Beautiful packaging doesn’t indicate healthy food. Every food industry uses packaging tricks to increase their sales, so don’t fall for these tricks. Always check the food label. A food label indicates the calories and ingredients in every serving. So, reading the food label properly is the main factor in choosing your healthy food. Here are some tips for making informed choices at the grocery store:
- A food label contains calories. But, it’s not the whole food’s calories; rather, it indicates calories per serving. If calories per serving are 100 and the total box can serve 5 times, then the whole box of food’s calories is 100*5 = 500.
- Ingredient List Analysis: Check the ingredient list properly. Normally, the first one or two ingredients are the main ingredients, which are major in portion, then others are minor in portion. Try to read the ingredient list properly to avoid unwanted or harmful ingredients. Check all the nutrient values and also micronutrient values.
- Main Ingredient Factor:
- Fat: Fat contains higher calories in smaller portions. So, obviously, fat is not a bad ingredient, and always choose good fat like fish fat, but not too much.
- Carbohydrate: Good for short-term calorie needs, but not more than 20g.
- Protein: More protein, more energy. Choose higher protein-containing food.
- Food labels should not be in a foreign language. It has a chance to make the wrong food choice when it’s in a foreign language.
- Do not be fooled by too many ingredients. Maybe processed food.
- Try to avoid those foods which have hidden sources of added sugar or unhealthy fat or some hidden code in food labels.
Always consider these factors when choosing what’s best for your health.
