Your Personal Fitness Plan
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Nutrition at the Supermarket
The supermarket has many foods to choose from. How do we know
which are nutritious? Some label information can help us make
wise food choices. How can you best meet your daily nutritional
needs? Here are some tips to help you along.
First of all, pay attention to food labels. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) required most foods to be labeled. Food
labels are the most recognized and useful nutrition information
tool in the U.S. You can read the label and know how much fat,
saturated fat, fiber and sugar you are consuming. In addition,
the label tells us about the calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and
iron content of the food. These nutrients are the four nutrients
most likely to be low in the diets of Americans. Picking foods
high in these nutrients helps to assure that you meet these
needs. Besides the food label, many foods also display the Food
Guide Pyramid. The pyramid reminds us that grains should be the
foundation of our food choices, followed by fruits/vegetables
then meat/dairy and lastly sweets.
Some tips to help us make wise food selections include:
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Do not shop while hungry. If you have to rush to the store
before a meal, drink a large glass of water and eat a piece of
fruit on the way. This will prevent you from grabbing low
nutrient snack foods to cure your hunger pangs.
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Be aware of feature items at the end of shopping aisles. These
foods are usually loaded with fat and/or excess calories.
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Select your produce first and fill the basket up! Fresh fruits
and vegetables are essential to a healthy diet. Although these
foods do not have a food label, they are generally rich in
vitamins A, C and other healthful nutrients.
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Choose low fat choices. Watch out for the dairy case. Low fat
milk products can be just as flavorful without all the extra fat
and calories.
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Shop from a list. This will help reduce the temptation to buy
less healthy food.
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If you plan to buy sweets, select either low fat alternative
such as angle food cake, vanilla wafers or fig newtons. Choose
smaller packages sizes or pre-packaged single servings. That
way you'll be less likely to over-eat.
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If you find it hard to pass up unhealthful choices in the
supermarket, take a friend shopping with you.
See also:
Guidelines for Eating Well