for eMaxHealth(NC) - Most Canadians want to make healthy food choices, but find it difficult to cut through the clutter and confusion on food packages. Making healthy choices is easier than you think. Here are a few tips to make your next grocery shopping trip easier:
1) Make a list: Plan your meals and snacks and write down what you need to buy, that way you're more likely to prepare healthy meals and snacks. Remember the grains, vegetables and fruit. Include lower-fat milk products, leaner meats, fish and legumes. Look for healthier fats and oils.
2) Look at the label: New Nutrition Facts tables will be mandatory by December, 2005. The table includes information on calories and 13 core nutrients. It's designed to look the same from one product to another and the nutrients are listed in the same order. The table tells you how many calories are in the food, helps you compare similar or different types of foods and choose foods that are high or low in some nutrients.
3) Spend a lot of time in the produce section: Load up on vegetables and fruit - fresh or packaged. They offer lots of fibre and nutrients. Choose a variety of colours.
4) Look for whole grains: In the bread department, look for "whole grain flour" or "stone ground flour" as a first ingredient or "100% whole wheat," with at least 2 grams of fibre per slice.
5) Choose products high in fibre and low in added fat: When you travel the middle aisles of the store, choose cereals, pastas, crackers and other sources of vegetables and fruit with the most fibre and the least amount of added fat.
6) Avoid Fad Diets: Healthy eating and active living are the best ways to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Focus on eating well-balanced meals with sensible portion sizes. The bottom line is that fad diets don't work. They tend to eliminate or severely limit certain food groups or essential nutrients such as carbohydrates or fat. Plus, there is little research about the long-term health effects of fad diets.
7) Look for the Health CheckTM logo: The logo on the package means that the product's nutrition information has been reviewed by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and that it meets specific nutrient criteria based on Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Visit www.healthcheck.org
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- News Canada
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