Nutrition Labelling and Prevention of High Blood Pressure

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Nutrition Labelling and Prevention of High Blood
Pressure
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High Blood Pressure
1 in 3 men have high blood pressure -

• According to a local survey conducted in
  2003/2004, about 1 in 3 men and 1 in 4 women in
  Hong Kong have high blood pressure.
• People with high blood pressure may not know at
  its early stage of development and yet untreated
  high blood pressure can lead to heart attack,
  stroke, kidney failure, etc.

1 in 4 women have high blood pressure -
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Dietary Modifications for High Blood Pressure
Prevention

• Lower the intake of sodium can reduce the risk of
  developing high blood pressure.
• Lower the intake of saturated fat and trans fat
  can reduce the risk of developing heart diseases.
• Choose foods with lower energy, fat and sugars
  contents for those who are overweight.

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Preventing High Blood Pressure and Nutrition
Labelling

• Using nutrition label can help us to find out the
  sodium content of food products.

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Read and Use Nutrition Labels
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Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label
Tabular format
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Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label
Linear format (for small packages with total
surface area of less than 200 cm2)
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Required Nutrients on Nutrition Labels

• 17 (energy plus seven nutrients specified for
  labelling) i.e. energy, protein, total fat,
  saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugars
  and sodium.
• Nutrient(s) involved in nutrition claim(s) (when
  the nutrition claim is on any type of fat, the
  amount of cholesterol must be declared as well).
• For other nutrients, declaration is voluntary

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Making Use of Nutrition Label

• Consumers can
• Compare the nutritional content among different
  foods for a healthier choice, e.g. choose food
  that is lower in fat, sodium (or salt) and sugars
• Understand the nutritional content of food and
  estimate their contribution to the overall diet
• To meet individuals dietary needs

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Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label
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Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label

• Step 1 
• Take note of the reference amount of food being
  used in the nutrition label
• Step 2 
• Read the energy and nutrient content together
  with the reference amount
• Step 3 
• Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value
  (NRV), if available, to see if the food contains
  a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the
  food

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per 100 g (or per 100 mL) of food

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per serving (the serving size (in g
  or mL) and the no. of servings must be specified
  on the package)

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per package (if the package contains
  only a single serving )

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Step 2 Read the energy and nutrient content
together with the reference amount

1. Use nutrition label to compare between products
2. Use nutrition label to calculate the amount of
   energy and nutrients you get from food

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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  the SAME reference amount

If reference amount is the SAME, you CAN COMPARE
between the products DIRECTLY
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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

If reference amounts are DIFFERENT, you CANNOT
COMPARE between the products DIRECTLY
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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

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Step 2BUse nutrition label to calculate the
amount of energy and nutrients you get from food

• The more you eat, the more you get
• If you eat 1 serving of biscuit
• Get 8 g of fat, 3.5 g of saturated fat
• If you eat 2 servings of biscuit
• Get 16 g of fat, 7 g of saturated fat

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Step 2BUse nutrition label to calculate the
amount of energy and nutrients you get from food

• Energy and nutrient content expressed as per 100
  g/mL

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Step 3 Refer to the percentage Nutrient
Reference Value (NRV), if available, to see if
the food contains a lot or a little of energy or
a nutrient in the food

• NRV is usually on a scale from 0 to 100.

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Step 3 Refer to the percentage Nutrient
Reference Value (NRV), if available, to see if
the food contains a lot or a little of energy or
a nutrient in the food

• For nutrients that needed to limit their intake
• E.g. total fat, saturated fat, sodium and
  sugars
• Look for foods that have lower NRV
• Get enough of nutrients that are good for health
• E.g. dietary fibre
• Look for foods that have higher NRV

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Use Nutrition Label to Choose Healthy Food
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Principles of Healthy Eating

• Choose a variety of food and eat cereals as the
  largest portion of food in every meal.
• Eat a lot of vegetables and fruit.
• Reduce the consumption of foodstuffs with high
  salt, fat and sugar content as well as those
  which are preserved.
• A daily fluid intake of 6 to 8 glasses (including
  clear soup, fruit juice and tea).
• Take meals regularly and in adequate amounts.
• (Source of information Department of Health)

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Nutrition Labelling is a Useful Tool for
Practising Healthy Eating

• Nutrition label and nutrition claim can help
  consumers choose healthier food in accordance
  with healthy eating principles and the Food
  Pyramid, e.g.
• Choose biscuits lower in fat and sodium (or salt)
• Choose dairy products lower in fat
• Choose beverages lower in sugars

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How to Choose Prepackaged Foodto Prevent High
Blood Pressure?
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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods

• Take note of relevant nutrition claim as a quick
  screening tool and
• Take three simple steps to read nutrition label

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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods

• Choose foods with lower sodium and combined
  amount of saturated fat, trans fat. For those
  who require weight maintenance, choose foods with
  lower energy, fat and sugars contents
• Nutrition claim only gives a rough idea about the
  content of a particular nutrient, one should not
  make a food choice solely on the basis of a
  nutrition claim. In order to eat healthily, we
  should take note of other nutrients as well. For
  example, when buying a product with a low
  sodium claim, one should take note of the
  content of fat and other nutrients.

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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods
Nutrient content claims on sodium are classified
into Free, Very low and Low claims Specific
Conditions of Nutrient Content Claims -
Claim Free No Zero Without Does not contain Claim Very low Extremely low Super low (This category of claim applies to sodium only) Claim Low Little Low source Few Contains a small amount of
Meaning of Claim Insignificant amount of a particular nutrient found in the food Meaning of Claim A very small amount of sodium found in the food Meaning of Claim A small amount of nutrient found in the food
Example Sodium free (Contain not more than 5mg of sodium per 100g/mL of food) Example Very low sodium free (Contain not more than 40mg of sodium per 100g/mL of food) Example Low sodium free (Contain not more than 120mg of sodium per 100g/mL of food)
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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods

• Three Simple Steps to Read Nutrition Label
• Step 1 
• Take note of the reference amount of food being
  used in the nutrition label
• Step 2 
• Read and compare the nutritional content
• Step 3 
• Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value
  (NRV) (If available)

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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods (Example 1)

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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods (Example 2)
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Preventing High Blood Pressure Choosing
Prepackaged Foods (Example 3)
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ENDS
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Is Salt the Same as Sodium?

• Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the chemical name of
  salt
• Majority of sodium intake is from salt
• Salt or other sodium-containing food additives,
  e.g. sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, are often
  added to canned food and processed food
• Sodium itself also presents naturally in milk and
  cheese

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How Much Sodium Do We Need?

• The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends -
• The daily intake amount of sodium should not be
  more than 2 000mg
• i.e. approximates to 1 level teaspoon of salt