I was recently at the grocery store standing in the check-out line when I noticed the contents of the cart in front of me. The shopper in question was a woman in her late 20’s to early 30’s who was relatively thin, just your typical suburban housewife. However, looking at what she was buying gave me lots of concern.

The content of this woman’s cart was no different from the majority of the people who shop at grocery stores. I had never really looked down before and truly acknowledged all of the crap that people buy. Thinking back to my childhood my mother bought the same kinds of foods, which I gladly ate. There is no question why our society is getting bigger and more disease ridden. She basically bought a cart full of diabetes, heart disease, and maybe even a little cancer.

I know that may seem harsh but everyday new studies are coming out linking our nutritional choices with all of the serious diseases. Unfortunately people either don’t realize the impact their food has on their overall health or even worse, they don’t care. I guarantee when you are in the hospital with your feet amputated because of diabetes or have just undergone bypass surgery you may care about your health.

So, what was in the woman’s cart? I was blessed with having a very good memory so I was able to recall most of what was in her cart. There was a frozen pizza, TGI Friday’s frozen potato skins, frozen French fries, Kraft Mac & Cheese, canned soup, orange juice, 1% milk, Italian bread, wheat bread, tomatoes, apples, cantaloupe, chocolate chip ice cream, rocky road ice cream, raisin bran cereal, English muffins, and bagel chips. For those of you that are worried that I could remember that all, I promise I just have a good memory.

I would say that that is fairly typical of most American’s trip to the grocery store. People want to find the quickest and easiest foods to cook and the foods that have the most flavors. To be honest, there really isn’t anything good about any of that food. I would pick three things out of that cart to keep and that’s it, the apples, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Other than that you are wasting your money and hurting your health. Speaking of money, again I have a good memory, the total bill was $84.16. That’s a lot of money for a cart full of garbage.

Let’s break down the food choices a little bit more. The pizza, potato skins, French fries, and macaroni and cheese are all classic American foods. The problem is they aren’t good for us. Potato skins, French fries, and macaroni and cheese have no nutritional value whatsoever. Potatoes are a high starch food that your body doesn’t handle too well. On top of that throw cheese, bacon, and sour cream in and there is an even bigger problem. French fries are deep fried potatoes. What about that sounds good? Trans fatty acid has been shown to cause all sorts of diseases. If you can’t live without potato skins or French fries, use sweet potatoes and make them yourselves. Slice up a sweet potato and bake it in the oven for fries or slice it in half and add a few healthy toppings for potato skins. The same idea goes for the pizza. Make it yourself and focus on adding lots of fresh vegetables instead of piles of cheese. Ideally, you wouldn’t eat pizza, French fries, or potato skins, but if you have to make it yourself. Sorry to say, macaroni and cheese doesn’t have much place in anyone’s diet.

Let’s move on to canned soup. There is more sodium in that soup than anyone needs in a week. The typical canned soup has lots of high sodium broth with a little vegetables and a little meat. Use the same advice as above and make your own soup that you can refrigerate for later use. By making your own, you can maximize the healthy ingredients, while avoiding the bad ingredients. Add more vegetables and meat while minimizing the sodium and broth.

The bread, milk, OJ, and ice cream aren’t any better. Orange juice is natural in some instances. But it is a concentrated dose of sugar. You are much better off eating an orange. For the most part avoid fruit juices and stick to the whole fruits. Bread is the most pointless food people eat today. There is almost no worthwhile value in any grain people eat. In most instances people are gluten intolerant. That means you can’t eat anything made with grains because you will react negatively to it. The same idea goes for the milk. Milk has been pasteurized and homogenized to reduce the risk of harmful bacteria. The problem is that it also harms the healthy bacteria and proteins in the milk. In essence there is nothing left that is beneficial in the milk. Since ice cream is made from milk with a bunch of sugar added into it, it is even worse. For the people who are concerned about calcium intake, consume more dark green, leafy vegetables to get more calcium.

Lastly, we have raisin bran, English muffins, and bagel chips. Where is the protein for breakdast? The food is comprised of processed carbs. In the morning especially, and at any meal, it is important to eat protein to establish your metabolism for the rest of the day. If you need something quick make a fruit and peanut butter smoothie,if you have more time make some eggs. Just make sure to get some form of protein.

That leaves us with apples, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Even if we kept all the other food there was no protein. There was nothing but a bunch of highly processed carbohydrates. The ideal diet needs to consist of whole, unprocessed protein,carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Instead of wasting $80 on all of the processed food, buy a few pounds of beef, some chicken, and a little fish. Add in some more fresh produce and I promise not only will you have healthier food, but the bill will be less.

We need to completely reevaluate the way we grocery shop and the kinds of food we eat. I recommend reading my previous blog post, A Trip to the Grocery Store. It is imperative for our health that we begin eating whole, unprocessed foods again. It is what we have survived on for all of human history except for the past 100 years. You will be amazed at how much better you feel when you start changing your diet around. In the beginning it won’t be easy. It will be hard to recondition yourself to appreciate the taste of meat and vegetables but the use of spices and herbs can make any food taste good.

I suggest evaluating what you normally get at the grocery store. Make a list and honestly evaluate everything you get on a weekly basis. Proceed to replace the unhealthy items, with items that are healthier, yet provide the same need, like food for lunch. Through a little bit of planning you can completely rework you typical grocery list so it provides much more nutritious foods. In the long run you will feel better, look better, and have more energy, a lot of benefits for a few simple changes. Good luck.

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