How to Healthfully Hit the Grocery Store

Going to the grocery store and knowing what foods to buy to be healthy can be a challening task. But if you know the simple tricks to follow when heading to the store, you will be on a better track to buy healthy, nutritious foods. 

1. Shop the Perimeter
• The middle aisles of the stores house the junk food, so try to avoid them as much as possible
• The perimeter of the store is where you will find whole, real foods like lean meats, fruits, vegetables and dairy
2. Don't Bulk Up On Bulk
• Buying bulk and having too much food in your home, will likely cause you to either waste it and throw it our, or consume too much food
3. Avoid End Caps
• The displays you see and the end of the aisles are used to catch your attention and are often new packaged and processed items that are light on nutrients and heavy on added fat and sugar
4. Go With a List
• Going without a list with often cause you to purchase items that you don't need and that are less nutritious 
• Make a list, and stick to it while in the store
5. Can't Pronounce It, Don't Buy It
• Carefully check the ingredient lists while in the grocery store
• The higher up on the ingredient list, the higher precentage it constitutes
• It takes time to truly learn to shop ingredient lists, but once you get it, it becomes a habit
6. Carefully Consider Organics
• Many organic foods are highly processed. An organic cookie, is still a cookie
• Many times, organic produce items are not significantly more nutritious than non-organic
7. Natural Means Nothing
• There is no accepted standard for defining "natural" on product labels
• Most items you see labeled as "natural" are packaged, processed foods which means they are not natural