Food Page

Diagnosis - Thought about nutrition?
Digital - What sets us apart
Macros - In brief, and our data source
Foods - Whole food insights
Support - UK Organisations & Charities

Have you thought about your nutrition?

I was admitted to Hospital in poor shape, I was discharged around a week later, well enough to go home with help and medication.

I was provided with contact details for when I needed more NHS support. However, dietary advice was considerably absent as an ongoing care consideration.

Soon after I had to re-attend for further treatment. I had a brief chat with the Consultant while getting prepped, she brought up the subject of diet and gave me a basic A4 sheet, I’m glad she did.

It was after this that I started to undertake my own research, I started reading books and would often search online for a foods nutrition. I started to weigh food portions to get a general idea of my consumption and jot these down.

I changed my diet considerably, and for some time I would eat lots of chicken, Mediterranean vegetables, fruits, yogurt, very few if any jarred sauces, no takeaways etc. and this worked well. Months went by and I, like many others started to lapse. Instead of separate meals I started to eat the same as my family desserts started to creep in (to often for me), some jarred sauces and processed foods, the odd take away, and zero alcohol beers most days.

Weight, waist size, body fat and ailments increased while my energy levels went up and down. So I, like many others need to find the right balance again and choose sustainable meal options that I can stick to, foods that benefit overall wellbeing, and in my case that are also easy / easier on the liver.

A good place to start

If you or a family member has a diagnosis and you haven’t looked into nutrition, then a great place to start is the UK Charity or Organisation for your condition.

Please check them out if you haven’t already.

I have listed some of the major ones.

Apart from general nutrition they also tend to offer an array of useful knowledge and resources,

Please also refer to our Disclaimer in respect of the information published on this website.

Our Information

UK CoFID data

Nutritional values stated are from the UK Governments published Composition of Foods Integrated Data set 2021 (CoFID).
Macros

I have focussed on the basic Macros:
kcal, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Fibre
With some to watch:
Total sugars, Saturated Fat & Salt.
Example foods

I have included a selection of whole, natural foods.
Foods that usually do not have food labels citing nutritional content.
Organisations

Organisations and Charities are a great place to start researching your diagnosis.
I have included the main UK ones.

What sets us apart

I have come to realise and accept that my body is now compromised. I have noticed that when, and what I eat does have a significant effect on my general wellness. Different foods affect my energy levels, mood, minor ailments etc.

What I am looking to do with the digital templates is to provide you with a tool to monitor key wellness markers and daily food habits. Overtime you can then reflect on good and bad days and look for patterns.

Where possible I have included ‘Balance’ values per food item. A calorific proportion for each of the three main macros.

Many diets provide guidelines (ranges) of Protein - Fat - Carbs. This relates to where the energy comes from - ‘Balance’.

The Aardelia Premium Journal & Premium Cookbook include calculations which provide the basic macros based on portion size as well as the ‘Balance’ values. However Aardelia’s tools are designed as a lens towards helping you with your food choices. It is not designed for those wishing to micro manage their diet.

Simply knowing the macro breakdown of a food by weight is very useful and sometimes surprising.

Macros & Data Source

CoFID

The nutritional data shown on the Aardelia website and associated Aardelia digital products is taken from the UK Governments Composition of Foods Integrated Data set 2021 (CoFID).
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In Brief:

Dataset contains over 2400 items (including cooked foods)
Independent Analysis, values determined from various samples
Not taken from food supplier or food labels
Foods are widely available to the UK market
Averages may take account of seasonal variations
Farmed UK and European supplies may be used for averages
Nutritional values may be used for customer information, e.g. menu’s, food labelling

Macro & ‘Balance’ values

Each whole food page on this website includes:

A short intro with notable micronutrients or pigments and their possible benefits.
Per 100 g: basic macronutrient values from CoFID (note: CoFID may list many variants of the same food, e.g. different beef cuts, cooked or raw).
The food page title mirrors the food entry name within CoFID.

Macros included are: kcal, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, total sugars, saturated fat and salt.

I also show a “Balance value” using the Atwater method:
Each macronutrient is converted into energy using the standard Atwater convention (protein × 4 kcal, carbohydrate × 4 kcal, fat × 9 kcal). The energy from each macronutrient is then calculated as a percentage of the total macro energy.

This provides a simple way to see whether a food is predominantly carbohydrate-based, protein-based or fat-based.

It does not determine whether a food is “good” or “bad”, but helps visualise its macronutrient profile within a broader eating pattern.

Food labelling

I found the CoFID dataset during my research. I use its values across Aardelia because they are UK-approved and independent of food manufacturers. Many apps, especially outside the UK, likely don’t use this data.

UK and EU rules give food labels some leeway to account for supplier changes, seasonal ingredient differences, and testing costs. Labels can legally be up to about 20% inaccurate depending on a product’s macro mix.

I’m not building a micro-management diet tool, but using CoFID is a sensible, reliable choice.