Nutrition experts give their simple tips to see everything on the shelves more clearly and collect the most interesting basket for the body.
Relying on the Nutri-Score, referring to the organic label, checking the calorie intake… the criteria for knowing which products to choose from the supermarket shelves to eat a healthy and balanced diet are many and can be difficult to keep track of. restore. Two experts share their practical recommendations for choosing the best options for our health.
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Arrive prepared
Everything is out of place. For Inserm (CRESS-EREN) nutritional epidemiology researcher Melanie Deshasa-Tangou, the way to choose the healthiest foods at the supermarket is to first make a shopping list. Thus, it makes it possible to develop a balanced menu and limit forced purchases. According to the health food recommendations, “for a week, our menu should include two sources of legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas, white, red or broad beans), two sources of fish (including fat, such as salmon). and leaner, such as cod), and a maximum of 500 grams of meat (the equivalent of two ground steaks),” he summarizes. At the same time, daily consumption of dairy products, starchy foods (preferably whole foods) and fruits and vegetables should be used.
Avoid processed products and prefer raw foods
If they are sometimes attractive for the time savings they allow, processed or even ultra-processed products are harmful to our health. “The ingredients that are used to make and store them are often difficult to digest or absorb for our bodies. In the long term, their use is associated with digestive disorders, cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, and even some cancers,” emphasizes doctor, nutritionist and epidemiologist Serge Hercberg.
To avoid this, we prefer so-called raw foods, that is, those foods that have not undergone industrial processing. “Food is the most interesting for our health when it is close to its natural form,” comments the doctor. This principle applies to cereal and starchy foods such as rice, pasta and bread, which are often made from so-called refined flour, that is, processed as white and fine as possible. “The elements of nutritional interest are removed there: bacteria and bran. Therefore, it is preferable to choose “whole” alternatives on the shelves, which are closer to natural products and provide more nutrients to the body,” advises Dr. Hercberg.
Read the labels
To identify and avoid recycled products, just look at their label. Thus, we banish those who refer to compounds with scientific scientific names, such as those composed of numbers. Additionally, if the product’s ingredient list is not what we would follow if we were to reproduce the recipe, the product should be excluded.
The order in which the ingredients are listed is another helpful hint. “They should be presented in descending order of product quantity,” says researcher Melanie Deshasa-Tangi. If the first ingredient listed on the box of tomato sauce is sugar, then that should be a concern. The expert also invites you to discover the organic labels and the instructions for “reasonable” agriculture, that is, to limit the use of chemicals, to have as natural a composition as possible.
Don’t boycott canned and frozen foods
Contrary to popular belief, canned and frozen foods are options to seriously consider. “All studies prove that they are just as good for the body without the loss of nutrition and allow for a balanced diet at a lower cost,” says Serge Hercberg. And for good reason, fresh food’s nutrients and vitamins break down faster when it’s out in the open.
Understanding the Nutri-score
Nutri-score, first introduced in France in 2017, is an indicator designed for consumers to quickly assess food quality. These are classified into five categories represented by the letters A (best Nutri-score), B, C, D and E (worst Nutri-score) according to their nutritional value. “The higher their salt, sugar or even fatty acid content, the lower the Nutri-score, symbolized by the letters D or E. Conversely, if a food mainly contains elements important to our diet, such as fiber, protein and legumes, its score is higher and closer to the letter A,” notes Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy. “The idea is not to definitively ban all products that have a low Nutri-score, says Serge Hercberg, this tool rather serves to identify the healthiest products among the available variations.”
Be careful, though, the Nutri-score doesn’t take into account how the food was produced. Therefore, it is impossible to know if the product is over-processed, has been subject to the use of pesticides or additives.
Source: Le Figaro
