Sir, – In her well-researched piece, Catherine Cleary illustrates how confusing and often misleading food labels can be ("What food labels say, and what they should say", May 7th). She goes on to give six helpful steps to cracking what food labels mean.
As someone involved in the education of the public on the subject of nutrition and healthy food choices to either manage or avoid chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, may I offer an alternative to becoming a food label sleuth? My six helpful steps to a healthier diet will minimise how much time and energy you devote to reading those confusing labels. 1) Drink plain tap water – there’s no sugar in that. 2) Eat plain yogurt to avoid those sugary alternatives (yes, it does taste different, but you will get used to it). 3) Buy loose, fresh fruit and vegetables – no label there. 4) Buy label-free protein foods – fresh meat, fish, poultry, eggs, pulses, nuts and seeds. 5) Choose wholegrains – rice, pasta, cereal, breads; if you feel compelled to read a label, look for a fibre content of greater than 6g per 100g. 6) In general, lay off the salty, sugary snacks (yes, it will involve effort and perseverance, but you will get used to it).
And finally, instead of spending 30 minutes dissecting the fine print of a food label, and ruminating about which yogurt has the least amount of sugar in it, get out there and walk briskly for 30 minutes! – Yours, etc,
KATHLEEN JORDAN,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.