Contents
The good and the bad of the supermarket: how to locate the healthy processed
Nutrition
We help you to banish the idea that packaging is bad by system and to distinguish those processed foods that are healthy
The 12 foods you should never put on your shopping list
The main premise when choosing food should always be to opt for what directly have no label, especially the fresh and seasonal food. However, today, with the advancement of food engineering, the choices of processed foods that are suitable and healthy have increased exponentially. There are different degrees in food processing. Thanks to this, our diet has become more varied and less monotonous, which greatly favors the fact of adhering to a healthy diet.
On the other hand, health professionals specialized in human nutrition are aware of the great difficulty that consumers face when choosing processed foods. There is a large ignorance about it, in addition to a lot of confusion.
The regulations on labeling do not help, as it is complicated and not very intuitive when interpreted by an ordinary consumer. In addition, it tends to favor the commercial side to manufacturers so that they can carry out their marketing work.
Derived from the above, the great question arises: how do I choose a processed product that is good, suitable and healthy for my diet? Banish the idea that packaging is bad. Learn to distinguish those foods that, despite being packaged, are suitable.
These seven tips help you make the right choice:
1. Look at the ingredient list
First of all, always look at the list of ingredients and don’t get caught up in advertising messages or the nutritional table. In the list of ingredients you can have an objective knowledge of the composition of the food since, in addition, these ingredients are ordered from highest to lowest presence in the product.
2. How much sugar and how much salt does it contain?
Another aspect to take into account when analyzing the list of ingredients is that it does not include salt or sugar (in any of its forms). In case they appear, it should be in the last positions of this list, since in some foods these compounds are used as preservative additives of some of the organoleptic characteristics of the food itself.
3. What if it doesn’t have a label?
If the food is packaged and does not have a list of ingredients, it is because it only has one ingredient in its composition, as occurs, for example, in meat, fish, cut fruits, etc. In this case we will always know that it is a suitable food.
4. The allies of the freezer
About frozen, most of them, as long as it is the raw material deep-frozen, is going to be a good option. In some rare cases, like a mixed vegetable mix, always check the ingredient list to avoid added sugar or excessive sodium.
5. Ode to legumes
Legumes that go in a glass jar are a wonderful processed food. In the list of ingredients you will find that they have legumes, water, salt and that’s it. Remember that before consumption, you must rinse them.
6. Preserves without sauces or bad oils
When choosing canned fish, seafood or vegetables, the most suitable will be those that do not have any type of sauce. In general, a good process of this type will be one that includes in its list of ingredients the main raw material, water or virgin olive oil and salt. Don’t mess with those with low-quality sauces or oils. Directly, skip them.
7. To bread, bread
The subject of sliced breads is usually very controversial and there are very marked discrepancies among professionals. My point of view is to always choose fresh whole wheat bread, but since we do not live in a bubble … there would be room for the occasional consumption of this type of sliced bread where the first ingredient is whole wheat flour, contains extra virgin olive oil and has a low percentage of sugar (less than 2%).
In conclusion:
Each filtering bag good processed foods they will be those that respond to a short list of ingredients, with two or three components maximum. From there, we can already be “sneaking”
As a general rule, they will be yogurts, cheeses, other dairy products without added sugar, whole grain or legume flours and cereals, legumes in glass jars (it is better not to choose canned ones), nut creams … Also meat, fish, packaged vegetables or packed fruits (not in syrup, in their own juice) or deep-frozen, chocolates with more than 85% cocoa content without added sugar, etc.
Don’t mess around in the aisle for commercial breakfast cereals, muffins, and cookies. There will be no good processed …
About the author: Raquel Capel is a sports and clinical dietitian-nutritionist, responsible for Nutrition of the Vikika Team, as well as a personal trainer.