Grocery Shopping Made Healthy

By now, you should be able to recognize some of the pitfalls of overdoing serving sizes and consuming low-quality foods. Food manufacturers and stores want you to purchase the foods that are the easiest and cheapest to produce, that are available in the greatest abundance, that have addictive properties, and that are the least perishable—basically, most of the foods you can find on the middle aisles of the supermarket. Some salad dressings don’t expire for five years. Is that something you want to put in your body? Read on to learn more about the foods to choose and avoid.

Total Carbohydrates
This information reveals the amount of all types of carbohydrates, both simple (sugar) and complex (starch). It is valuable information for diabetics, who count carbohydrates to control their blood sugar levels. Remember to choose the most wholesome carbs and to avoid the simple carbs.

Dietary Fiber
Choose foods with at least 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving, and aim to consume between 25 and 35 grams per day. High-fiber diets can lower cholesterol and help protect against heart and colon diseases.

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs
The real issue is whether carbs are whole-grain or simple. Simple carbs are sugars and refined, enriched or fortified grains. They are broken down in the body far too quickly, creating rapid spikes in blood sugar levels, and many end up being converted into fat to be stored when the body attempts to maintain its glucose and insulin balance. Sugar alcohols are also added to a lot of foods. They do not effect blood sugar like other carbohydrates, but they do have calories and can be stored as fat. Refined foods have been broken down by a machine, removing the most nutritious nutrients from the food, instead of letting our bodies process the food itself.

Whole grains have the grain intact. They can be identified by looking at food labels and seeing “100 percent stone-ground whole grain” listed as the first ingredient. You also want to look for a label that says “an excellent source of whole grains,” which means it should have at least 16 grams of fiber per serving. Complex carbohydrates are broken down more slowly in the body. They contribute to producing energy over a longer period of time, and they do not provoke a rapid hunger response or craving. As these foods are digested more slowly, rapid spikes in blood sugar do not occur, and glucose and insulin levels stay balanced better. Media outlets and many popular fad diets that address a low-carb lifestyle generally fail to address this all-important issue. Sprouted grains, such as those found in Ezekiel breads, are also good alternatives for a healthy carbohydrate.

Low Carb
Low-carb food products are now widely available, but they are still unregulated and confusing to consumers. Processed food with low-carb labels should be avoided or consumed minimally. Many snack foods, such as candy bars, energy bars and cookies, have low-carb labels, even though they are low in nutritional value and should be avoided.

Carb Intake and Diet
Carbohydrates are essential to the body, but severely restricting carbohydrate intake for more than a brief period poses a risk to kidney function, as well as possible nausea and fatigue.

Percent Daily Value
This column on a food label tells you the percentage of the recommended daily intake of each listed nutrient one serving provides. These values are based on estimates for someone eating a 2,000-calorie diet, so they may not apply to you.

100 Percent or Certified Organic
This label means that the food was grown without the use of any toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers. Organic meats may come only from animals raised on organic farms. Look for the USDA organic label on organic products. Some products will say “made with organic ingredients,” meaning organic substitutes may not have been available for all the ingredients in the product. In almost all cases, organic foods will always be your best choice. However, do not think that just because something says “organic” that it’s good for you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that a grocery cart filled with organic Pop-Tarts, cookies and chocolate milk is going to lead to a leaner, healthier you. While those foods are probably better than their non-organic counterparts, they can still contain empty calories—just with fewer toxins.

Trans Fats
There are four primary kinds of fats: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat and trans fat. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are the “good” fats. There is a conflict of opinion about saturated fat, but the consensus is that consumption of saturated fat should be kept low. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are very bad and are much worse for you than saturated fat. Trans fats contain plastics and should be avoided. In fact, they have been banned in several restaurants and cities.

Trans fats cause significant and serious lowering of HDL (good) cholesterol and a significant and serious increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol. They make the arteries more rigid, cause major clogging of arteries, and can cause or contribute to other serious health problems. Trans fats are placed in food to increase shelf life, but they can also decrease human life.

Be on the lookout for organic ingredients whenever possible. Some say they cost more, but when you compare it to the cost of disease, toxins in your organs, addictions to sweeteners, trips to the doctor, medication, side effects from additives and so on, they’re priceless.

Additional Reading

• Move into the Winner’s Circle!
• De-Stress for Health