Choosing Healthy Foods At The Grocery Store

            You are at the grocery store and you want to make the right choices during your shopping trip. To do this, we are faced with endless claims of health and are forced to read numerous labels just to find the right food.So, we decided to look for healthy foods in each category to shorten your shopping journey. With Fitness Magazine research and nutrition experts , they make out a list of healthy foods in each category. This is what they found .

How We Choose 'Em...

Four of the best nutritionists in the country -- all FITNESS advisory board members -- created healthy criteria for each category (such as the number of calories and grams of fat each food should contain; that deli meats be low in sodium, breads and cereals high in fiber, and so on). The top three to five brands of each food that met these stringent standards were taste-tested by dozens of staffers throughout our company. (Only nationally available products qualified.)


Our nutrition experts: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association in Chicago; Leslie Bonci, RD, director of sports nutrition at the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Kathy McManus, RD, director of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston; Lisa Young, PhD, RD, adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University and author of The Portion Teller Plan


Here is the list : 

The Cereal Aisle

BEST CEREAL: Nature's Path Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon
BEST BREAKFAST BAR: Kashi TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax
BEST OATMEAL: Holly's Wickedly Plain
BEST GRANOLA BAR: Kashi TLC Trail Mix

The Bread Aisle

BEST BAGEL: Thomas' Hearty Grains 100% Whole Wheat
BEST ENGLISH MUFFIN: Food for Life 7-Sprouted Grains
BEST MUFFIN: Fiber One Apple Cinnamon Bun
BEST SLICED BREAD: Nature's Pride 100% Whole Wheat
BEST WRAP: MexAmerica 100% Whole Wheat Tortillas

The Dairy Case

BEST YOGURT: Fage Total 0%
BEST CHEDDAR CHEESE: Cracker Barrel Reduced-Fat Extra Sharp
BEST SWISS CHEESE: Sargento Reduced Fat
BEST HUMMUS: Sabra Classic
BEST PUDDING: Jell-O 100-Calorie Packs Chocolate
BEST SMOOTHIE: Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein Mocha Cappuccino

The Deli

BEST SLICED HAM: Boar's Head Branded Deluxe Lower Sodium
BEST SLICED TURKEY: Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Turkey Breast

The Juice Aisle

BEST SPORTS DRINK: Luna Sport Electrolyte Splash Lime-ade
BEST ICED TEA: Ito En Lemongrass Green
BEST ORANGE JUICE: Florida's Natural Calcium & Vitamin D
BEST JUICE: Naked Bare Breeze Peach Mangosteen Bliss

The Freezer Aisle

BEST WAFFLE: Van's All Natural Multigrain
BEST VEGGIE BURGER: MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger
BEST FROZEN DINNER: Healthy Choice Roasted Sesame Chicken
BEST FROZEN PIZZA: Amy's Margherita
BEST FROZEN VEGGIE DINNER: Amy's Vegetable Lasagna
BEST FROZEN MEAL IN A BAG: Bertolli Mediterranean Style Shrimp & Penne Primavera
BEST CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM: Edy's Loaded Chocolate Fudge Brownie
BEST FROZEN YOGURT: Edy's Slow Churned Yogurt Blends Vanilla
BEST ICE CREAM SANDWICH: Klondike Slim-a-Bear 100 Calorie Vanilla
BEST SORBET BAR: Blue Bunny FrozFruit No Sugar Added Chunky Strawberry

The Canned/Boxed Goods Aisle

BEST PEANUT BUTTER: Smucker's Reduced Fat Natural Style Creamy
BEST JELLY: Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves
BEST PASTA: Barilla Whole Grain Penne
BEST PASTA SAUCE: Rao's Homemade Marinara
BEST VEGETABLE SOUP: Campbell's Select Harvest Light Southwestern Style
BEST CHICKEN SOUP: Kettle Cuisine Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles
BEST PREPACKAGED LUNCH: Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers Southwestern Style Chicken
BEST FRUIT CUP: Del Monte SuperFruit Mixed Fruit Chunks
BEST HOT CHOCOLATE: Twinings Chocolate Indulgence

The Snack Food Aisle

BEST BAKED POTATO CHIP: Kettle Brand Baked Lightly Salted
BEST PRETZEL: Newman's Own Organics Hi-Protein
BEST DRIED FRUIT: Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit
BEST PITA CHIP: Athenos Baked Whole Wheat
BEST TORTILLA CHIP: Food Should Taste Good Multigrain
BEST SALSA: Wholly Salsa Medium
BEST COOKIE: Back to Nature Chocolate Chunk
BEST 100-CALORIE PACK: Mister Salty Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels
BEST MILK CHOCOLATE: Ghirardelli Luxe Milk
BEST DARK CHOCOLATE: Cadbury Royal Dark

        We hope this assist you in your shopping and your search to find healthy foods. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email. 

Thank you for visiting !

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team 

Discover the Powerful Health Benefits Found in Peaches

        Eating fruit everyday is important to ones  health. It is beneficial to eat fruits full of vitamins because your body has a higher absorbent rate of using those vitamins than  even taking daily  vitamin supplements. Fruits are unfortunately not made equal with vitamins and nutrients. As a result of this fact, the choice of which fruit to eat becomes vital.

       So that brings us to this question. Are peaches really worth eating everyday?  Yes , It is. In fact peaches have been  found to have more nutrients and health benefits than previously thought.

       

       Peaches are a good source of many different vitamins and minerals, but one that particularly prologues life is potassium. Peaches provide a high source for this mineral. If you have a shortage of potassium, you're likely to have fatigue, anxiety, muscle weakness, skin problems, poor memory, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, congestive heart failure or heart deterioration and vibration in your ears. The laundry list of potential diseases low potassium has more potential to develop if you're on diuretics, have abdominal problems or diarrhea or simply sweat profusely.

        Another health benefit of peaches is the amount of beta-carotene it contains. The body changes beta-carotene to Vitamin A.Vitamin A is essential in so many of the body's functions. A recent study showed that people who had higher amounts of vitamin A in their diet had less risk of developing cataracts. Other studies show a derivative of vitamin A might be instrumental in curing COPD, at least in mice. There are presently no studies on humans.

        Peaches also contain lycopene and lutein. These are also carotenes, like beta-carotene and give color to the peach. There are several studies and indications that these two substances, can help prevent macular degeneration, cancer and heart disease.

        Peaches are high in fiber.There are two types of fiber. Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water and soluble fiber does. Insoluble fiber is heart healthy because it collects water and increases the bulk of the stool. Your stool then acts like little scrubbers along the intestines and removes the build up of waste. This helps prevent colon cancer. Cleansing the intestinal wall also increases the amount of nutrients your body can absorb and rids the body of toxicity. Insoluble fiber also helps to lower cholesterol levels.

  
       Almost everyone knows that oranges are a good source of vitamin C. The Florida orange growers won't let you forget. However, peaches are also high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps fight cancer by improving the immune system and preventing cellular change.

Thanks to health food guide.com for this amazing information about peaches.

If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

How to Read and Understand Organic Food Labels

     Recently, I was shopping and found foods with several different organic labels on them and they looked very similar in quality and price.What is the difference between 100% organic and just organic on the label.I then searched for and found an article called Certified Organic Label Guide from Organic.org to teach me these differences so I know what I am buying.

This is what the article stated -

1. 100% Organic  Foods bearing this label are made with 100% organic ingredients* and may display the USDA Organic seal.
2. Organic  These products contain at least 95–99% organic ingredients (by weight). The remaining ingredients are not available organically but have been approved by the NOP. These products may display the USDA Organic seal.
3. Made With Organic Ingredients—Food packaging that reads “Made With Organic Ingredients” must contain 70–94% organic ingredients. These products will not bear the USDA Organic seal; instead, they may list up to three ingredients on the front of the packaging.
4. Other—Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may only list organic ingredients on the information panel of the packaging. These products will not bear the USDA Organic seal.
   
   
   If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email.
   
   
   Thank You for Visiting !
   Joseph A.Jones & The WellLife Team