I saved the best for the last, don’t give up on this long post!! I personally can get anxiety just walking in and out of grocery store aisles wanting to buy EVERYTHING!!! But did you know that most of the items sold within the aisles are processed and contain artificial ingredients? This essentially means that even though you see “zero calories” on boxes that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing. These processed foods may contain less calories for weight watchers, however, they contain zero dense nutrition for actual weight loss. It’s important to stay on the perimeter of the grocery store to ensure you are buying real whole foods like fresh or frozen produce, meats, fish, eggs, and dairy (or alt-dairy).
It’s so important to READ THE INGREDIENT LIST not just the nutritional label, trying to stay under 5-7 ingredients is most beneficial. The rule of thumb should be if you can’t pronounce an ingredient or don’t know what it is—just stay away from it—most likely it’s not helping your body in any positive way.
So when shopping, your freshest produce will be local because it took less time to travel to your location. Also buying produce “in season” ensures that it contains no GMOs to allow it to grow out of season, and eating organic produce is beneficial because it contains no pesticides. To get rid of 96% of pesticides off non-organic produce, put it in a 15 minute sodium bicarbonate [baking soda] bath.
Check out my blog post “Do You Eat The Rainbow” to find out all the benefits of all the fruits and vegetables we are all so grateful to have from the Earth! To add to that, red fruits and vegetables support heart and brain function. Orange fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene and vitamin C which improves eye health and immune function. Yellow fruits and vegetables help with circulation. Green fruits and vegetables purify the blood, strengthen the immune and nervous systems which in turn helps prevent depression and anxiety. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables have a high antioxidant content which is good for heart disease and anti-aging. White fruits and vegetables reduce blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol. (REMEMBER! HDL CHOLESTEROL IS GOOD FOR HEALTHY BRAIN FUNCTION).
When buying any sources of protein you want to make sure that they are humanely derived. Having stressed meat is not ideal to put into your body. Imagine the hormones you release when you are scared or angry and then imagine that same bodily response occurring in that of an animal we consume. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT! So search out for signs such as certified organic which means the animals were fed an organic diet without antibiotics or hormones. Free-range and pasture-raised mean the animals are allowed to roam free; cage free doesn’t necessarily mean they have access to the outdoors, so make sure you know the difference! Certified humane means the animals have access to their natural environment (grass fields) which is the healthiest, and they transformed into a protein source with minimal pain.
The least known fact is how canola oil is almost in EVERYTHING with a shelf life (due to the government subsidizing it) and how bad it actually is. DEFINITELY KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR THIS ONE! It is entirely genetically modified and treated with pesticides (Round-Up—linked to cancer), and it is processed at a very high heat with hexane which is a chemical. It may cause kidney and liver issues due to the GMOs, which are linked to allergies, immune suppression, cancer, etc. Hydrogenated vegetable oils cause inflammation and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) which is the leading cause of heart disease. Canola oil also contains unhealthy trans-fats which may cause high blood pressure and strokes. So not to scare anyone, but try to avoid canola oil as much as you can, and you can accomplish that just by reading the ingredients!
Health Energy 