Are foods labelled ‘lighter’ any healthier?

So called low fat foods can contain a similar number of calories to the standard versions and in some cases contain even more sugar, according to a study by consumer watchdog Which?

The investigation by Which? found that as many as six out of 10 consumers eat low fat and light foods several times a week, believing that they are a healthier option and can help them to lose weight. But its snapshot sample of 12 low fat, reduced and light products from supermarkets, compared with their standard counterparts found minimal differences in calorie content.

A standard McVitie’s chocolate digestive contained 85 calories and a light one had 77. A Tesco low fat yoghurt had more calories per pot at 130 than a standard Activia version at 123, while the Tesco option contained more sugar at 20.2g, more than four teaspoons than the 16.9g in the Activia pot. The high fat and saturated fat content of cheese, meant Cathedral City lighter cheddar still contained a fat content, higher than the governments recommended guidelines.

The problem appears to be the public’s general misconception of words such as: low fat, lighter, lite and lighter. Labelling regulations define low fat as containing less than 3% fat, which is great; however, what most people don’t realize is that there is a big difference between low fat foods and those labelled light, lite and lighter. A product labelled light, lite or lighter only has to contain 30% less fat than the standard version.

30% less fat than the standard product sounds very good, but not if the standard product contains far too much fat in the first place. In such cases even though the product contains 30% less fat than the standard product, it still contains a very high fat content.

Which? found misconceptions among consumers about the meaning of the terms reduced fat and light, with only 16% of people correctly stating that products carrying the label had to contain 30% less fat than the standard alternative. The Consumer Watchdog said, “While shoppers believe that words such as light and low fat are interchangeable, they have significantly different meanings.”

Richard Lloyd, executive director at the consumer group Which? warned consumers to read the labels carefully before they buy light, lite or lighter foods. He said, “Consumers are choosing low fat and light options believing them to be a healthier choice, but our research has found that in many cases they’re just not living up to their healthy image. Our advice to consumers is to read the nutritional labels carefully.”

This is a view backed up by Maya Monteiro, Senior Education Manager at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), who said, “There is a troubling lack of understanding about the calorie content of everyday food, a fact that is not helped by products being labelled light, when in fact they have a very high calorie content.”

One positive development is the introduction of the traffic light labelling system, which many of the major Supermarkets are now adopting. Food sold pre packed is labelled with a traffic light label, showing at a glance the proportions of fat, saturated fats, sugar, and salt using traffic light signals for high (red), medium (amber) and low (green) percentages for each of these ingredients.

Ingredient	Green (low content)	Amber(medium content)	Red (high content)
Fat	less than 1,5 g	between 1,5 g and 10 g	more than 10 g
Saturated Fats	less than 0,75 g	between 0,75 g and 2,5 g	more than 2,5 g
Sugar	less than 2,5 g	between 2,5 g and 6,3 g	more than 6,3 g
Salt	less than 0,3 g	between 0,3 g and 1,5 g	more than 1,5

Foods with green indicators are healthier and to be preferred over those with red ones. The label is on the front of the package and easier to spot and interpret than Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) labelling, which will continue. The GDA is difficult to understand for many and does not lend itself to quick comparisons.

The use of traffic light labelling is supported by many physician groups, including the British Medical Association and welcomed by consumers. Despite worries from some in the food industry that red foods would be shunned, the British Medical Association, Food Standards Agency and others agree, that consumers interpret the labels sensibly, realise they can have red foods as a treat, and they are easier to understand than lists of percentages.

Which? has campaigned for clearer food labelling and is calling on Morrisons andIceland, the two remaining supermarkets yet to adopt the traffic light system, to do so as soon as possible.

Tea or Coffee: which is best for you?

We all like a good brew in the morning, whether it be a good old fashioned cup of tea or a latte from our favourite coffee shop on the way into work. In fact in Britain we spend over £2 billion a year on coffee, and the coffee shop industry is one of the fastest growing industries, and that’s despite the harsh financial times we live in. As regards tea according to the UK Tea Council we drink 60.2 billion cups a year.

Whilst which one we drink is a matter of preference, is it worth considering the pros and cons of tea and coffee? Well considering we drink so much of them it would seem to be a good idea.

Tea

According to several studies tea has more health benefits than coffee. A ­recent one from­Harvard University has ­discovered the immune cells of people who drink tea in the morning ­responded five times faster to germs than coffee drinkers.

The scientists there think tea ­reduces stress levels, whereas other caffeinated drinks, like coffee, can raise them and over time can weaken your immune system.

Another study ­published in the health journal ­Nutrition Bulletin discovered that ­regularly drinking tea can reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. It is also known that tea contributes to our daily fluid intake thus keeping us hydrated. However it is worth noting that whilst tea contains only half the caffeine content of coffee, it is recommended that we drink no more than five cups a day.

Coffee

Coffee contains double the caffeine found in tea and as we have reported in earlier articles, that can have positive or negative affects on our health depending on how much we drink. Interestingly coffee contains roughly the same amount of calories as tea (a tea or coffee with milk contains about 8 calories). The problem with coffee is the type of coffee we drink these days. As we mentioned at the beginning the meteoric rise of popular coffee shops such as Neros, Costa and Starbucks has led to us drinking a whole new kind of coffee, that brings with it a whole new set of health risks. Whilst at home we would drink maybe a black coffee with a small amount of milk added to it, the coffees we buy at coffee shops are usually milk based, are larger, and many of us add sugary syrups to them and add whipped cream to the top of them. Here is a list of the calorie content of the teas and coffee we drink.

Calories

Black tea with milk: 8 calories

Black coffee: 2 calories

Black coffee with milk: 8 calories

Starbucks medium sized latte: 223 calories

Costa medium sized latte: 206 calories

Starbucks medium sized (skinny) latte: 131 calories

Costa medium sized (skinny) latte: 115 calories

Whipped cream topping: 120 calories

One vanilla shot: 70 calories

Starbucks Strawberries & Cream Frappucino: 459 calories

Nero’s Double Chocolate Frappe: 483 calories

Clearly these coffees contain far more calories than a coffee we would drink at home, however it must also be noted that the skinny versions do contain just under half the calories. Another beverage that has started to grow in popularity is herbal or fruit teas which on average contain only 2 calories. According to Nutritionist and author of Health Eating Dr Carina Norris: “herbal teas are a fantastic addition to your diet, not only are they very low in calories they can also help improve your digestion, clear up your skin and help you sleep.”

Like many thing in life the advice from health professionals is to have such drinks in moderation. Dr Norris summed this up by saying: “a latte can contain between 200 and 300 calories, if you have two a day, that’s the equivalent of a full meal. Treat these drinks as you would a slice of cake, have them occasionally but don’t make a habit of them every day.”