Healthy Shopping and Eating Tips for 2007

Healthy Shopping and Eating Tips for 2007 Sally Barclay, MS RD LD Nutrition Clinic for Employee Wellness Grocery Shopping • Do you dread it? • Can be daunting and time consuming! • Average suppemarket-40,000 items with 43 new items added daily! • Eating healthy begins with bringing healthy selections and ingredients home • Buying groceries and cooking at home gives you more control over your eating! General Shopping Tips • Eat first! Shopping while hungry leads to impulse purchases • Make a list-check it twice! Plan menus to save trips to the store! Organize list by layout of store. Keep master list of food you use regularly. • Shop alone-you spend 10-40% more with kids along and most of that is not healthy food! General Shopping Tips • Shop the ―perimeter‖ -outer aisles of store as these contain less processed foods-produce, seafood, lean meat, low fat dairy • Frozen foods are cheaper than fresh and won’t wind up in the trash before you can eat them! • Pause and read labels and compare choices! • Beware of deceptive marketing—ways to entice and fool the consumer! General Shopping Tips • Scout for foods with color-produce, marinara sauce, frozen veggies • Be kind to your wallet-buy store brands, foods in season, frozen seafood • Buy condiments to add flavor and health-herbs and spices, flavorful oils, mustard, vinegar • Make wise snack choices-don’t bring trigger foods into your home! Label Lingo Focus on important information on Nutrition Facts label: • Serving size- in common household measurements and by weight--compare this to the amount you actually eat! • Servings per container-note carefully! Sometimes even small packages contain more than one serving! Label Lingo • Calories-how much energy you get from one serving-eating excess calories over what is needed for body’s activity is linked to weight gain • % Daily Value-a quick way to size up the nutritional value of a food-shows how this food fits into overall daily intake % Daily Value What nutrients will one serving of this food contribute? What percentage will it contribute to daily recommended amount? • Based on 2000 calories • High if 20% or higher • Low if 5% or less • No % DV for sugars, protein, some types of fat Nutrients to Limit Limit total daily intake to no more than 100% • Total fat-eating too much increases risk for heart disease, cancer, obesity Also get Saturated Fat (% DV) and Trans Fat (no % DV) content- these are most linked to poor health outcomes Sometimes get polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat (no %DV)-add sense of fullness but also calories Other Nutrients to Limit • Cholesterol- linked to cardiovascular disease (less than 300 mg/day) • Sodium-linked to hypertension and heart disease (less than 2400 mg per day) For all of these nutrients-limit intake to no more than 100% for daily intake Nutrients to Encourage You want to get 100% or more of these each day to improve your health and reduce the risk of disease: • Potassium-BP control, muscle conduction (3500 mg/day) • Dietary Fiber - helps with blood sugar control, bowel regularity, may lower cholesterol, helps you feel satisfied (aim for at least 25 grams/day) • Vitamins A and C- antioxidants, health benefits • Calcium- prevention of osteoporosis, BP control • Iron- proper oxygenation of tissue, prevent anemia Ingredient List • Listed in descending order from highest to lowest amount by weight • Main ingredient is listed first, ingredient present in least amount is last • See if fats used are healthful or harmful? • Is product truly made with whole grains? • Sources of sugar used? Health Claims • FDA has strict guidelines on how these food label terms can be used Low calorie-less than 40 calories per serving Low cholesterol-less than 20 mg of cholesterol and 2 gm or less of saturated fat per serving High fiber-5 or more grams of fiber per serving Health Claims Light- 1/3 fewer calories or ½ the fat of the usual food Reduced- 25% less than usual product Lean (protein)-10 grams of fat or less, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per 3 ounce serving Healthy-decreased fat, sat fat, sodium and cholesterol and at least 10% DV of vitamins A, C, iron, protein, calcium and fiber Look at products • What is serving size? How many servings are in this package? • How much total fat is in one serving? Does this product contain any harmful fats? • How much fiber is one serving? • Does this item contain good sources of any other nutrients? (%DV of 20% or more) Nutrient Rich Shopping List • Whole grain breads, cereal, pasta, tortillas, rice, crackers, quinoa, barley, couscous • Deep, rich colored fruits and vegetables—go for variety! • Fat-free or low-fat dairy: cheeses, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese • Plant proteins: tofu and soy products, legumes, nuts, seeds • Lean proteins: fish, beef, pork, poultry • Healthy Fats: canola, olive • Healthy Beverages: water, coffee, tea Dairy • Skim or 1% percent milk, buttermilk • Nonfat or low fat yogurt • Lower fat cheeses (ideally less than 5 grams of fat per ounce-remember this is sat fat) • Low-fat cottage cheese, ricotta cheese • Trans fat –free tub margarines Beware of products with hydrogenated fat listed as one of first three ingredients Protein Foods • Lean cuts of beef and pork (loin and round) • Skinless chicken and turkey • Fish and shellfish-fresh, frozen or canned in water • Eggs • Dried or canned beans, lentils, peas (legumes) • Nuts of all kinds • Soy products Whole grains • Oatmeal, whole grain cereals • Whole rye-breads and crackers • Whole wheat, cracked wheat-cereals, breads crackers, pasta • Whole grain corn-tortillas, cornmeal, popcorn • Brown Rice, Wild rice • Barley, including pearled • Quinoa Fruits and Vegetables • Fresh- the deeper the color the more nutrition • Frozen- without sugar or added cream or cheese sauce • Canned-packed in juice, no salt added • Dried- without added sugar • Juices-100% juice--without added sugar Fats and Oil • Peanut butter and other nut butters • Tub margarine with no trans fats • Olive, Canola and Peanut oil (higher in monounsaturated fats) • Corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean oils- higher in polyunsaturated fats • Non-stick cooking spray • Reduced fat mayo, salad dressings Condiments • • • • • • • Herbs and spices Fresh garlic, ginger Mustard Vinegars Lemon, lime juice Salsa Chutneys Beverages • • • • • Water is still the best! Fat free or 1% milk Soy milk Tea Coffee-watch additives Things to Limit in your Cart! • • • • Refined sugars White flour Hydrogenated or Partially hydrogenated oils ―Empty calories‖—food with low nutrient density that provide mainly just calories without any nutritional value