Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult your physician, registered dietitian, or other qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet or if you have questions about a medical condition or nutritional needs.
Walking into the grocery store with good intentions is easy. Figuring out which foods are actually the healthiest choices can be another story. Bright packaging, health claims and marketing buzzwords compete for attention, making it difficult to know what’s really worth putting in your shopping cart. Healthy grocery shopping isn’t too hard.
The best place to start is by knowing your own nutrition goals. Healthy eating isn’t one-size-fits-all. Someone managing diabetes may need to watch carbohydrates and added sugars, while an endurance athlete may need more carbohydrates to fuel long workouts. Understanding your personal needs before you shop makes it much easier to make smart choices once you’re standing in the aisle.
For those with health conditions affected by diet, working with a healthcare provider or registered dietitian can help create a nutrition plan that fits individual needs and long-term health goals.
Rather than relying on eye-catching phrases printed on the front of a package, shoppers should turn the product over and read the Nutrition Facts label. Claims such as “organic,” “natural,” “made with whole grains,” or “cage-free” may describe how a product was produced, but they don’t necessarily mean it’s more nutritious.
For example, an organic pastry can still be loaded with sugar and fat, and eggs labeled cage-free or free-range generally offer similar nutrition to conventional eggs unless the hens were fed a specially enriched diet that increases nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids.
The Nutrition Facts label provides the information needed to compare products and make informed decisions. A few key things to watch include:
- Serving size: Larger packages often contain multiple servings. Be sure you’re comparing the nutrition information based on how much you actually plan to eat.
- Added sugars: Current dietary recommendations suggest limiting added sugars to less than 10% of daily calories. On a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 50 grams per day. Sweetened drinks, cereals, sauces and packaged snacks can add up quickly.
- Sodium: Most adults should keep sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams per day. Frozen meals, canned soups and many convenience foods are often high in sodium.
- Percent Daily Value (%DV): Use this as a quick guide. Foods with 5% Daily Value or less are considered low in a nutrient, while 20% or more is considered high. Aim for foods that are higher in fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium, while choosing products lower in saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
Healthy eating also doesn’t require giving up every favorite treat. Trying to completely eliminate snack foods often leads to cravings and frustration. Instead, allowing yourself an occasional favorite while filling most of your cart with nutritious foods can help create eating habits that are easier to maintain over time.
Making healthier choices doesn’t have to mean following complicated rules. By understanding your own nutrition needs and spending a few extra seconds reading the Nutrition Facts label, grocery shopping becomes less about clever marketing and more about making informed decisions that support your long-term health. For additional nutrition information about healthy grocery shopping you can go to Nutrition.gov.
