Nutrition Labelling and Prevention of Heart Diseases

1. Nutrition Labelling andPrevention of Heart Diseases

2. Heart Diseases • Have been one of the top killers in HK • Maintain healthy body weight, normal blood pressure and blood cholesterol level are important in managing heart diseases. • Adopt “3 Low, 1 High” healthy eating principle; that is low fat, low sodium (or salt), low sugars and high fibre.

3. Fats and Heart Diseases • Two major types of cholesterol in our body – • Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) • High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) • High “bad” cholesterol and/or low “good” cholesterol in blood increase the risk of developing heart diseases

4. Fats and Heart Diseases • Both saturated fat and trans fat raise the “bad” cholesterol level in blood. • Trans fat also lowers the level of “good” cholesterol in blood. • Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat do not raise the “bad” cholesterol level. But, eating too much of these fats may also lead to excessive energy intake which, in turn, increase the risk of overweight and obesity.

5. How Much Fat Do We Need? Based on a 2000-kcal diet -

6. Preventing Heart Diseases • Follow “3 Low, 1 High” dietary principle. Choose food with lower combined amount of saturated fat and trans fat • Increase dietary fibre intake (Min. 25g/day) • Limit dietary cholesterol intake (300mg/day for heart diseases prevention; 200mg/day for individuals with heart disease)

7. Preventing Heart Diseasesand Nutrition Labelling • Using nutrition label can help us to find out the saturated fat and trans fat contents of food products.

8. Read and Use Nutrition Labels

9. Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label 1 7 Tabular format

10. Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label Linear format (for small packages with total surface area of less than 200 cm2)

11. Required Nutrients on Nutrition Labels • 1+7 (energy plus seven nutrients specified for labelling) – i.e. energy,protein, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugars and sodium. • Nutrient(s) involved in nutrition claim(s) (when the nutrition claim is on any type of fat, the amount of cholesterol must be declared as well). • For other nutrients, declaration is voluntary

12. Making Use of Nutrition Label Consumers can: • Compare the nutritional content among different foods for a healthier choice, e.g. choose food that is lower in fat, sodium (or salt) and sugars • Understand the nutritional content of food and estimate their contribution to the overall diet • To meet individual’s dietary needs

13. Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label

14. Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label Step 1 • Take note of the reference amount of food being used in the nutrition label Step2 • Read the energy and nutrient content together with the reference amount Step3 • Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value (%NRV), if available, to see if the food contains a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the food

15. Step 1: Take note of the reference amount offood being used in the nutrition label • Expressed as per 100 g (or per 100 mL) of food

16. Step 1: Take note of the reference amount offood being used in the nutrition label • Expressed as per serving (the serving size (in g or mL) and the no. of servings must be specified on the package)

17. Step 1: Take note of the reference amount offood being used in the nutrition label • Expressed as per package (if the package contains only a single serving)

18. Step 2: Read the energy and nutrient content together with the reference amount • Use nutrition label to compare between products • Use nutrition label to calculate the amount of energy and nutrients you get from food

19. Step 2A: Use nutrition label to compare between products (Partial) Nutrition label of Brand A biscuit (Partial) Nutrition label of Brand C biscuit • Products with nutritional content expresssed in the SAME reference amount If reference amount is the SAME, you CAN COMPARE between the products DIRECTLY

20. Step 2A: Use nutrition label to compare between products (Partial) Nutrition label of Brand A biscuit (Partial) Nutrition label of Brand D biscuit • Products with nutritional content expresssed in DIFFERENT reference amounts If reference amounts are DIFFERENT, you CANNOT COMPARE between the products DIRECTLY

21. Step 2A: Use nutrition label tocompare between products • Products with nutritional content expresssed in DIFFERENT reference amounts

22. Step 2B:Use nutrition label to calculate the amount of energy and nutrients you get from food • The more you eat, the more you get • If you eat 1 serving of biscuit • Get 8 g of fat, 3.5 g of saturated fat • If you eat 2 servings of biscuit • Get 16 g of fat, 7 g of saturated fat

23. Step 2B:Use nutrition label to calculate the amount of energy and nutrients you get from food • Energy and nutrient content expressed as per 100 g/mL

24. Step 3: Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value (%NRV), if available, to see if the food contains a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the food • %NRV is usually on a scale from 0% to 100%.

25. Step 3: Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value (%NRV), if available, to see if the food contains a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the food • For nutrients that needed to limit their intake • E.g. total fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugars • Look for foods that have lower %NRV • Get enough of nutrients that are good for health • E.g. dietary fibre • Look for foods that have higher %NRV

26. Use Nutrition Label to Choose Healthy Food

28. Principles of Healthy Eating • Choose a variety of food and eat cereals as the largest portion of food in every meal. • Eat a lot of vegetables and fruit. • Reduce the consumption of foodstuffs with high salt, fat and sugar content as well as those which are preserved. • A daily fluid intake of 6 to 8 glasses (including clear soup, fruit juice and tea). • Take meals regularly and in adequate amounts. (Source of information: Department of Health)

29. Nutrition Labelling is a Useful Tool for Practising Healthy Eating • Nutrition label and nutrition claim can help consumers choose healthier food in accordance with healthy eating principles and the Food Pyramid, e.g. • Choose biscuits lower in fat and sodium (or salt) • Choose dairy products lower in fat • Choose beverages lower in sugars

30. How to Choose Prepackaged Food to Prevent Heart Diseases?

31. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods • Take note of relevant nutrition claim as a quick screening tool; and • Take three simple steps to read nutrition label

32. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods • Choose foods with lower saturated fat, trans fat and sodium levels. For those who requires weight maintenance, choose foods with lower energy, total fat and sugars contents • Nutrition claim only gives a rough idea about the content of a particular nutrient, one should not make a food choice solely on the basis of a nutrition claim. In order to eat healthily, we should take note of other nutrients as well. For example, when buying a product with a “low cholesterol” claim, one should take note of the content of sodium and other nutrients.

33. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods Nutrient content claims on fat, saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol are classified into “Free” and “Low” claims Specific Conditions of Nutrient Content Claims-

34. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods Three Simple Steps to Read Nutrition Label Step 1 • Take note of the reference amount of food being used in the nutrition label Step 2 • Read and compare the nutritional content Step 3 • Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value (%NRV) (If available)

35. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods (Example 1)

36. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods (Example 2) Corn Flakes C Corn Flakes D

37. Preventing Heart Diseases – Choosing Prepackaged Foods (Example 3) Soup E Soup F

38. ENDS