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Secure the Perimeter!

Where do you pick up most of your groceries when you go shopping? Do you mostly shop up and down the central aisles? Or do you tend to shop on the perimeter? Hint: If you shop around the perimeter, you’re probably purchasing healthier foods for you and your family.

Why is that? Foods around the perimeter of the supermarket tend to be fresh foods. They’re kept refrigerated to reduce spoilage. While foods up and down the inner aisles tend to be highly processed and preserved – a much less healthy choice.

Ever see an expiration date on a carrot or a tomato? How about an apple or a banana? Of course not. That’s because they don’t need an expiration date. Just about anyone can tell through a simple visual inspection whether it’s suitable to eat or not.

Not so with processed packaged foods. That’s the purpose of an expiration date!

Take the highly-processed, central aisle items. Most of them will look and even smell pretty much the same a year from now. Preservatives work wonders for lengthening shelf life and improving convenience. But it comes at a price. Many of these so-called “foods” have little nutritional value and merely supply empty calories and bulk up our waistlines.

On your next trip to the supermarket, try to do more of your shopping around the perimeter. Load up especially on fresh fruits and vegetables. Shopping on the edge really means buying foods with more nutritional value that are healthier for you.