5 Ways To Tell If Your Food Is Actually Good For You

When you work hard to eat healthy, you want to know that what you’re doing is actually going to give your body what it needs to thrive.  A good diet is vital to longevity in life, and what you eat always makes more of a difference in how you feel than you might think.  

Take the time to make sure your food is what you think it is, and learn how to tell if the foods you eat are actually doing your body some good.  Here are a few simple things to keep in mind next time you’re at the grocery store.  

Learn where your food has been 

Understanding the journey your food makes from its source to being groceries delivered to a store can help you make a better judgement on whether or not the food is “good”.  The way food is transported matters.  

Learn where the food comes from originally too.  Sometimes a food may be healthy for you, but it’s not healthy for the planet.  Almonds are a great example of this paradox.  Almonds have become so popular to consumers that farmers are stripping the land of nutrients and water to keep up with the demand.  

Always check the ingredients 

If you’re purchasing packaged food, that doesn’t always mean it’s not good for you.  It’s important to take a close look at the ingredients in the foods you eat.  If you can’t pronounce half of the things listed, you’re probably not making the healthiest choice.  

A healthy and quality food ingredients list will read like a home recipe.  If you can purchase and prepare the food in question with no issue, then it’s probably not too bad.  

Check the nutritional label

While you’re reading the box, take the time to read the nutritional facts.  Foods that are high in sugars, carbs, and sodium can mean bad news for your body over time.  

You need more balanced foods to keep all systems running smooth.  Take your individual health into consideration too.  If you have high blood pressure, you don’t want lots of sodium in your diet.  

Always buy organic if you can

Time has been good to those who are in favor of eating foods that have not been genetically modified.  The standards set to have the legal right to slap an “organic” label on a food product have been raised in recent times.  

Purchasing organic foods makes for a “cleaner” diet, and your body will thank you.  If you don’t think there’s much of a difference between “organic” and “regular,” test it out by eating a banana of each type.  You can literally taste the difference.  

Learn the definition of processed foods 

You’ve likely heard warnings that processed foods are bad for you, but do you really know that that means?  If not, it’s time to dig into that research.  The label of “processed food” covers a lot more than you know, and you could be making detrimental dietary choices (unbeknownst to you).