healthy inspirations i'm your host wendy smith thank you for tuning in and joining us today the purpose of this show is to encourage and inspire you to take action in your life and your health today we're going to solve the mists of the grocery store do you find yourself getting lost between the aisles are you constantly checking labels but aren't sure which product is better for you well today we're going to take a look into the myths and misconceptions when it comes to grocery shopping and how to avoid them so let's face it the simple market down the street has now expanded to a full out marketing machine our grocery stores now have a touch banks pharmacies bakeries you can't walk down the aisle or pay for your groceries without being hit by some sort of marketing campaign such as fuel perks aisle coupons and buy one get one sales and now since america has tuned onto somewhat of a health kick recently retailers and grocery stores alike are trying to keep up by adding new healthy items geared towards consumers wants and needs however when grocery shopping it's easy to get confused on what is actually healthy advertisers know the tricks and trade and to making you think what you are buying is a healthier option when in reality you may not it may not be that healthy at all so let's take a look at the ten most common tricks when it comes to packaging and labeling in the grocery store the first one slightly sweetened you often see this sugar and sugar based products like cookies or snack cakes this simply means that sugar is being replaced by a substitute or the serving size a small or so sugar will typically be replaced by something such as high fructose corn syrup or the serving size will drop from one cup rather than one and a half cups therefore it makes us think the item contains less sugar when in reality it doesn't the second is a good source of this price is most common seen on cereal such as cheerios golden grahams lucky charms products like that a good source of simply implies that the food contains a serving of a certain grain however they fail to mention that you would have to eat an entire box of cheerios to get the recommended serving of the whole grains the third ones multi grain more and more people are starting to understand the importance of eating whole grains however be aware that many multigrain chips and snacks are process and multi grain simply means only more than one grain so when many people think they're eating you know tons and tons of grains really they could be only eating about two so be careful and always check the list of ingredients to be certain the third is reduced fat and products such as wheat thins or microwaveable meals you often find reduced spot on the label however these products fail to tell you that the fat is actually switched out for sodium or sugar so depending on your dietary needs this could be very important next is natural this is a huge misconception in today's grocery store and actually one of my pet peeves as more and more are choosing organic advertisers are putting the word natural into the mix natural has no standard federal guidelines in fact many processed and refined foods can be considered natural because one ingredient came from the earth a great example of peanut butter since it is made from peanuts it can be considered natural always look for the u s d a organic labels to ensure the quality next reduce sodium this is very similar to the reduced fat example a lot of the time sodium is reduced but then it's replaced with and sugar sometimes it's just better to get the original next is trans fat free and this one can be a little bit confusing a lot of marketers tend to put trans fat free on their foods however make sure you read the label technically products are considered trans fat free if they have less than point two five grams of trans fat per serving the maximum out of trance that for a day per person is actually two grams so if you purchase a quote unquote trans fat free food that contains point two five grams of trans fat and you eat the whole box chances are you've probably exceeded your amount for the day so just because it says trans fat free doesn't mean it actually is next is complimentary this happens mainly at restaurants try an opt out for the complimentary bread or sides when dining out for example one breadstick from all the garden is about one hundred fifty calories if you eat two then you're already at three hundred calories before your meal even starts try opting out or cutting back next time next is only ninety calories many products say one hundred calories or only ninety calories however they fail to tell you the serving size many hundred calorie packs are actually two servings which makes the entire package two hundred calories not one hundred and last but not least whole wheat many companies put whole wheat on their labels this is most often seen on products such as breads crackers and chips however if you look at the ingredient list the first ingredient is usually called enriched wheat flour this is just another fancy name for white flour so even though you think you're eating whole wheat you're actually eating white flour look for products so say a hundred percent whole grain to ensure quality as a parent i know one of the most important time to speak with your children is when they are feeling for many families is a place they can go to find the support they need ronald mcdonald house charities programs provide that supportive environment so families can be together by their children  so now that we know the packaging and labeling tricks to pay attention to in the supermarket we are now going to learn the top six ways to navigate the grocery store so we don't get lost in the confusion like i mentioned before supermarkets are now filled with nail salons banks pharmacies and photo centers it's easy to get caught up in all the all the action going on that we forget to pay attention to what we're actually buying so next time you're in the supermarket use these tips to help avoid the confusion and to also help you make healthier choices the first is stay away from the soft creamy center this means do a majority of your grocery shopping around the perimeter of the store the center tends to get junked up with processed foods and frozen dinners but the outside perimeter of the store tends to contain more healthier choices such as fruits vegetables whole grains meat dairy and juices secondly avert your eyes it's easy to get caught on coupons the flashy marketing and the convenience just remember to go in the grocery store with  purpose try not to stray from your grocery list next get back to the earth the closer to the ground the better when choosing meals try to add more fruits vegetables and whole grains this isn't exactly new science but it's something nice to be reminded next eat more food eat fewer and greedy and always look for foods that have fewer than five ingredients also if you can't pronounce an ingredient on the label you probably shouldn't be eating it five watches first when reading a food label it's always important to pay attention to the first ingredient this tells us the specific food listed is the most prominent and greedy and the product for example if the first ingredient of a whole grain granola sugar then you are basically eating flavored granola and last but not least eliminate the drug by this means don't shop when you're in a hurry many times will shop right after work or on the way home from an event this causes us to think in a hurry and we don't take as much time to read labels and then we end up making unhealthy choices so now that we learn the myths and misconceptions of the grocery store i challenge you to start incorporating some of these small changes into your shopping routine because remember small changes lead to big results as always i want to give a special thank you to you the viewers tuning into healthy inspiration join us next month as we discuss sugar will learn how sugar affects the body and what you can do to overcome the sugar blues thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next month