Shopping for less saturated fat
It’s easy to cut the amount of saturated fat in your weekly supermarket shop by reading the labels carefully and making simple swaps.
Why do we need to read labels? Two products might look very similar but have a very different nutrition profile.
In 2011 we looked at five sets of similar products that had very different saturated fat contents.
Don’t assume they will look the same today. Check the nutrition information.
| Instead of | Choose |
|---|---|
| Fatty mince (where you can see the white marbling) with around 13g saturated fat per 150g serve |
Lean mince with around 4g saturated fat or less per 150g serve – 9g 60% less |
| Anchor Blue Top milk with 4.5g saturated fat per 200ml serve |
Anchor Trim milk or Calci+ milk with 0.2g saturated fat per 200ml serve – SAVE 4.3g 96% less |
| Delmaine Alfredo pasta sauce with 9.7g saturated fat per 80g serve |
Delmaine Pomodoro pasta sauce with 0.2g saturated fat per 80g serve – SAVE 9.5g 98% less |
| Mainland Natural butter with 7g saturated fat in 1 tablespoon |
Gold’n Canola Lite spread with 1.5g saturated fat in 1 tablespoon – SAVE 5.5g 79% less |
| Lisa’s Baby Spinach & Feta dip with 6g saturated fat per 50g serve |
Lisa’s Original Hummus with 0.5g saturated fat per 50g serve — SAVE 5.5g 92% less |
Total for all swaps
Was 40.2g, now 6.4g
= 84% less saturated fat
In context
The type of fat we eat, rather than the amount, is the most important factor for heart health. High blood cholesterol from saturated fat is the key factor explaining most coronary heart disease and strokes in New Zealand. If we are consuming the average 8700kJ each day, we are advised to have no more than 23g saturated fat in a day.
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