Eating Well: What Is the Easiest Way to Figure Out What Is Healthy

I learned a TON about eating healthy, what is good for you and why, by reading Dr. Oz's books. Really - they are really good. Great info presented in an interesting and understandable way. I'd suggest You - The Owner's Manual and YOU - On A Diet.

The easiest thing to do is stay away from foods that contain high fructose corn syrup in it. If the product does not contain high fructose corn syrup it is more likely made with healthier ingredients.

1. No high fructose corn syrup. Read ingredient labels to see if it has this. It raises triglycerides & in turn raises cholesterol. Very bad. Bread, Rice Krispies and lots of seemingly healthy foods have it. Read the labels & shop at health food stores (like Whole Foods or Trader Joes) to make it easier.
2. Partially hydrogenated oils, I just learned, are manmade fats. Very bad also. I'm just starting to scour labels & try not to buy foods w/ this.
3. 100% whole wheat. Wheat is not good enough, as it's probably mostly white flour. You need the 100%. Anything white is processed (white pasta, white bread). My kids are now used to the 100% whole wheat bread. This has a lot of fiber & is way healthier than white bread.
4. No soda
5. Only 100% or nearly 100% fruit juices for kids (& I use them only on special occasions). Most kids' drinks are made with a ton of sugar...very bad. Ingredients on labels are listed in order of amount, so if the 1st ingredient is sugar, then the product has more sugar in it than anything else.
6. No fast food. Subway, Quiznos, sandwich shops are much better.

Good for you!!

Watch Food, Inc, (documentary on the food industry) if you want to learn more & really be persuaded to change eating habits.

1. make sure you have more food in the fridge, than in the pantry.
2. nothing in your ingredient lists on any of your products should say "high fructose corn syrup(very high blood sugar spiking), enriched flour(that means they chlorine bleached the flour, and added some minerals back to it to make it resemble something like actual food), hydrogenated oils(trans fats)"
3.be weary of anything that says 'fat free', make sure to check its calories and sugar content.
4.stay on the outskirts in the grocery store, or down the baking aisle, all those other aisles are bad news.
5. You cant go wrong with any fresh or frozen vegetables with no additives.
6. meat and cheese that dont require cold temeratures are surely just bad signs
7.making some of your favorite foods from scratch will eliminate some of the mystery.
8. not all fat is bad, try dipping walnuts in dark chocolate, or eating an avocado with lemon juice on it, or raw almonds and a side of greek yogurt sprinkled with flax seeds and blueberries.

probably my favorite bit of advice i have ever heard

"dont eat anything your grandmother would not recognize as food"

this highlights the need to get back to the basics, before heart attacks, cancer and diabetes were epidemics.

Sounds like you are doing pretty good. My advice is to read the ingredients. Try ot stay away from foods that have alot of added things that you can't pronounce! Also I go by the rule: Whole foods eaten Whole. Even breads and things tend to have alot of things in them that aren't healthy. We are vegetarian and don't eat meat and dairy only rarely, so the only things I actually have to worry about are the processed foods. I generally stay away from most foods that are do not come in their original package, that is to say, aren't how they were grown. Of course we do have our treats now and then, like ramen noodles, or ice cream. We stay away from sugar mostly too, as it distorts your tastes and makes your brain crave unhealthy things.

Like I said it sounds like you are doing pretty well otherwise. Have fun with your food. Check out some books from the library on vegetarian or healthy eating. Be forewarned though, even 'healthy' is not always used in a way that healthy really is!

I agree with Amanda G. The easiest for me is to elimate enriched flour (some wheat bread still has it, so you have to read the packages) and high fructose corn syrup. Dr Oz listed 5 things, but these two were the easiest for me to start. I try to stay out of the middle. I agree with more food in the fridge than the pantry! My family LOVES Rachael Ray's chicken strips. After learning how frozen nuggets are made, I won't eat those again.

the BEST thing you can do is to meet with a Registered Dietician and really learn from them about what's currently accepted scientifically and medically. Most often, insurance covers the cost of the visit, and dieticians are available through every hospital.

A few years ago the USDA changed the food pyramid from one standard showing how many servings of different foods were recommended/day to several that had different serving suggestions based upon many factors. It was really confusing.

Weight Watchers is universally regarded as the most balanced approach to meals because it doesn't sacrifice carbs for proteins, fat for carbs, etc.

A Diabetic cook book is generally really balanced because it keeps carbs within reason, focuses on lean meats (since most people with diabetes also have cardiovascular issues) and PORTION SIZE (my personal downfall).

Anything fried is going to be worse than something baked. Grilled is great, but some people are trying to prove grilling releases free-radicals and produces carcinogens. No definitive answer to that one.

Anything you prepare on your own is generally better than anything that can be purchased. I never buy packaged rices, side dishes. Look at the sodium content on most, and they're awful. High sodium usually leads to water retention which can also have an effect on cardiovascular health.

Product labels are tough - a dietician will definitely help you. Here's a nice "how to" from the FDA:
http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/consumerinforma...

Here are the key points:
1. Portion size. Not all foods have the same portion sizes. You want few calories in a decent size (usually 1/2-1 cup).
2. Calories
3. Fats - generally, you want unsaturated fats, but there's been a lot of debate recently over whether margarine or butter is better. There's no clear answer currently. Good sources of fat are from olives, almonds, fish oil, etc.
4. Sodium - you want to have ~2400 mg per day based upon a 2000-2200 calorie diet
5. Carbs - doesn't mean "table sugar" (sucrose). Carbs can come from many sources, so products that are "sugar free" only mean they don't have table sugar but may have as many carbs from other sources - tricky!
The more fiber the have the better. We should get ~25g of fiber/day. We usually don't get close to that
6. Protein - the amount you need is questionable. Too much can be unhealthy, so do some research. But, protein is generally good.

Good luck. Sorry for the long message, as you can tell, it's something I'm pretty passionate about.

Try to find food that aren't processed. Also stay away from whites; white bread, white potatoes, white rice, white noodles if you really want to watch what your eating. The fresher the better when it comes to fruits and veggies.

The best and easiest way to eat healthy is to eat food as close to coming out of the ground as possible. The less processing the better. Your meal should be about 20% lean meat (if you eat meat), 20% whole grain and 60% vegetables. When reading labels, the less ingredients, the better. Plus, if you can't read/pronounce an ingredient it's probably something you don't want. That's not to say you can't eat those types of things sometimes, but just not regularly. Also try to minimize sugar. Use natural alternatives, like honey and maple syrup (and agave nectar and stevia) - in moderation.
Hope that helps!
Good luck.

You are off to a really great start. I think what you are looking for is a way of maximizing your nutrition when you eat. There are things you can do like striving toward eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables each day. Even if you aren't vegetarian, try figuring out a way to eat may 2 or 3 vegetarian meals each week. Eating eggs that are high in Omega 3 (it will say it on the carton). Eating more nuts and seeds, raw preferrably. Making sure that you eat at least 1 green vegetable each day. Eat one or two servings of fish like wild caught salmon, each week. Eat whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat, quinoa, millet and amaranth.

Hope this helps.

If you have portion control and don't eat much processed food and eat plenty of fruits/veges sounds like you've got it under control! If you want to get a clue about product labels, Dr. Sears book, The Family Nutrition Book helped me disect the differences with fats, sugars and perservatives. You may want to check your local library, there are entire books written to help people understand product labeling.

You've already gotten a ton of great advice. I was going to say so many things that have already been mentioned by Julie, Laurie, Tracy (you do need to watch Food Inc!) and others.

The ONLY thing I really have to add is to teach you how to tell how many teaspoons of sugar are in a product per serving. There are 4 grams of sugar per teaspoon. So look at any product and find the sugar listing, NOT the total carbs but the sugar. Divide that number by 4 and you'll have the number of teaspoons of sugar per serving. Where this really comes in handy is things you don't think about, some yogurts have as much as a teaspoon per ounce. So some 6 ounce cartons of yogurt have almost as much sugar as a 12 ounce can of soda!
No I realize that some yogurt has some healthful benefits where soda has none, but thats a good visualization.

Go to www.drsearslean.com and see if there is a Certified L.E.A.N. Coach in your area and/or any classes coming up. Dr. Sears has started this fabulous program that teaches just these things in a fun-interactive manor.

Lori

You've got great responses. Here's a couple more suggestions:

Read Jillian Michael's book about Mastering your Motabalism. I will admit I didn't understand everything, but it gives more understanding of why certain things are bad and how it affects the body.

I concur that when you read a label, if you can't understand it, then I don't eat it.

The crock pot helps me cook healthy in an easy way. I avoid the recipes that call for using cans of soup, boxes or bottled dressings. I've found some great crock recipes from Leanne at SavingDinner.com. (I paid a nominal amount for the 4 seasons worth of recipes for the crock pot). She includes all the nutrional information in her recipes as well.

Last one - www.mypyramid.gov. You can put in the food you ate today, and it gives you a complete nutrional analysis on it. I love it!

sounds like you are doing a pretty good job to me. Try to make each meal contain a balance of fats, carbs and protein. Often people leave out the protein, and without that protein I have no energy.

A tip a cardiologist gave my mom when reading labels: If the "fat from calories" is 1/3 or less than the calories then it's not too bad. However don't over worry the fats if you are choosing the right kind and not in huge amounts. Each meal should include some fats.

Here is a link that will explain on that:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-y...

You have a lot of great answers. My other add on about ingredients is: if you don't know what it is, you probably shouldn't be eating it. Stick to things with natural ingredients. They will have a shorter shelf life and cost a little more, but it's worth it. We love Trader Joe's!

Anything less processed is what you want to purchase. My rule of thumb is if it has more than 5 ingredients, especially words you can't pronounce, put it down.( EX: Whole wheat flour, water, yeast, salt.) I do 90% of my shopping on the outer perimiter of the store, but that isn't always a perfect scenario either, so then I revert back to the 5 ingredients rule.