The healthiest foods to shop for contribute to your good health. When shopping for the healthiest foods you can find, consider factors such as the amount of total fat these foods contain, the amount of good fats and bad fats in these foods and whether or not these foods contain chemicals and toxins. Reading nutrition food labels and knowing more about healthy foods can help you choose the healthiest foods.
Low-Fat Foods
When you shop, look for foods that are labeled light, low fat, reduced fat, non-fat, or fat free. These foods help you manage your weight and offer a reduced amount of unhealthy fats. Also look for egg products that contain no cholesterol, such as liquid eggs.
Fruits and Vegetables
The healthiest fruits and vegetables to shop for are those that are produced without chemicals. To cut harmful pesticides out of your diet, buy organic produce whenever possible. If conventional peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, nectarines, strawberries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots and pears are all you can find, buy other types of fruits and vegetables instead of these since these fruits and vegetables contain a high level of chemicals.
Lean Meats
Meat is a good source of protein, but certain meats are high in saturated fats. The healthiest meats are chicken and turkey without the skin. Turkey and chicken contain little fat. If you want beef or pork, choose cuts such as round, sirloin, chuck arm, the leanest ground beef, pork leg, pork shoulder and tenderloin.
Fish
Fish is a good source of protein, but some types of fish contain high levels of mercury that can be harmful to certain individuals, particularly children and women who are pregnant or planning on a pregnancy. Some of the healthiest fish choices that are low in mercury include salmon, canned light tuna, cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, herring, mahi-mahi and whitefish. Fish has a low fat content and fish such as salmon contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Extra-virgin olive oil is minimally processed, and olive oil is low in saturated fat. Olive oil holds the highest amount of healthy monounsaturated fat. Other healthy oils include canola oil, safflower oil and corn oil. All of these oils are listed as oils that have the least amount of saturated fat, a type of fat that contributes to heart disease.
References
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Tipsheet: Healthy Eating Starts With Healthy Food Shopping
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: How to Buy Meat
- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Army: Organic Food -- How Much Better Are They?
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: How You Can Lower Your Cholesterol Level
- Oklahoma.gov: Oil Change ... Bring Home the Good Fats
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