Take a look at the new style boxes of Kellogg's breakfast cereals and you could be forgiven for thinking you had picked up a GCSE mathematics text book, not a packet of your favourite flakes. For there, slap bang on the front of the pack is a complicated looking graph that compares the amount of calories, fat, salt and other nutrients in a bowl to the amount you should be getting each day - a figure known as the 'Guideline Daily Amount' or GDA for short.

It looks mind boggling complex any time of day, not least when you are half asleep at the breakfast table, and if the results of a recent survey are to be believed, many food labels confuse rather than help us make healthy choices.

In a way this is hardly surprising. Think about it. Manufacturers want us to buy their products and will do everything it takes on pack to get them into our trolleys. Blinding us with excessive nutritional information and health claims is favourite means of doing so.

But the good news is that by having all the real facts and figures you need to make healthy choices at your finger tips (see table below) and knowing a few classic pitfalls, then getting label savvy does not need hours of swatting or pouring over endless figures and graphs.

The new 'Low GI' logos are a case in point. Quick to capitalise on the success of the popular low GI way of eating (low GI carbohydrate foods are digested slowly, helping us to control our food intake and loose weight), some manufacturers have already begun to cash in by putting Low GI symbols on their products.

You may assume the new 'Low GI' symbols appearing on foods signal the OK as a healthy choice and with foods like Nairn's 'Low GI' oat cakes or Burgen Soy and Linseed 'Low GI' bread, this is the case.

Yet some foods like ice cream and chocolate are low GI because their fat slows down the digestion of their sugar. Certain chocolate ice creams already carry a 'Low GI' flash in Australia which is leading the way in low GI labeling and we are likely in the UK to follow suit. Remember though, a food may be low GI but it still supplies calories. Eat too much and you will put on weight. It is a classic case of using your common sense to see your way through the labeling hype.

The same goes for 'Low Carbohydrate' or 'Net Carb' labels which are springing up on jams, breakfast cereals and for instance, 'Low Carb' Kit Kat and Rolos. These foods have had sugar replaced with ingredients such as maltitol or sorbitol which, because they do not raise blood sugar as rapidly as standard sugar, manufacturers do not 'count' as carbohydrate. Yet these products often contain the same calories as the original normal carbohydrate version. Be warned. Low Carb does not equal 'low calorie'.

More familiar labels like 'Reduced Sugar' may have been around for several years, but may still be confusing. Just remember that 'Reduced' means the food contains 25% less of the nutrient referred to which is not the same as being 'low'.

To avoid falling into such traps whether low GI, low carb or reduced this, that and the other, the most reliable tool you have on a food label are the figures that appear in the nutrition box giving nutrients per 100g and better still per serving. Check out our quick guide for the inside track.

Quick Guide to Getting Label Savvy

Energy

The energy in food is measured in calories (kcal) and must be shown on the nutrition label as kcal per 100g of the product. Some manufacturers also choose to give calories per actual serving of the product. Eating more calories than we need leads to weight gain. The Bottom Line: Women need a total of around 2000 calories a day, men 2500.

Fat

Total fat is given per 100g of the product and sometimes also per serving. Fat is a rich source of calories and overeating can easily lead to weight gain.
The Bottom Line: 20g of fat per 100g is a lot. 3g of fat or less is a little. Women need a maximum of 70g of fat a day, men 90g.

Saturated fat

Some labels also tell us how much of the total fat is saturated. Saturated fat is known to raise levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the blood that puts us at risk of heart disease. Attempt to cut back.
The Bottom Line: 3g of saturated fat per 100g is a lot. 1g per 100g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 20g a day, men 30g.

Sugar

The amount of added sugar in a food or drink is not always given. Sometimes only the total carbohydrate figure (which includes sugar) is supplied. If this is the case, look for where 'sugar' appears in the ingredients list. The higher up the list it is, the more sugar it contains. Be aware that sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, golden syrup, maple syrup, treacle, invert sugar (a mix of glucose and sugar used in making boiled sweets) honey, dextrose and maltose are all added sugars.
The Bottom Line: 10g of sugar per 100g is a lot. 2g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 28g (7 teaspoons) of added sugar per day, men no more than 34g (8 teaspoons) per day.

Sodium

Sodium is a trace mineral naturally present in tiny amounts in food. Most sodium in foods comes from added 'sodium chloride' better known as salt. Most of us are frightened of eating too much salt and with good reason because it can raise blood pressure and significantly increase risk of stroke and heart disease. By law it is the amount of sodium in grams that must appear on the nutrition label.

The Bottom Line

Aim to cut right back on sodium by not adding salt to foods at the table and by avoiding processed foods that contain 0.5g or more of sodium per 100g which is considered to be a lot. 0.1g per 100g is a little. Women and men should aim for no more than 2.5g of sodium a day.

Traps and Insider Tips

Calories

Manufacturers have a 20 per cent leeway either side of the figure they declare. If yoghurt declares a calorie count of 100 per 100g, it could in fact have 120 or 80 and still be legal.
Insider Tip: If you are following a calorie-counted diet, stick to basics like porridge, meat, fish and two vegetables and fruit for snacks and buy a calorie counting guide to keep an accurate track.

Low Fat Spreads

When used on any other food or drink, the legal definition of 'low fat' is that the product contains less than 3g of fat per 100g. Spreads however have their own set of rules. For a spread to qualify as 'low fat' it must have 40g of less of fat per 100g. A 'very low fat' spread must have 20 - 30g.
Insider Tip: There is no such thing as a spread that is genuinely low in fat.

Light and Lite

These terms can refer to the texture of the product meaning it is light in texture. Like a 'light' fruit cake. It does not mean it has fewer calories than any other version.
Insider Tip: Ignore these claims and head straight for the calories per 100g and per serving.

% Fat Free

Percentage fat free claims were supposed to have been voluntarily dropped by the food industry but are creeping back on to our food labels. The exception is if a food contains less than 3g of fat per 100g making it 97% fat free.
Insider Tip: Ignore all % free claims, even 97% fat free ones. With sweet foods like biscuits and cakes they may be 97% fat free but have extra sugar added to replace the fat that has been removed. Once again, check the calories before serving before tucking in.

When is a raspberry yoghurt not a raspberry yoghurt?

A raspberry 'flavour' yoghurt is just that. It is a yoghurt that is made to taste like raspberries by using artificial flavours. A raspberry 'flavoured' yoghurt on the other hand must have most of its raspberry taste coming from real raspberries.
Insider Tip: To cut down on artificial flavourings, avoid products that use the word 'flavour'.

You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It

If any product appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Insider Tip: Always read the small print in the nutrition box.

What is Not on the Label

No Nutrition Information on Pack

This invariably means the manufacturer does not want you to know what he has packed away in his product.
Insider Tip: Avoid like the plague.

Trans Fats

Trans fats are made when vegetable oils are hardened by a process called 'hydrogenation' to make margarine. They raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol which increases risk of stroke and heart disease. In America they will appeared on nutrition labels from January 2006. There are no plans to put them on the nutrition information panel in the UK as yet although you fill find supermarkets and individual food manufacturers are removing them from products and flagging this up on the front of packs. Insider Tip: To avoid trans fats avoid foods that contain 'hydrogenated' fats in the ingredients list.

Pesticides, Hormones and Vetinary Medicine Residues

Manufacturers do not need to declare any of these substances used during production of their foods and drinks.
Insider Tip: If you want to avoid them, go for organic foods. Look for a stamp from organic certifying body such as the Soil Association. To qualify for organic certification a food or drink must have at least 95% organic ingredients. Non organic ingredients can only be used if organic equivalents are not available. They must be declared.

What Does That Mean?

'Kitchen fresh scones'; 'garden fresh peas' and 'ocean fresh' fish are emotive words used to sway a shopping decision but they mean little concerning a product's quality. Don't be persuaded by the 'ahh' factor on food labels. Descriptions like 'Country Style' mean nothing. Try to think objectively before you buy.