The world is becoming more health conscious every year. Food companies are making so-called healthy food products, the fast food industry is trying to make menus healthier, and people are making smarter choices when it comes to their food.

This is a wonderful thing and much needed as obesity continually affects more and more families. It is still a challenge to eat well with all the “healthy food” options and the media dictates what we consider healthy. Every day I see ads and articles promoting food products that are really not the best option. From high-fructose corn syrup to 100-calorie snack packs, people are being forced to make poor decisions about their health. Making the weight loss journey and the quest for ripped abs ever more difficult.

The easiest way to avoid all this and stick to a healthier path would be to eat natural foods that have not been altered by humans. This shopping list would include meats, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts, and less altered dairy products. This can be a difficult thing to do, as most of the food on the shelves has been influenced by humans in one way or another.

For that reason, I’ll give you three things to pay attention to the next time you’re at the grocery store so you can make smarter, healthier choices for yourself and your family:

#1: Food Source

This one can be a bit tricky, but many stores are getting better at providing this information. If you have access to a health food store, you won’t have as many problems, but even Kroger stores are getting better.

Pay attention to where the food you buy comes from. This refers more to meat and animal products than to other items. Many feed companies use hormones and feeding processes for their animals that can affect the quality of the meat.

The hormones that are added to an animal to make it grow can be absorbed into our bodies once we eat the meat, upsetting our hormonal balances and bodily processes.

Look for more natural, grass-fed, hormone-free meats. The same goes for shellfish; try to look for more natural sources and not fish from closed waters. This meat will not only be healthier, but it will also be much fresher and taste better.

#2: Ingredients

When buying food, pay attention to the ingredients. Many times a food will claim to be healthy because of the number of calories, but in reality those calories are not healthy.

Calories are important, but just as important is the quality of the food. In general, the fewer the number of ingredients, the better the food. If you choose a 100-calorie snack package, you’ll see a long list of ingredients, whereas with more natural foods like vegetables, there’s only one ingredient.

If you decrease the quantity of ingredients in your pantry, you will increase the quality.

#3: Sodium

Sodium is one of those things that many people overlook. It plays an important role not only in weight loss, but also in heart health, joint health, and general well-being. Kill your way to success with water retention and a general lowering of mood.

Many foods have sodium added to increase shelf life. Almost all canned foods will have a high amount of sodium, which is why canned foods last so long. Start watching the sodium content of your foods and try to limit your intake to less than 1,500 mg per day. As an example, a can of “low sodium” soup has 900 mg of sodium. If that’s “low” then I’d hate to see normal!

Lower your sodium intake for a couple of weeks and see how much better you feel.

Begins to pay more attention to details at the supermarket. Making the decision to eat and be healthier is good, but it’s hard with all the tricks being played by the big food companies. Look at the little things and your food choices will start to change.