if you need to keep an eye on your diet, and if you do not right now, then you will have to one day, you should begin learning the caloric values of the different foodstuffs and liquids that you like to consume most frequently.

For instance, you should know items like: 100g (4 ozs) of green beans is worth 100 calories. The next problem comes with what 100g of green beans looks like.

This comes with practice, but of course 100g of green beans looks different to 100g of beef or 100g of potatoes. Scales will help here, but they are cumbersome to carry around with you and use in public. Most people underestimate their portions, whether by accident or on purpose.Still, practice makes perfect, so the earlier you start the better.

Another useful part of dieting, and regulating allergies for that matter, is knowing what is in your food, particularly if it comes out of a tin or jar.

The contents and the additives should be written on the side, but it is usually only the non-contentious ingredients that are put in plain English. So, how do you interpret food labels?

The amount of data given and the clarity of description it is given in, differs from country to country, but in general the label will tell you the quantities of: saturated fat, absolute fat, sodium (salt), sugar, fibre, cholesterol and calories per serving. Obviously, you have to know what they mean by ‘a serving’ or portion.

It may also give you the nutritional make-up of the contents, for instance: citric acid, B5, B12 and it might even give the RDA (Recommended Daily Amount) of those nutrients. And if you are lucky, you will be told the additives as well. Additives are controversial, so in Europe they are given in ‘E Numbers’ so that people may not understand them.

The more information on the label the more important it is to know the serving size. For instance if you are attempting to follow a sodium-controlled diet and you see that the tin contains 2g of salt, it makes a colossal difference whether the tin contains one or four servings.

Similarly, if the can contains 500 calories per serving. If the tin contains four servings, it is equal to 2,000 calories or more than the majority of people ought to be eating in twenty-four hours!

As you unearth what a manufacturer means by a serving, it is worth putting the information in a book, because it is fairly possible that Cambells and Batchellors, for example, have different ideas on what constitutes a serving and it may vary from country to country too. A manufacturer of, say, soup might recommend 100 g as a serving in Thailand, but 150 g in Europe.

The ingredients of the can are listed from the largest amount, which is usually the cheapest, say, water, potatoes or pasta to the smallest, which will be the E numbers, which will be flavour-enhancers, colouring and preservatives. Coming at the end of the list like that, it is easy to think that the quantities must be very small and therefore not worth worrying about.

But it is worth troubling yourself about them if you are allergic to them, so once again, if you see an additive that you do not know, type it into Google and compose a summary in your notebook, which you should take shopping with you.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several topics, but is currently involved with the Mattress Bed Bugs Covers. If you would like to know more, go over to our website at Bed Infestation.