Health Gem

If you do one thing this week . . . read the ingredient list

WHEN YOU buy packaged food in the supermarket, do you know what’s in it?

Surveys by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland show that while we are becoming increasingly aware of food labels, over a quarter of us still don’t pay them any attention.

Yet a quick scan of the ingredients list on a packet is a quick way to get vital clues about what lies within.

Ingredients are listed in order of abundance, so if sugar or hydrogenated fats are high up on that list, chances are that food won’t be winning any health awards soon.

And if it feels like you would need a degree in chemical engineering to understand most of the listed terms, then perhaps it’s a good idea to put the packet down and seek out a less complicated alternative.

Rules of thumb outlined by Michael Pollan, author of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, include choosing items that contain five or fewer ingredients, and “If you can’t say it, don’t eat it.”