Do you know what you eat?

Very few people bother to check the nutritional labels on packed food, says a study There is nothing wrong with loving your food. Only, we need to be careful about what we eat. Keeping your eyes and ears open about the nutritional labels on food packets is a sure-shot way of ensuring that we eat eight. The bad news: not many of us are circumspect enough, choosing, instead, to ignore what is written. This finding according to a study conducted in Britain by the research consortium Food Labeling to Advance Better Education for Life (FLABEL) is worrying indeed. At a time when lifestyles pressures have enhanced the need for eating right to maintain good health, how careful about our choice of food are we? Many would agree with what Sooni Taraporevala, screenwriter-photographer, has to say. “I don’t generally read what’s there on the labels. I just go shopping, and buy what I want,” says she. There are others who take a different route. Hear Pratima Kirloskar, a city-based entrepreneur, “I only go for branded products. So I know which ones to buy.” However, Pratima does check the label when she buys a product for the first time in order to figure out what she is going to eat. That checking the labels can be an eye-opener is something nobody can deny though. Model-actor Pooja Chopra does exactly that. “I love checking the details behind packets. Even when I’m buying milk, I make it a point to compare all the different brands and choose the one that suits me the best.” Singer Caralisa Monteiro agrees, “I always read what’s written on these labels.” The study by FLABEL holds true for many. Amrita Thapar, model-turned-entrepreneur, explains, “When young people and wives go to the malls, they just buy what looks good. They don’t care how unhealthy it is even if they can see it on the labels.” Fitness expert Abhimanyu Sable agrees, “The study is absolutely correct. The number of people who actually check the labels is very low.” But what does he do when he goes for grocery shopping? “I keep a check on what I buy. I avoid caffeine and high sugar content food. So, I always read the labels and buy what suits my diet,” says he. Most of us buy food without looking at the nutrition labels. Only few are very cautious, and prefer to do a thorough check before picking up what they like at the first glance. So, which group do you belong to?shruti.ravi@timesgroup.com