If you have ever been grocery shopping, the experience can be overwhelming. The grocery stores' mission is to grab your attention as soon as you walk in. The store displays perfectly packaged sweets and football game-day snacks. These temptations are hard to resist if you are working on eating healthy.
I want to share some insight on navigating the grocery shopping experience so you can stay on track with fueling yourself with nutrient-rich food to improve your health. Most grocery store layouts work like this: on the store's perimeter, you will find fresh produce (vegetables and fruits), dairy, and meats. This section is the healthiest item in the store. The produce section should be your top priority, followed by dairy, eggs, and meats. For some dairy products, you have to be aware of a common preservative called Carrageenan that is linked to causing colon cancer.
The food in the section of the aisle in the center of the store is processed food, where most items have nutritional facts labels except for some spices, tea, coffee, or non-edible items. These items in the center of the store have to be viewed carefully with knowledge and patience. Knowing how to read nutritional facts labels is crucial to consuming foods that promote wellness.
Preservatives and additives, commonly found in the center of grocery stores, help food maintain a longer shelf-life while enhancing taste by preventing bacterial growth.
Sweeteners and Sugar
Before purchasing a can of Coke, please closely examine its nutritional facts label. It may state that it contains 39 grams of sugar per serving. However, it's essential to keep in mind that the American Heart Association recommends that men should consume no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar daily. In comparison, women should consume only six teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day. One teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams of sugar. We often assume that certain products like granola bars are healthy choices but can be loaded with sugar. Therefore, it's essential to educate yourself about the amount of sugar you consume to avoid an increased risk of diabetes or cancer.
An artificial sweetener to avoid in products is high-fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup breaks down in the body differently than glucose found in table sugar and has been linked to the development of diabetes and heart disease.
Salt and Sodium
The American Heart Association reports that most of our high salt intake comes from processed or restaurant foods—increased consumption of salt/sodium leads to heart disease and stroke.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, Americans consume nearly 3,400 mg of sodium daily. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults limit salt consumption to less than 2,300 mg daily, approximately one teaspoon of salt a day.
When shopping, be mindful of your foods' salt, sodium, disodium, and trisodium content, as these can be names found on your packing. Some meats have added salt content reading on the labels: meat in brine, cured/preserved in salt water.
As a species, humans have evolved to have a preference for foods that are sweet or salty. This preference is thought to have developed as a survival mechanism, as sweet foods are often high in energy, and salt is necessary for bodily functions. However, in today's world, this preference is being exploited by the food industry, which creates and markets highly processed, sugary, and salty foods that are not only addictive but also contribute to various health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry profits from the health problems caused by these foods by selling drugs to manage the symptoms or cure diseases, creating a vicious cycle where people become sicker, heavier, and more dependent on these industries, leading to increased profits.
Learning about the foods we buy at the grocery store is vital to prevent diseases. By being informed about the nutritional value and possible health implications of the foods we consume, we can make informed decisions that can positively impact our overall well-being.
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