You can’t always get to your favorite stores for the foods you want, so here are a few tips on how to shop healthy no matter where your grocery cart takes you!
Though most of us would prefer to be able to always shop at the best health food stores, due to factors such as budget, time, convenience, availability, this luxury isn’t always possible for all of us. For one reason or another, if you’re shopping at conventional grocery stores, there are definitely healthy, real food options available to you. But, when shopping at today’s conventional grocery store, it is important for your overall health to be aware of some items that should stay on the shelf and out of your cart!
When purchased at regular grocery stores, these conventional foods do far more harm than good for our health and should be avoided at all costs.
Canned & Boxed Soup
Conventional canned and boxed soups contain a number of poor ingredients that are toxic, including things like MSG (or other forms of MSG & flavor enhancers), processed salt, vegetable oils, genetically modified ingredients, and highly processed starches, to name a few. The amount of real nutrition is low to non-existent. In addition, most conventional cans are lined with BPA or other similar chemicals that leach into the food. A better option would be to purchase soups in a pouch or glass jar, or best yet, make or buy freshly-made soup.
Conventional Canned Tomatoes
This applies to all tomato products (such as tomato sauce or paste). When in a conventional can, the acidity from the tomatoes leaches the chemicals (such as BPA & BCA) into your food at a much higher rate, meaning that you’ll be exposed to greater amounts of these toxic chemicals than you would with other types of canned foods. These chemicals wreak havoc on the body, particularly on the endocrine system and can cause hormonal imbalance. A better option would be, when buying canned, only buy brands that are labeled as non-BPA lining, or purchase tomatoes or tomato products that come in glass, or best yet, use fresh tomatoes.
Microwave Popcorn
Microwaves are something that should ideally be avoided in any situation. But conventional microwave popcorn is particularly harmful, as it contains chemicals (PFOA) in the inside lining of the popcorn bag that, when popped, leaches into the popcorn. This chemical is linked to some serious health concerns, especially infertility. A better option would be to purchase pre-popped popcorn in bags, or best yet, pop your own fresh popcorn!
Microwave Dinners
Conventional microwave dinners are typically highly processed and contain a number of toxic and less-than-ideal ingredients. But worse, they are low to non-existent in true nutrition. Some of these harmful ingredients can include hydrogenated oils (trans fat), vegetable oils, sugar, preservatives, and flavor enhancers. Not to mention that they are typically in plastic containers, that, when microwaved, leach chemicals into your food. A better option would be to freeze leftovers to have on hand for those days that get busy.
As much as possible, stick to foods that your ancestors would have recognized as real food, such as dried beans, lentils, rice, fresh produce.
