Five Key Shopping Tips

Photo by Jeff Keen

We hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Aundrea, the certified holistic health counselor, is back with us to share some wonderful shopping tips. Enjoy!

With limited time in the day and so many things to keep up with, do you ever find yourself at the grocery store and have no idea what you need to buy? You can’t remember what’s at home AND you keep meaning to buy healthier foods to have on hand, but you just haven’t gotten educated enough to really start? Baby steps … baby steps …

Start (or re-start!) your habit of writing items down as you discover you need them. This will become your grocery list. My grandmother always shopped by a list and rarely bought things not on that list. Incidentally, my grandparents watched their money and were therefore able to grow (and re-grow!) their money over the years. I need to keep this in mind myself.

For those of us who need to get on track, here are some baby steps – 5 little tips - to keep top of mind as you focus on being prepared to shop, eat healthier, and mind your budget. You may even want to print these tips and keep them in your purse or wallet.

1. Don’t shop when you’re hungry!

2. Always bring a list and stick to it as much as possible.

3. Avoid foods that contain the following additives:

Sodium Nitrite: causes cancer, found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, and
sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).

Hydrogenated Oils, or Trans Fats: causes heart disease, nutritional deficiencies,
general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers,
margarine and many "manufactured" foods. Used to make oils stay in the food,
extending shelf life. Sometimes also called "plastic fat."

Excitotoxins: aspartame, monosodium glutamate and others. These neurotoxic
chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell
death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They're found in diet soda, canned soup,
salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods.
They're used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have had the life
cooked out of them.

o Note: MSG can be hidden under the following covert names:
autolyzed, hyrdrolyzed, yeast estract, tortula yeast.

High Frutose Corn Syrup: cheap form of sugar that metabolizes in the liver

4. When buying processed flour products, like bread or wraps, look for the word “whole” at the
beginning of the ingredient list.

5. Look for ingredients with names you recognize, and are short in length. (For example, the ingredient list for peanut butter should read “peanuts, salt”.)