By 
The world is becoming more health conscious every year. Food companies are making so-called healthy food products, the fast food industry is trying to make healthier menus, and people are making smarter choices when it comes to their food.
This is a wonderful thing and much needed as obesity continually affects more and more families. It is still a challenge to eat well with all the “health food” options and the media dictate what we consider healthy. Every day I see ads and articles promoting food products that really aren’t the best choice. From high fructose corn syrup to 100-calorie snack packs, people are being forced to make poor decisions about their health. Making the weight loss journey and the quest for ripped abs more and more difficult.
The easiest way to avoid all of this and stick to a healthier path would be to eat natural foods that have not been altered by humans. This shopping list would include meats, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts, and less altered dairy products. This can be a difficult thing to do, since most foods on the shelves have been influenced by humans in one way or another.
For that reason, I’m going to give you three things to look out for the next time you go to the grocery store so you can make smarter, healthier choices for yourself and your family:
#1: Food Source
This one can be a bit tricky, but many stores are getting better at providing this information. If you have access to a health food store, you won’t have as much trouble, but even Kroger stores are getting better.
Pay attention to where the food you buy comes from. This refers more to meat and animal products than to other items. Many feed companies use hormones and feeding processes for their animals that can affect the quality of the meat.
The hormones that are added to an animal to make it grow can be absorbed into our bodies once we eat the meat, upsetting our hormone balances and bodily processes.
Look for more natural, grass-fed, hormone-free meats. The same goes for shellfish; try to look for more natural sources and not fish from closed waters. This meat will not only be healthier, but it will also be much fresher and taste better.
#2: Ingredients
When buying food, pay attention to the ingredients. Many times a food will claim to be healthy because of the number of calories, but those calories are actually unhealthy.
Calories are important, but just as important is the quality of the food. In general, the fewer the number of ingredients, the better the food. If you choose a 100-calorie snack pack, you’ll see a long list of ingredients, whereas with more natural foods like vegetables, there’s only one ingredient.
If you decrease the quantity of ingredients in your pantry, the quality will increase.
#3: Sodium
Sodium is one of those things that many people overlook. It plays an important role not only in weight loss, but also in heart health, joint health, and general well-being. Kill your way to success with water retention and general lowering of mood.
Many foods have added sodium to increase shelf life. Almost all canned foods will have a high amount of sodium, which is why canned foods last so long. Start watching the sodium content of your foods and try to limit your intake to less than 1,500 mg per day. As an example, a can of “low sodium” soup has 900 mg of sodium. If that’s “low” then I’d hate to see normal!
Lower your sodium intake for a couple of weeks and see how much better you feel.
Begins to pay more attention to detail at the grocery store. Making the decision to eat and be healthier is good, but it’s hard with all the gimmicks being pulled by big food companies. Look at the little things and your food choices will start to change.