Back in my teenage years when I was on the cusp of developing an eating disorder food labels were an all consuming obsession and spoke only the truth to my mind. If something said it was low fat then I equated that with healthy and serving sizes HAD to be obeyed…even one measly gram over was breaking some kind of food police set law (but actually who can eat just one piddly 30g of cereal?)

These days I’m thankfully no longer obsessed with what’s printed on the packaging and I’m not alone. A recent study conducted by Data Label quizzed 1006 people over the age of 18 in the UK and discovered that 31% don’t have confidence in food labelling on pre-packaged foods, 14% of which stating that they don’t trust them at all.

There’s been a lot of scaremongering in the media in recent years too which further compounds the issue and fuels the mistrust and this has very much been the case with me (despite my reluctance to admit to it). I find it quite sad really, and to the side of me that is still struggling with anorexic demons quite scary that what I once took to be true might not be the case- from unclear serving sizes to hidden nasties I think better education should be provided and clearer guidelines set on what should and shouldn’t be on a label or in the food we eat.

You can read more on the article on the female first website. If you’ll pardon the pun it’s certainly given me food for thought and as this year is my year for getting healthy and kicking 14 years of eating disorders in to touch and moving on with my life I shall certainly be following this further and educating myself on how to get the best out of the information provided.

I’d love to know your thoughts on food labels, do you trust them or do you too believe there is often more than meets the eye? I think the traffic light system was a great step in making labelling more uniform and easier to understand but there is still a long way to go before there is a standard across the board.

I also refuse to buy in to the media hype any more, one week we’re being told all fats are bad, the next we’re being told that the only yoghurt we should be eating is full fat and that real butter is the way forwards…with such conflicting advice I’m going with balance instead and enjoying what I want, when I want (just all in moderation of course). I’m by no means a health obsessed eater, I might fancy a chicken and avocado salad one day but beans on white bread toast the next- our bodies are well tuned to what we need and if we take a step back and listen to them I personally believe we can regulate ourselves.