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Trans fats Young’s trans fat policy, click here...
Trans fats are used by the food industry to harden-up vegetable oils which would otherwise be too soft to use in particular products such as biscuits and pizza bases. However, the food industry is now beginning to move away from using trans fats, because of the health implications, where it is technically feasible and where it does not result in a rise in the use of saturated fat.
The National Academy of Science (NAS) advises the United States and Canadian governments on nutritional science for use in public policy and product They state: “While both saturated and trans fats increase levels of LDL cholesterol (so-called "bad" cholesterol), trans fats also lower levels of HDL cholesterol (so-called "good" cholesterol) and this increases the risk of coronary heart disease(CHD).” The NAS is concerned "that dietary trans fatty acids are more deleterious with respect to CHD than saturated fatty acids".
But Despite this concern, the NAS dietary recommendations have not recommended the elimination of trans fat from the diet. This is because trans fat is naturally present in many animal foods, and therefore in most consumes diets; its removal from ordinary diets might introduce undesirable side effects and nutritional imbalances if proper nutritional planning is not undertaken, such as raising the level of saturated fat. The NAS has therefore recommended that “trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet".
In the UK, authorities, such as COMA and the FSA have suggested that the overall level of trans in the UK diet should be below 2% of dietary energy. In 2002, UK consumed around 1.2% of trans but that now may be lower due to the extensive reformulation of oils and spreads that has been happening in the UK.
Salt Young’s policy on salt, click here...
Surprisingly although many fish spend their lives in sea-water, they do not have high levels of salt in their flesh. This is good news as It is believed that eating more than 6 grams of salt a day over a period of time may lead to an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure puts you at an increased risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
Although experts now agree that you should not have more than about 6 grams of salt a day, if you are Mr or Ms Average, you are probably having over a third more than this and somewhere in the region of 9.5 grams a day. This intake can happen without consciously adding a lot of salt to your food. About 75 per cent of your salt intake may be hidden by being included in processed foods such as ready meals and from eating out.
The following hints may help you to reduce your overall salt intake:
Try to cut down on the amount of salt and salty ingredients you use in cooking: If your food is cooked well, using herbs and spices and fresh good quality ingredients, you don’t need to add salt to the recipe or at the table.
When you buy processed foods such as ready meals, soups and sauces, check out the amount of salt on the label. Food manufacturers have been reducing salt in the food they make on a gradual basis and also telling you how much salt is in the food.
Looking at the label for salt
Food labels are now a mine of information, but you do need to know how to interpret them. In the UK, salt has to be labelled as sodium (due to a EU legal directive) but the label will often give you the salt equivalent. And this is certainly the case with all Young’s packaging.. Salt is actually a substance called sodium chloride and once in the body, the sodium and chloride elements separate. It is thought to be the sodium part of salt which can have the harmful effect if taken in excess.
The GDA for salt of 6 grams is this is equivalent to about 2.5 grams of sodium. So if the label only tells you the amount of sodium, you can work out the amount of salt by multiplying by 2.5.
Some labels will also tell you what percentage of your GDA is in a portion of the food. So if say a pizza slice contains 3 grams of salt, this will be 50 per cent of your GDA for salt (and therefore it is giving you quite a lot of your salt limit for the day). |
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