Whether you are on diet for weight loss, on a muscle gain plan, managing you diabetes, or just looking for healthy food. To know if food is really healthy, you need to know two things: how to read the nutrition labels, and understand the claims that foods make, like 'low calorie' 'high fiber' and others. We showed you the first. Now, we'll tell how to decipher claims that a food product makes.

Nutrient content claim is a claim that describes the level of a nutrient contained in a food. Here are the claims and what they mean:

  • Fat Free: The food can contains less  0.5 g fat per 100g of serving

  • Lite: The food which contain one-third fewer calories or half the fat of the "regular" version

  • Low in saturated Fat: The food contains less 1.5 g saturated fat per 100g of serving and less than 10% of calories for that food come from saturated fat

  • Cholesterol Free: The food contains less 0.005g of cholesterol per 100g of serving and less that 1.5 g saturated fat and less than 10% of calories for that food come from saturated fat

  • Sugar Free: The food can contain less than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 g

  • Low in Sodium: The food can contain less than  0.12 g sodium per 100g of the food

  • Sodium Free: The food can contain less than 0.005g or sodium per 100g of the food

  • Low Calorie: The food can contain less than 40 kcal per 100g of serving

  • Calorie free: The food can contain less than 4 kcal/100g of serving

  • Low in Fat: The food can contain less than 3 g fat per 100g of servings

  • Source of Protein: If the food contains not less than 10% of the Daily Value per serving

  • High Protein: If the food contains 10% to 19% of the Daily Value of protein per serving

  • Source of Vitamins and Minerals: If the food contains 15 % of the Daily Value per serving

  • High in Vitamins and Minerals: If the food contains 10% to 19% of the Daily Value per serving

Nutrient function claim: a claim that describes the physiological role of the nutrient in growth, development and normal functions of the body. Following claims are allowed if the meet the nutrient claim requirement mentioned above:

“Calcium aids in the development of strong bones and teeth”;
“Protein helps build and repair body tissues”;
“Iron is a factor in red blood cell formation”
“Vitamin E protects the fat in body tissues from oxidation”
“Contains folic acid: folic acid contributes to the normal growth of the fetus.”

So stop wondering what Atta Maggi ‘High Fiber’ means or if marie lite is really lite!! And next time you are up for food shopping compare the food label with the claim requirement before billing.