Have you ever heard the recommendation to “shop the perimeter” of your grocery store?

What this means is that you should be buying items from the outer sections of the store. Every store has produce, dairy, bakery and meats all along the perimeter of the store. All the processed and non-food items are in the middle. If you “shop the perimeter,” you will be avoiding the chemicals, preservatives, dyes and other fake items in the processed foods.

This is a much healthier diet anyway, but recently I read an article about some of the larger corporations using a chemical to reduce the sodium and sugar in the processed foods. This chemical falls into the category of “artificial flavors” which don’t have to be disclosed any further.

You can read this article at Dr. Mercola’s website.

Personally, I do read the labels and find that organic products like soups and other boxed items don’t have artificial preservatives and flavors. More and more grocery stores are carrying organic items so look for these products as alternatives to your favorite processed foods or take the time to search the internet for ways to make the items yourself.