When you’re walking around the supermarket it can be confusing trying to decide what to buy as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Many foods and drinks have different labels, front and back of pack, containing lots of information and can be difficult to understand.
To help you, we’ve taken a closer look at the labels of everyday kitchen favourites. We’ve included a calorie breakdown and some facts you may find surprising.
An average man needs 2,500 calories a day while for a woman it’s 2,000 calories. (53) The Reference Intake for total sugars as part of your diet is 90g a day for adults. This Reference Intake is based on the requirements for an average female with no special dietary requirements and an assumed energy intake of 2,000 calories. (44)
The references to the calorie percentages in this guide have been worked out based on the Reference Intake Guidelines of 2,000 calories a day and 90g of total sugars a day.
Smoked salmon (56g) and reduced fat soft cheese (30g) on two mini blini (17g) pancakes
Most of the sugars in this popular party canapé come from the naturally occurring lactose in the milk and cream used to make the soft cheese and blini pancakes, along with a pinch of sugar added to help the blinis rise and to add flavour to the salmon.
The low level of sugars in these cheese straws come from the naturally occurring lactose found in the gouda and edam cheese ingredients, along with tiny amounts in the seed toppings.
Most of the sugars in these vegetable spring rolls come from the naturally occurring sugars in the vegetables, with a small amount added during cooking for extra sweetness and flavour.
Prosecco is a popular party drink, but did you know that some of the sugars are naturally occurring from the grape juice from which it is made. Typically a little is also added, along with yeast to encourage the production of carbon dioxide bubbles. This gives prosecco its characteristic fizz.
Most of the sugars found in this fairy cake come from the sugars used to make the sponge base. The rest are in the icing glaze for sweetness and to decorate the cakes.
Most of the sugars in a chocolate mini roll come from the sugars added in the milk chocolate coating and buttercream icing, and the ingredients used to make the sponge roll.
Almost all of the sugars in these jelly babies are added for sweetness. A tiny percentage (0.8%) of naturally occurring sugars also comes from the citrus and berry fruit juice ingredients for flavour.
Most of the sugars in jelly sweets come from syrups and sugars added for sweetness and flavour. A small amount of naturally occurring sugars also come from the fruit juice and plant concentrates ingredients.
For one slice of this cheesecake, a large proportion of the sugars come from the naturally occurring sugars in the strawberries. Some sugars come from the lactose found in the milk from the cow used to make the topping, and there are also added sugars provided for taste and texture.
Did you know that the majority of the sugars in this ice cream dessert come from the added sugars used to make the ice cream? Some of the sugars also come from lactose found in the milk from the cow.
If you want to settle down to a nice glass of white wine on a Saturday evening it may be useful to note that the sugar in white wine comes from the grapes.
Did you know that the sugars in cider are typically from the apples? The yeast used to make the cider coverts some of the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide, which gives this cider its fizz.