Read those food labels – they may save your life!

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. What you eat is a choice; reading food labels helps you make an informed choice.

Remember sugar, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, high fructose, honey, maple syrup and corn syrup are all sugars . Sodium , the ingredient in salt that is linked to hypertension, is found in salt, monosodium glutamate, baking soda, baking powder, seasoned salts, sodium lactate and meat tenderizer. One of your bonus discoveries in reading labels is discovering that some stores routinely plump all of their meats with saline solution! Saline – that’s another form of salt, of course.

The Nutrition Fact label on foods will list all required nutrients as a percentage of daily value per serving. Percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The actual number of calories you need may be more or less to maintain your body. If you aren’t happy with your current nutrition, call Dr. Jen to assist you in planning out your calorie intake and nutrition.

Actual serving sizes often vary from the servings listed in the Nutrition Facts. For example, the Nutrition Facts on a 14.75 ounce can of salmon lists 7 servings per container. Yet the same label displays a recipe that yields four salmon burgers. The sodium listed for 7 servings is 11%, but the sodium in one salmon burger is 19.25%

Some products lower one ingredient, for example fats, while raising another, such as salt, to compensate for the loss of taste. For example, the traditional Best Foods Mayonnaise recipe has 4% sodium per serving (1 tablespoon). Best Foods Light Mayonnaise boasts half the calories and fat however the sodium increases to 5% per serving.

Do you ever stop to wonder if you should choose fresh, canned or frozen products? Several studies suggest that frozen and canned vegetables may offer nearly the same nutrition as fresh vegetables. Surprised? In many cases the nutritional loss suffered during the canning or freezing process is similar to the nutritional loss suffered during transportation for fresh products. In general, however, canned products do have more salt than their fresh counterparts.

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. When you choose to put healthy food in your cart, you take home healthier food!

Three Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping

The foods you choose to eat do make a difference in your health. One of the easiest ways to eat healthier is shop healthier.

You probably already use several smart grocery shopping strategies such as:
-Preparing a list ahead of time
-Avoiding shopping when you are hungry
-Leaving the impulse shoppers home

Shopping with a plan saves time, money and energy. Shopping with a plan can also enhance your nutrition when you plan to shop healthy. Here are three simple ideas to improve the nutritional value of the food you put into your grocery cart:

1. Shop the perimeter. Take a moment and visualize the layout of your favorite grocery store. Most stores have the fresh produce, dairy, breads, meats & fish around the outside of the store, right? When you select these fresh items you are choosing the least refined foods and, in general, the most nutritious.

2. Walk only as far as you need. If you need an item in the middle of an aisle, head into that aisle as you walk by. Go only as far as the item you need and then back out of the aisle. Ignore the food products displayed at the end of the aisle products demanding your attention, too.

3. Avoid food coupons. Most coupons come from the processed food manufacturers. In general, more highly refined foods are lower in genuine nutrition.

Shopping with a plan to stay healthy improves the choices you make about the items you put into your shopping basket. When you take healthier foods home you are more likely to put healthier foods into your body.

Brain-Power Foods

If you are feeling good, you can eat just about anything – so why not add the foods that increase brain-power.

Take a look at this list of brain-power foods from the ADD/ADHD Help Center


Blueberries
Add at least 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries or other berries a day to your diet.

Wild Salmon
Add a 4-ounce serving of the natural brain food salmon or other Omega-3 rich fish to your diet two to three times a week.

Nuts and Seeds
Add an ounce of nuts or seeds to your daily diet. Be careful that you do not overdo this brain-booster. Too much of this higher calorie food will add to your waistline.

Avocados
This is another high calorie "Less is More" food. Just 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado daily will do the trick.

Whole Grains
Add three slices of whole grain bread, a 1/2 cup of oatmeal or other whole-grain cereal, or two tablespoons of wheat germ to your daily diet.

Beans
Add at least a 1/2 cup of beans or other legumes to your diet every day.

Citrus Fruits and Colorful Vegetables
As many colorful vegetables as you can, with an absolute minimum of five servings daily. Since colorful fruits are higher in calories, add two to four servings daily to your diet.

Freshly Brewed Tea
Two to three cups a day of freshly brewed tea. Note that bottled or powdered teas don't count.

Olive Oil
Replace regular oil in recipes with olive oil. 2 Tablespoons of olive oil is recommended.

Dark Chocolate
Enjoy 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate daily. Note that the more processed chocolate varieties such as milk chocolate and white chocolate do not provide the same amount of benefit as dark chocolate.

Water
Drink pure water and plenty of it - at least eight glasses daily. The two to three recommended cups of fresh-brewed tea count toward this brain hydration requirement. Higher activity levels will increase this requirement, as will hot and humid weather, illness, pregnancy and breastfeeding.