Tips for Improving the Health Status of Your Grocery Cart

Category: Diet and Nutrition

Eating healthier begins with a trip to your local grocery store. If you are fortunate enough to live near a large health food store, some of the work is already taken care of for you. The most basic elements begin with choosing pure foods devoid of artificial sweeteners, dyes, preservatives, pesticides and waxes. This involves reading food labels and looking at the list of ingredients. The most important ingredient to ensure is not contained in your food item is partially hydrogenated oils, which are also called trans fats. These are the most hazardous product on grocery shelves, prompting the federal government to require manufacturers to identify trans fats on the food label if it contains more than 1 gram of trans fat per serving. If there is less than 1 gram, you will not see it on the food label, but you will still know from the ingredients, making it necessary to check both. Anything containing high fructose corn syrup should also be avoided.

Probably the most straightforward advice for healthy food selections is to stay on the perimeter of the grocery store where all of the freshest food is kept. The aisles contain mostly packaged foods that have been processed to some degree in preparation, except for dried goods like whole grains, nuts and legumes. In an ideal world where time does not limit food preparation, making everything from scratch is the goal. However, realistically this approach is hard to accomplish in the homes of working families with children.

For the majority of us, following these tips can keep you healthy:

1. Buy organic whenever possible. Meats and dairy products should always be organic, while some fruits and vegetables are ok to buy conventional. Check out the Environmental Working Group website for a list www.ewg.org

2. Get adequate protein with every meal or snack - stock up on chicken and turkey breast, nuts (raw and unsalted), extra firm tofu, tempeh, organic omega-3 eggs, nuts and beans (canned are fine).

3. Buy an abundance of colorful, fresh fruits and vegetables to make sure you get the recommended 5-7 servings per day. Make sure you include garlic, onions and leafy greens.

4. Choose plain yogurt with live active cultures to support a healthy digestive tract.

5. Pasta is not to be feared as some diets preach. Choosing protein-enriched pasta ("Barilla-Plus") or whole wheat pasta are the best options as they have the lowest glycemic index. Also choosing thicker shaped pasta like macaroni over thinner shaped spaghetti and angel hair pasta can lower the glycemic index.

6. Great whole grain options include: brown basmati rice, bulgur, barley, oats and quinoa (the highest in protein of all the grains).

Posted by Dr. Jennifer Stagg on February 3, 2014 10:00 AM