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    Speaking of Health
    Friday, March 23, 2018

    Grocery store tour: Shopping the perimeter

    Topics in this Post
    • Get healthy recipes and tips
    • Nutrition

    Have you ever wondered if you’re grocery shopping the right way? Most of us tend to spend the most time shopping in the center aisles, when you really should spend the most time shopping in the outside perimeters of the store. This is where you’ll find the freshest foods, including produce, meat and dairy.

    Fresh foods are generally healthier than the processed foods you’ll find in the center aisles. Because the items in the outside perimeter are fresh, you can better control the fat and sodium intake in your diet. Maintaining a healthy diet means watching what is added to foods, as well. Many foods in the center aisles contain preservatives. Preservatives are chemicals or additives in food that keep them shelf stable and make them last longer. If foods don’t have any added preservatives, then they need to be refrigerated to keep fresh.

    Watch health educator Katie Johnson explain more about preservatives, shopping along the perimeters and more in this video:

    Watch other grocery store tours:

    • Selecting meat and dairy
    • Shopping the dry goods
    • Shopping the produce aisle

    For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a non-patient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
    Topics in this Post
    • Get healthy recipes and tips
    • Nutrition

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