Drink more water
instead. If you are going to drink
them drink the sugar free varieties.
Choose tins of fruit in natural juice
rather than in syrup.
Avoid cereals coated with sugar
or honey. Instead, add dried fruit to
wholegrain breakfast cereals to help
it taste sweet.

Did you know: Non-diet varieties of

soft drinks
can contain up to 8 teaspoons of
sugar.

Fats: the facts

Tips for reducing fat...
Avoid frying food in oil. Try to
grill, bake or steam food.
If you are eating a meal with
something high in fat, such as a A small amount of fat is essential in a balanced diet as
meat pie try to have something
it provides your body with energy but you should limit
low fat with it, such as vegetables
and baked or boiled new potatoes the amount and type of fat you eat.
instead of chips.
Choose low fat dairy products There are two types of fats; saturated fats and
such as skimmed or semi-skimmed unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are bad fats
milk, lower fat cheese, such as and can raise cholesterol. These are found in hard
ricotta or feta instead of cheddar, cheeses, pastries, cakes, biscuits, butter and fatty
and reduced fat yoghurt. meat. Unsaturated fats include monounsaturated,
When making sandwiches try polyunsaturated and omega-3 and can provide health
not to use butter or spread. Use benefits for your heart. These are found in avocado,
a low fat soft cheese or low fat olive oil, nuts and seeds and oily fish such as salmon
mayonnaise to add moisture.
and mackerel.
sity & heart disease...
too much fat in the diet can lead to obe
 salt, fat and sugar
Did you know: there is a lot of hidden
in processed foods...
If you usually eat processed food for example,
ready meals, fish fingers, pies and burgers, it
is likely that you are eating a lot of hidden
salt, fat and sugar. Try to read the label
to help you make a healthier choice about
processed food.

Using Labels
To help you choose foods which are lower
in salt, fat and sugar, it is useful to look at
the food label. This is where you can find the ingredients list and nutritional information. The
label will also show if there is any hidden salt, fat and sugar.

Ingredients List
The ingredients list always starts with the biggest first, so if you see sugar/glucose nearer
the top then its likely to be high in sugar or salt/sodium nearer the top of the list then you
know its likely to be high in salt.

Nutrition Information
Nearly all food products show nutritional information on the label. This is usually presented

sugar is in the product...

like the example below:
&
this lets you to see how much salt, fat
Nutrition
Tells you how much added sugar there is in Typical Values per 100g per 1/2 pack GDA
the food. More than 15g per 100g is high. (approx.450g) Average
5g or less per 100g is low. Energy value 560 kJ 2520kJ adult
(Calories 135 kcal 605 kcal) 2000 kcal
Protein 7.2 g 32.5 g 45 g
Tells you how much fat there is in the food. Carbohydrate 9.3 g 41.7 g 230 g
More than 20g per 100g is high. 3g or less (of which Sugars 3.0 g 13.6 g) Low 90 g
per 100g is low. Fat 7.6 g 34.1 g High 70 g
(of which Saturates 3.4 g 15.2 g High 20 g

Tells you how much salt there is in the food. Fibre 2.3 g 10.5 g 24 g
Sodium 0.2 g 0.9 g 2.4 g
More than 0.5g per 100g is high. 0.1g or
Salt 0.5 g 2.1 g Med 6g
less per 100g is low.
GDA = Guideline Daily Amounts

Cooking
The best way of controlling the amount of salt, fat and sugar you eat is to cook more meals
using basic ingredients. Cooking at home may feel like a time consuming task but there are
simple meals which are quick to prepare. This will mean you will know what is in them and
the food will be much tastier than a pre-packaged meal.

Produced in partnership with: Health Promotion Unit Jersey and Health Promotion Unit Guernsey. For
more information on healthy eating you can visit www.eatwell.gov.uk
Details are correct at time of going to print. July 2009.