Making Healthy Food Choices

Like many grocery shoppers, I am very pressed for time. When buying groceries, I rely on my nutritional knowledge of food to make my shopping decisions. When purchasing packaged or processed food items, I almost always read labels to learn more about the nutritional value and purity of ingredients. My participation in the health and nutrition industry over the last 10 years has helped me gain the knowledge I need to make healthy decisions. Others haven’t had the benefit or time to learn what is nutritional, healthy or pure.

Purchasing packaged food items like bread, cereal or snacks can seem complicated. Do I need low fat, low sugar, low carb, low calorie, low salt? With the aim of helping us through this, ten companies (including Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods ) are participating in a program known as the Smart Choice Program. You may have seen the logo on some of your own groceries (a green check mark). The Smart Choice Program is intended to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices. When a food or beverage item meets certain criteria (e.g. what kind of fat is used, what vitamins and minerals are added or present) they can qualify for the Green Check.

This concept has recently been scrutinized by nutritionists all over North America, and for good reason. The Smart Choice Program does not promote overall health and well being. The Green Check certification may pose problems for people looking to make healthy food choices, as it can mislead people into believing that all nutritional requirements may be obtained through products containing the Green Check mark.

In the coming weeks, we will discuss the problems with programs such as these. We will also discuss mindful and intuitive eating techniques. The final portion of this series will explore the Benefits of natural and whole food eating habits.