Read Those Labels

Read Those Labels

When you shop for groceries, you may consider health claims on the packages, like "fat free" or "sugar free." You may even look at the Nutrition Facts panel to see how many calories and so on are in a serving. But most of the time, we tend to overlook a critical question about a particular food: What's in it? This week, make a small change in your grocery-shopping routine and read the ingredients lists on food labels to help yourself make educated decisions about what goes in your cart.

Many food products sold today are full of additives that can contribute to poor nutrition. For example, refined sugar is packed into many "healthy" foods, like cereals and flavored yogurts, providing empty calories with no nutritional benefits. So do yourself a favor and watch out for it on the ingredients list, where ingredients are listed in order of quantity, from most to least. Avoid products in which added sugar (also called high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, cane sugar, and corn syrup) is one of the first ingredients. Also watch out for artificial sweeteners, which are not necessarily safe in excessive amounts.

Many processed foods on the market today also contain way too much added salt, which can lead to high blood pressure and other health problems. So read labels before you buy canned, frozen, and packaged goods, and look for lower-sodium varieties.

Another ingredient to watch out for is "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oil, which signifies the presence of trans fat, the worst type of fat for your heart. Look for products with zero grams of trans fat on the Nutrition Facts panel.

In fact, when shopping, a good rule of thumb is to go for the food products with the fewest ingredients — and ideally, only ingredients that you recognize and can pronounce!

As seen on : Healthy Living with Ellie Krieger