Think healthy, shop healthy

Savvy shoppers abide by the two golden rules of grocery shopping: shop the perimeter (where fresh produce is kept) and never go to the grocery store hungry.

A recent series of studies prompted an article to be published in another publication that added a third rule: eat an apple before you shop.

The study found that people who did so bought 25 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who did not eat anything.

The study suggested that eating a healthy snack before you shop, as long as it is something you really think of as a healthy snack, can change your choices for the better because anything that puts you in a healthy mindset can change your mind to healthier choices.

Umhlanga-based clinical psychologist, Joanne Goss, said for her the study brings up the important issue of becoming more aware of what influenced when, what, how, why and where we eat.

“The article raises the thought that there are unconscious reasons for the choices we make when buying food and based on this, I encourage readers to consider what factors may be influencing their choices with regards to food and weight,” said Goss.

She said there were endless societal, psychological and biological factors (and many which we are unaware of) which are dynamically linked to our thoughts, feelings and behaviour regarding food.

She said the factors which we are unaware of are operating in the unconscious part of the mind, for example how you felt about food when you were a child, whether you were fed on demand or routine, the relationship you have with family members who in some way represent ideas of food and weight for you, whether you eat for comfort or hunger.