Experts tell us what to and what not to buy at the supermarket

June 3, 8:37 PMFitness ExaminerStefan Pinto

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These useful and helpful tips from self-proclaimed savvy shoppers and experts in the field of diet and nutrition offers you an effective and healthy supermarket shopping experience. The most useful to me, as it also applies to anything done effectively, is to simply give yourself time. “To thoroughly read labels/ingredients takes time” said Willow Jarosh, a nutritionist. “While the nutrition facts panel is a great place to start, it takes delving into the ingredients list to know what the product really has (or doesn't have) to offer. If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed with labeling lingo, consider finding a registered dietitian who does grocery store tours.”

Supermarket food shopping tips - in general:

Alison Cohn, Whole Health Educator - Take a "sugar list" with you to the supermarket. This list includes the most common names for sugar such as: glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose,sucrose, sorbitol, maltitol, honey, brown rice syrup, stevia, agave, molasses, and of course sugar's evil twin: artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners like aspartame, splenda (sucralose), saccharine, and maltodextrin to name a few.

Jan Swaney, M.D., Longitude Health - Avoid processed foods or the ABCs - anything boxed, canned or cured. And choose fresh cuts of meats, vegetables or fruits.  Add flavor with the use of herbs, garlic, vinegars, and salt substitutes.

Christa Orecchio, Holistic Health Counselor, Clinical Nutritionist  - Low fat? Nine times out of 10 when food manufacturers take the fat out of something they replace it with sugar (and salt) - which is the leading cause of diabetes and obesity in this country. Fat is not the enemy, sugar is. 

Kimberly Greene, TOPS Club, Inc. - Purchase healthy snacks like fruit, cereal, or vegetables that are easily available for times when a healthy lunch or meal is not possible.

Rebecca Gomez - Anuleaf  - Plan your meal shopping to include a protein (chicken or fish), starch (sweet potato or quinoa) and vegetable (broccoli or spinach).

Karen Schuppert, www.cook4seasons.com - Always shop with a list. Read labels and steer clear of anything containing ‘partially hydrogenated.' Avoid prepared foods – too high in unhealthy fats – including roasted chicken and soups (too high in sodium).

Susan Schenck, author, The Live Food Factor  - When supermarket food is labeled "raw" it is not necessarily so. The label "raw" is as dilluted as the lable "natural." Many "raw" items have been heated up to 160 F, which means the enzymes are completely destroyed. Many nuts and seeds have been thus heated to destroy molds yet are still labeled "raw."

Louise Hockley, Back to Living Chiropractic - If it will go off in a week, it’s fresh & full of nutrients. Most food that can last a long time,  is too highly processed and should be minimized in your diet.

Supermarket food shopping tips - always buy:

Catherine Kruppa, The Houstonian Club & Spa - Some of the most inexpensive things are what’s best for you. Foods such as oats, eggs, apples, broccoli, watermelon, butternut squash and whole grain pasta can be found at grocery stores for under a dollar per serving. “Low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality."

Kinsey Lowrey, Diets in Review - Shift to a more plant based diet. Eating more fruits and veggies will not only help slim your waistline, but will also will improve your health. Fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense powerhouses. They contain numerous vitamins and minerals that your body needs: helping you to lose weight and maintain weight loss, reducing risks of many cancers, helping with heart health (lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, etc), helps your skin, helps your vision, the list goes on and on.

Kelly Plowe, Paramount Farms - Pistachios. They are one of the lowest calorie, lowest fat nuts and yield the most nuts per serving; 49 kernels per ounce, compared to 23 almonds, and 14 walnut halves.  A handful of pistachios – about 30 kernels – offers a deliciously satisfying 100-calorie snack! 

Kate Geagan, author Go Green, Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet - Celebrate one ingredient foods: nuts, seeds, fruit, lean proteins, olives, brown rice, seasonal veggies. An easy way to boost your nutrition, save money, slim your waistline AND your carbon footprint.

Manuel Villacorta, Nutrition for You - Buy high fiber breakfast foods and eat within one hour of waking, Breakfast jump starts your metabolism and helps prevent the afternoon slump. You also need to eat upon waking to reduce the hunger hormone Ghrelin

Megan McCarthy, healthyeating101.com - Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Use liberally and quite freely. "Your body needs oil just like your car."  It helps your body regulate all it's functions and keeps everything going smoothly.

Paisarn Cheewinsiriwat, Chiva-Som Spa, Thailand - Buy avocados. Contrary to the myth that avocados are deemed high in fat, in actuality they help aid weightless because they help raise the metabolism and keep blood sugar levels at a normal level.

Shannon Sodano - Fitness and Yoga Instructor, Skin care Consultant - Watch the yogurt, many tubs have over 25g of sugar per individual container. While some of this is naturally coming from dairy's lactose, which is a sugar, half of that is added sugar. A good number to stay below when it comes to the amount of added sugar you want to take in in one day is 25g. Many of these yogurts contain half that or more in this ' healthy' snack. Go for plain yogurt or even Greek styles. Fage is the favorite with American's going Greek, and with higher protein and less sugars even natural ones

Jenna Talleda, eatricious.com - When looking for high fiber foods, look for the word "whole in the title, like whole wheat or whole grain. Wheat, honey wheat, multigrain, and similar names do not contain as much fiber.

Dr. Deanna Minich, foodandspirit.com - Buy more red foods like tomatoes and watermelon. They contain the antioxidant, lycopene, shown to play a role in reducing the development of certain cancers and may play be important for warding off heart problems.

Daniel Munday, danielmunday.com - Avoid typical breakfast cereals. A better option for breakfast is something like eggs, oats or even full fat greek yogurt with fruit and nuts added.

Eileen Faughey, Nutrition Connections - Buy and use herbs and spices to add flavor, variety and health to meals. Not only do herbs and spices allow you to use less salt, fat, and sugar, but they also contain health-promoting phytochemicals.

More info: Fitness model, Stefan Pinto was was once over 50lbs overweight. Learn about his diet and weight loss adventures in his blog post, "Whole Foods Changed My Life"