Using FoodEssentials as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

by Shereen Jegtvig

Studies show how following a healthy lifestyle reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease (the leading cause of death in the United States).  The important lifestyle behaviors include getting exercise, not smoking, light consumption (or less) of alcohol, and of course, eating a healthy diet.

Changing your diet usually means you have to eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains while reducing fat and sodium.  Sounds easy enough, but some of those food manufacturers sneak extra fat and sodium (along with artificial colors, flavorings and preservatives) where you don’t expect them.  You can spend hours at the grocery store sifting through the information on the food labels to be sure you’re buying healthy foods.  Or you can use the FoodEssentials tool to do the work for you. 

Let’s say you want to buy some fruit snacks to boost your fruit intake.  Taking a look at the FoodEssentials list for Healthy Snacks – Fruit Snacks arranged by total fat, you get this list:

Hmmm.  Those top snacks sound tasty with the vanilla and chocolate, and raisins are good for you, but take a look at the fat content.  Way too much for a snack.  And if you take a look at the food label, you’ll see that one little serving of these tasty raisin snacks is going to sneak 20% of your daily limit for saturated fat.  Oops….  So much for healthy!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
• Added Sugar increases risk of Heart Disease
• Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
• Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
• Choosing Canned Meat