The food industry often uses coy packaging and hidden unhealthy ingredients to sell processed foods. But the same deceiving marketing tricks are also used on quite a few of your favorite “healthy” foods. Here are some things to watch out for in the grocery store.
- Multigrain: The term multigrain means that the product is made with more than one type of grain, but it doesn’t mean that any of those grains are whole grains. Make sure you read the nutrition label carefully and look for whole-grain flour.
- Packaged kombucha and kefirs: Kombucha and kefirs are rich in vitamins and minerals, but have a naturally bitter taste. In an effort to mask the flavor, many packaged drinks have excess sugar, negating the health benefits. Opt for kombucha brands with less than 3 grams of sugar per serving and dairy-based kefir with less than 10 grams of sugar.
- Vegetable juice: While one glass of vegetable juice can equal two full servings of vegetables, many store-bought juices are heavy on starchy vegetables like beets and carrots. Others include fruit concentrates, sugar and salt for added flavor. Look for juice with organic vegetables, fruit and spices; one serving should not exceed 15 grams of carbohydrates.
- Bottled green tea: Bottled green teas often have chemical additives, sugars and corn syrup. Plus the benefits of green tea can degrade very quickly unless it has been stored in a light- and temperature-controlled environment. To make the most of green tea’s nutritional benefits, brew it yourself.
- Gluten-free snacks: It’s easy to forget that gluten-free crackers, cookies and muffins aren’t necessarily good for you. These snacks are often made from refined potato or rice fours that have added fat, sugar and artificial flavorings. Opt for gluten-free snacks that also contain fiber. Better yet, think of the snack as an opportunity to eat vegetables, pairing hummus and pea pods.
- Store-bought smoothies: Store-bought smoothies often contain juices, syrups and purees that are loaded with calories, contain added sugars, and lack the nutrients of whole fruit. Choose organic options with no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates and at least seven grams of protein per serving.
- Vegetable chips: These seemingly healthy carbohydrates are often colored with beet or spinach juice, made of wheat or rice flour, and contain virtually no vegetables. If you’re craving crunch, snack on free-dried vegetables like wasabi peas.
- Dried fruits: Because the drying process removes a lot of water, the fruit becomes a concentrated source of sugar. Dried tart fruit, such as cranberries, often contain added sugar or juice, causing even more calories. Opt for no sugar added varieties and keep in mind that one dried apricot (two pieces) still equals one apricot, even though it’s much smaller.
- Agave nectar: Agave contains fructose, a type of sugar found in fruit that the body doesn’t digest as easily as fruit. If consumed in high quantities, the body can store it more easily as fat. Because agave is sweeter than table sugar, you can use less.
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Organic foods are notoriously expensive. But you can save an average of 89% when you buy organic foods in bulk, compared to organic packaged counterparts. Not only will you save money, you will also eliminate packaging, saving hundreds of millions of pounds of waste from going into the landfills each year.
Keep in mind that purchasing large quantities of foods that are unhealthy (like candy or pasta) or that you end up throwing away is not a good deal for your health or pocketbook. For example, while a 50-pound bag of organic brown rice or a 15-pound bag of nuts may seem like a good deal, keep in mind that grains and nuts easily go stale and rancid when stored too long. When storing bulk dry goods, use airtight containers and keep them in a cool, dry and dark place. Raw nuts should be kept in the refrigerator. Here are some
tipsto keep your groceries fresh for longer.
You could also buy directly from a local farmer to get healthy, locally grown, organic food for less than you can find at your supermarket. To find a local farmer near you, visit
www.localharvest.org.
For more tips about buying in bulk, click
here.
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Your local grocery store is packed with thousands of food options. While many of the packaged options may tout nutritional benefits, they are more than likely not as healthy as they might seem. Below is a list of some of the best foods that you can buy in a grocery store.
- Almonds: Excellent source of monounsaturated fat, protein, and vitamins.
- Asparagus: Contains high levels of folic acid, which can help regulate moods by releasing serotonin
- Avocados: Linked to improved cardiovascular health and blood sugar regulation
- Berries: Contain high levels of vitamins and antioxidants
- Bell peppers: Consumption can assist the body in neutralizing free radicals, reducing your risk of disease
- Black beans: Nutrient-packed, heart healthy, and cheap
- Broccoli: Anti-cancer nutrients
- Brussels sprouts: Packed with essential nutrients and has the potential to prevent cancer
- Butternut squash: Low in calories and high in vitamin C
- Chicken breast: Source of lean protein; choose the organic, grass-fed chicken to get the most nutritional benefit
- Edamame: One of the few natural sources of vitamin E
- Eggs: Low in price, high in protein, and available year round
- Flaxseed: Abundant source of fiber, magnesium and calcium
- Garlic: Reduces cholesterol and triglycerides and protects blood cells and vessels from inflammatory stress
- Onion: Protects against heart attack
- Spinach: One of the most nutrient dense foods
- Salmon: Lean protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids
- Sweet potatoes: Excellent source of fiber, beta-carotene, and multiple vitamins
- Tomatoes: Loaded with antioxidants, low in calories, and packed with anti-cancer benefits
- Yogurt: Studies link yogurt consumption to better digestive health and an overall lower body fat percentage
Look Good Naked offers grocery store tours to help you identify misleading products and get the most out of your groceries. Contact Sara at
sara@2lgn.com for more information.
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Many companies use deceptive but legal loopholes to hide the unhealthy nature of the foods they are selling. Here are some common
package proclamations to look out for:
- Health claims: Foods are not authorized to treat diseases, so be suspicious of any food label that claims to be the next wonder drug. No, Cheerios should not be a substitute for cholesterol-lowering drugs.
- Flavored: Both natural and artificial flavors are made in laboratories. Natural flavors are not necessarily healthier than artificial. For example, the natural flavor of coconut is not from an actual coconut, but from the bark of a tree in Malaysia.
- Drink and cocktail: The FDA requires that the amount of juice be labeled on a package when it claims to contain juice. But even a product labeled 100 percent juice could be a mixture of cheaper juices, like apple juice and white grape juice.
- Pure: Products claiming to be 100% pure, such as orange juice, can be doctored with flavor packs for aroma and taste.
- Nectar: According to the FDA, nectar is just a fancy name for “not completely juice.” Watch out for high fructose corn syrup in nectars.
- Fat free: PAM and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter cooking sprays are fat free if used in the super minuscule serving sizes recommended. Even then it’s not fat free, it’s just below the amount that the FDA requires to be identified on labels.
- Sugar free: This designation means free of sucrose, not other sugar alcohols that carry calories from carbohydrates but are not technically sugar. Sugar free does not mean calorie free.
The moral of this lesson is to read ingredient labels carefully. If you are interested, Look Good Naked offers grocery store tours to help you spot products that could be harmful for you. Contact Sara at
sara@2lgn.com for more information about grocery store tours.
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