How To Make Healthy Food Choices

When you are in the grocery store, you may begin to ask yourself exactly how to make healthy food choices. If you want to live a healthy lifestyle and remain at a healthy weight, choosing the right foods is vital.

1. Head over to the produce section to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables are packed with a lot of nutrients without a lot of calories.
2. Stay away from foods with added sugar. Sugar contains fifteen calories per teaspoon. These calories can add up quickly if you eat a lot of foods with added sugar. One notable food that seems healthy but has sugar added is canned fruit if it contains syrup (light or heavy).
3. Leave foods with added salt alone. The average adult should eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt per day. That is the equivalent of 2,300 mg of salt. Canned vegetables and most prepackaged or processed foods contain a lot of salt per serving.
4. Check the number of calories in each serving. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, foods with over 400 calories per serving are considered high calorie foods, 100 calories per serving is considered moderate and 40 calories or less is considered a low calorie food.
5. Look at the nutrients (dietary fiber, vitamins, calcium and iron) per serving. If the percent daily value amount is over twenty percent per serving, the food is considered nutrient dense for that nutrient. Anything under five percent is considered low.
6. Note the serving size. Many foods contain more than serving per container. When you are determining if the food is a good fit for your dietary needs, consider the serving size. If it is really small and you will eat two servings, you will have to double the values noted on the label.