How to Shop Healthier at the Grocery Store
By Sara Butler
Making smart food choices when shopping at the store can be more difficult than it seems. There are so many messages, logos, and health claims on food packaging, it can be hard to avoid some serious brain strain and leave the store with the foods that are truly going to best support your continued health and wellness. Here are a few tips you can use at the store to help you shop smart and shop healthy.
Read Nutrition Labels
If you want to be able to tell at a glance whether a food is actually healthy for you, then you need to learn to read the food nutrition labels. The nutrition content and ingredients used to make the food can tell you a lot about it. Compare the food labels to similar offerings and choose the one with the least saturated fat, added sugars, trans fats, and sodium you can find.
Buyer Beware!
There are sneaky ingredients in a lot of foods out there. Added sugars and sodium are two big culprits that can sneak into even foods that seem healthy. You need to learn how to spot these ingredients and the different names they go by. Word to the wise, any ingredient ending in "-ose" is going to mean added sugar.
What If It's Not Fresh?
You don't have to buy fresh food if it's not practical or available in order to stay healthy. Often you can opt for canned, dried, or frozen produce instead and it'll be just as good for you like the fresh version and it'll last longer. You simply need to be aware of a few things to make it as healthy as possible such as buying fruit packed in water instead of juice or syrup, canned or frozen vegetables with the least amount of added sodium, and stay away from sauces or syrups.
Go Whole Grain
A lot of things claim to be made with whole grains, but it's important to check that they really are. You should look at the ingredients list for either whole grains or whole "name of grain" (such as whole wheat) as the very first ingredient. Use this strategy for bread, crackers, pasta, and other whole grain foods and you should be on a healthy path.
You can shop healthy if you know what to look for, so put these tips into action!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Shiloh, Ill.