Are YOUR portion sizes too big? Expert reveals how packaging size tricks us into eating too much of everyday foods such as microwave rice and fruit smoothies
- Dr Gill Hart warns pre-packed meals are tempting us to gorge more than we need
- Claims amount of certain foods can determine severity of our food intolerances
- Risking our health with larger portions by increasing intake of salt, sugar and fats
- Common culprits include Super Noodles, condiments and crisps like Pringles
If one of your New Year promises is to lose a few pounds, experts claim getting wise to recommended portion sizes could be a good idea.
Many of our favourite foods come in deceptive packaging and contain much more than an acceptable single serving amount.
On a daily basis, few of us Brits have the time to consider and properly measure out portion sizes, especially if meals are handily pre-prepared for us.
But not doing so means many of us are gorging more than we need – and can even contribute towards food intolerances.
Dr Gill Hart, scientific director at food intolerance testing firm YorkTest Laboratories, says the amount of certain foods we eat can sometimes determine the severity of our body’s reaction.
She warned that we are also risking our health with larger portions by increasing our overall intake of calories as well as salt, sugar and unhealthy fats in our diet.
With that in mind, Dr Hart has rounded up 10 everyday items we may not realise we’re having more of than we should – with breakfast cereals and microwave rice big offenders.
A 450ml bottle of Naked Blue Machine Smoothie packs a whopping three servings – meaning you should only polish off a third of each bottle at a time
Fruit smoothies
Supermarkets are the go-to place for millions of us out on our daily lunch breaks.
You may reach for a smoothie or fruit juice to get your healthy kick for an afternoon at your desk.
But a 450ml bottle of Naked Blue Machine Smoothie packs a whopping three servings.
‘With three servings packed into one small bottle, it’s unlikely many of us will stop drinking a third of the way down the bottle,’ warned Dr Hart.
Breakfast cereals
A 30g serving of cereal with 125ml of milk is the recommended amount – and that’s a lot less than you might imagine
Breakfast cereal is another eyeopener – many of us generally just pour it straight out of the box into the bowl without measuring a portion.
A 30g serving with 125ml of milk is the recommended amount – and that’s a lot less than you might imagine.
‘Cereals can be high in sugar and salt content,’ said Dr Hart. ‘Diets high in sugar may lead to health issues such as type 2 diabetes.’
Microwave rice
Half a portion of Uncle Ben’s pilau rice (125ml) contains 12 per cent of your daily salt intake
There’s little required for cooking a packet of microwavable rice – but a 250g bag of Uncle Ben’s is actually twice the recommended serving amount.
Furthermore, half a portion of their pilau rice (125ml) contains 12 per cent of your daily salt intake.
‘While their recommended serving size is relatively low in salt, doubling up will mean you will have consumed 24 per cent of the recommended daily amount of salt,’ said Dr Hart.
Super Noodles
Having a whole packet of Super Noodles would mean you’re well on the way to consuming a fifth of your recommended daily salt intake
You’d think a full packet would be one portion right? Wrong. Half of this student staple is the recommended amount.
That alone provides 0.65g of salt (10 per cent of your recommended daily salt intake).
Having the whole packet would mean you’re well on the way to consuming a fifth of your recommended daily salt intake.
Coca-Cola
A 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola is two recommended portions – so you should only really drink half of it, as each 250ml contains 27g of sugar
Don’t be fooled into thinking a 500ml bottle of coke is a single helping – it’s actually two recommended potions.
The fizzy drink contains 27g of sugar in 250ml, which is 29 per cent of your daily recommended amount of sugar. That means a whole bottle would give you a massive 54g of sugar.
Dr Hart said: ‘As well as high levels of sugar in the non-diet versions, carbonated drinks aren’t thirst-quenching either, so keep them to a minimum and opt for water or herbal teas instead.’
Chocolate
Cadbury Buttons come in or around 120g bags – so a recommended portion is just eight buttons
Beware the alluring grab bag; Cadbury’s tempting treats are regularly on special offer for £1 at most major supermarkets.
Buttons, Twirl Bites, Caramel Nibbles, Bitsa Wispa – to name a few – come in or around 120g bags.
But don’t presume you can munch your way through the whole packet in one sitting, as just one fifth is the recommended portion.
That equates to just eight chocolate buttons or 16 smarties. You’re better off sticking to a couple of squares of dark chocolate, which in moderation can have greater health benefits and contains less sugar.
‘Dark chocolate contains antioxidants which can be beneficial to your overall health,’ said Dr Hart.
Pizza
A 245g pizza – such as this classic Margherita from Pizza Express – is double the recommended serving size
Who doesn’t love scoffing a heavily loaded pizza while watching a movie?
Sadly, the ‘recommended’ portion is no where near the entire plate. If you bought a 245g pizza – such as the Pizza Express classic Margherita from supermarkets – you’d only been looking at eating half of it.
Pringles
There are around 90 crisps in a regular Pringles tube and less than half that in the snack size pack – and a recommended portion is just 10 crisps
The saying goes: ‘Once you pop you can’t stop!’ But following the nutritional guidelines means stopping at 10 Pringles.
There are around 90 crisps in a regular Pringles tube and less than half that in the snack size pack.
But with a measly 10 Pringle suggested portion size, you’ll have to pop the lid back on and save the rest for another day.
Condiments
The suggested portion size for your average Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle (500ml) is only one tablespoon
Most of us are a sucker for sauces when it comes to our evening meals, but are you counting your condiment portions?
The suggested portion size for your average Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle (500ml) is only one tablespoon – roughly 13.6ml. This goes for mayonnaise, mustard and salad cream as well.
One tablespoon of ketchup has 3.2g of sugar. It’s thought that we overload on a massive three tablespoons per meal when it comes to our favourite sauces. That’s 10.2g of sugar!
Ice cream
A 500ml tub of your average Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (pictured) is a whopping five serving sizes
The recommended serving portions of your average Ben & Jerry’s are enough to give you brain freeze.
Most of us could probably eat a whole 500ml tub if we wanted to pig out on a Friday night.
But you will find that a 500ml tub is a whopping five serving sizes. It’s recommended that you should have only half a cup of ice cream before you unwillingly put the lid on and pop it back into the freezer.
Dr Hart added: ‘Recommended serving sizes are becoming increasingly confusing and you might actually be consuming much more than you think you are.
‘If you know your trigger reaction foods, it’s wise to eliminate them entirely.
‘But sometimes being mindful about the amount you can tolerate may manage your symptoms associated with that particular trigger food.’
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