Shopping for healthy food

After some trial and error and tweaking his program, he realized the significance of food intake in losing weight. Since last year, he has become more conscious of the size of the servings and the nutrients in the food he purchases.

Ever since he became aware of food labels and nutrition facts, Perlas has found difficulty splurging and relishing the food he used to enjoy. As he scrutinized the food he added to his shopping cart, he became more selective in deciding what might help him achieve his goal or might put his diet off balance.

“Once you have that genuine understanding of what exactly makes up the calorie count or the nutrient profile of a food, it just becomes a lot harder when you’re using earned money to buy that food,” Perlas said. “And it really goes into the conversation of like, ‘That food tastes great. I love it, but is it going to benefit me in the long run?’”

With social media and marketing attracting consumers to buy products that aid with weight loss, health experts urge consumers to read food labels and inspect ingredients to avoid falling victim to misleading food packaging. Whether you desire a summer-ready body, have a fitness goal or strive to change your diet, learning about food contents could help you track food intake and achieve daily nutritional requirements.

Ankita Tandel is the director of Public Health Nutrition at San Mateo County. She leads the county’s Women, Infants and Children program, which provides nutrition education and assistance to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum moms with children under 5 years old.

In her years as a registered dietitian, her advice to parents has always been “to ignore the front and focus on the back” of food packaging so they can learn more about the ingredients of food products and whether they are nutritious.

“If you look at any food label or look at any food product, it could be so confusing,” Tandel said. “And marketing does such a wonderful job at making things seem and appear to be healthy or fresh or using bright colors.”

When it comes to food packaging, health experts point out that certain food labels may have “buzzwords” like “light,” “zero” and “low” to entice people to believe that food products are more nutritious. However, these terms often divert attention from the enhancers or chemicals that enhance the shelf-life or taste of products.

Before working in her current role as a program coordinator, Sofia Noyes was a health educator for the Center for Wellness and Nutrition — Bay Area, which is a nutrition education program under the Public Health Institute. For her, seeing beyond the package design and understanding the ingredients list would make a difference in eating healthy.

When shopping for groceries, Noyes said to avoid middle aisles where the store usually displays the canned, boxed and packaged goods.

Instead, she urged consumers to “shop the perimeter of the store” to prioritize sections where fresh and less-processed items such as protein, produce and dairy are stored and refrigerated.

She pointed out that food with unpronounceable ingredients may be a nutritional red flag, as these products either have an additive or are “ultra-processed.” Other than this guideline, Noyes advises against believing most common food labels are accurate.

• Natural or organic: Consumers might find this a better choice, but items with this label may offer the same nutritive value, only sold at a higher price.

• Sugars and hidden sweeteners: Added sugars might account for more calories and ingredients that end with “-se,” like fructose, usually means syrups or sweeteners

• Serving size vs. per container: Checking this label will give you more control over portions and the per-serving amount.

“I feel like there needs to be a clear definition across the board of what it means to be natural, what it means to be real ingredients,” Noyes, a master of public health student at San José State University, said.

As a consumer, Perlas believes there is a need to “tighten” regulations on food labels so people are more aware that the things they buy might come with risks.

Tandel suggested hiring more health educators or dietitians to work in grocery stores, making nutrition education more accessible for most consumers since a resource person is already available as they shop.

“The federal level, the national level — while I think that there’s a lot of advocacy and a lot of policy work that needs to be changed — that unfortunately takes a lot of time,” Tandel said. “I think that education can be a much quicker response.”