Egea Medical’s Tips for Grocery Shopping    

1. Create a list before you go shopping and do not deviate from it.

2. Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach.

3. Stick to the perimeter of the store. The freshest foods are usually the healthiest foods, and those are the foods you're going to find in the perimeter of the store.

4.  Only shop the middle isles specifically guided by your shopping list.

5. Read the labels of the food that you're buying. You want to make sure that there is little to no sugar added. Read them, and try to avoid any ingredient that is a number or a chemical, and always keep an eye on that sugar and carbohydrate content. *If the ingredient is too hard to pronounce, it probably isn’t good for you.

6. When you're shopping and you look at your cart, you should see an abundance of fresh foods, including lots of veggies. Veggies that are great for you to buy at the grocery store are broccoli, cauliflower, dark, leafy greens, green beans, tomatoes.   For convenience, you may also buy frozen vegetables as they lock in their nutrients, and if you buy canned, rinse them with water before consumption.

7.  Most end caps of isles have processed foods on them that are on sale so they may be appealing.  Avoid the end caps!

8.  Hold your breath when you initially walk in to the grocery store as they  purposely welcome you with their bakery smells of pastries and bread so as to entice you to buy these items. 

**Remember, grocery stores pay lots of money to nutrition scientists to find out what triggers consumers to buy more and to entice their emotional brain.  Don’t be fooled by the advertising!  Unless it is a fresh food, avoid the misleading buy 2 get 1 free label.  Otherwise you will go home with more junk food than what you originally planned on buying.