If you shop at supermarkets and include processed food in your shop, you’ll notice more and more the nutritional thumbnail appearing on the package. This thumbnail shows the recommended daily intake for an average adult. (DI = daily intake) It is handy to know what the recommended daily amounts are for protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, sodium and dietary fibre are. Understanding these amounts will make it easier to get a grasp of how much of each you are consuming from packaged goods. You should also check the serving size that these amounts refer to.
An average adult needs:
A general rule if a processed food is low in sugar, it will be high in fat, if it is low in fat and sugar, it will be high in sodium etc – so just watch out. A good generic product to start analysing intently is the muesli bar, still sitting in the cereal aisle but probably should be moved to the confectionery aisle. If you are having a muesli bar as some sort of a bridge between meals, you would do much better to have a small handful of almonds/walnuts/raisins/real cranberries (not ones with preservatives on them) or 2 fresh medjool dates and an apple.
Read this article comparing muesli bars to mars bars … but don’t get any ideas! read more
