The Anti-Inflammatory Diet: 6 Shopping Tips

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Next time you go to the grocery store, focus on the perimeter, where fresh, whole foods tend to live. Then, choose these options:

• Produce Section: Choose fresh, whole organic produce whenever possible. Vegetables and fruits from all parts of the color spectrum should make up most of your grocery items. Be sure to consult the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list for those items best as organic.
• Jarred/Packaged Foods: Choose no- or low-sodium jarred and packaged foods. Also be sure no sweeteners, real or artificial have been added.
• Grains, Breads, Cereals And Legumes: Choose products made of whole, intact grains, not white or whole wheat-flour products. The lower the grams of carbohydrate and higher the fiber grams on the nutrition facts label, the better. Stock up on healthy, inexpensive staples like dried beans and lentils.
• Dairy, Refrigerator Case and Frozen Foods: Avoid anything with carrageenan (which may be irritating to the digestive tract), choose organic, full fat, hormone-free dairy products without added sugar. Choose frozen foods that are organic. Avoid frozen meals that are high in sodium among other unhealthy ingredients and focus on options that have an ingredient list similar items you would have in your kitchen. Opt for healthier protein sources such as frozen edamame, omega-3 enriched eggs and fresh organic tofu.
• Meat/Seafood/Fish: Choose fresh or frozen to widen your selection and focus on seafood. When buying salmon, always opt for wild-caught Alaskan varieties.
• Healthy Fats: Choose unsalted or low-salt varieties of nuts and seeds that are raw or dry roasted (store seeds in the freezer for freshness) and when it comes to oils always choose a high quality extra virgin olive oil or organic, cold-expeller-pressed canola oil for cooking and baking.

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