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saturday april 5 2003 19 economist sitn stouffville suntribune to eat well proper food choices are common knowledge but time constraints oget in the way study by michael colangelo special larry beauchamp can always be seen around the produce section of the gro cery store he is diabetic suffers from high blood pressure and has had openheart surgery now he makes smarter food choic es when shopping i read the labels very carefully he said while loading fresh fruit into his shopping cart buying leaner cuts of meat is also important he said i keep the portions a lot small er than i used to mr beauchamp believes people should adjust their eating habits early in life to avoid illness down theroad in todays busy world finding time to navigate the colourful aisles of the local grocery store searching for healthy foods can be difficult studies show consumers are often pressed for time and find it difficult to prepare tasty nutri tious meals information released by york region health services says 88 per cent ofcanadians believe choosing the right foods is important but time constraints prevent them from reaching that goal linda alexander pfnewmarket said she triesto make healthy choices when buying food i dont eat anything processed she said i steam all my vegeta bles and dont fry anything she avoids frozen allinone meals and saturated fats she also checks the labels for the amount of salt sugar and fibre its pretty easy to cook up a fresh meal she said you just have to chop up the vegetables tanya bates doucet carries a device to measure the fat content in foods before she buys she always checks labels taking into consideration fat content dietery fibre and how much should be eaten with each serving eve stevens a registered dieti- tian and certified diabetes educa tor for southlake regional health centre said theres a lot more processed and convenient foods waiting oh grocery store shelves weve doubled our intake of simple sugar juice and pop she said shes also horrified at the size of juices today everythings being upsized tina cahill of aurora also checks the labels oh food and believes in making healthy choices i dont buy much processed foods she said adding prices sometimes influence her food choices however she still checks everything on the package she said preparing a healthy meal is very time consuming according to a document released by york region health services there are some simple solutions most importantly plan meals ahead of time spend an hour on the weekend planning out each weelcshieals the report also recommends stockingup on the essentials these are core products that make healthy meal preparations simple such as whole grain cereals pita pasta and ride lowfat yogurt and cheese all varieties of fresh frozen and canned vegetables and fruit are recorri- mended along with onions pota- toes and sweet potatoes iavoid anything processed breaded or fatty ms cahill said i shop three times a week for fresh produce she said sheavoids pop and drinks a lot of water and tea newmarkets linda alexander believes ina lowfat diet that includes fresh not prepared foods such as the produce available at vlnces staff photomike barrett i wouldnt suggest people buy juice ms stevens said i prefer people eat fruit she said people should be eat ing fruits or vegetables five to 10 times a day but the 2002 york region health status report says that isnt hap- pening ofyork residents aged 12 and over 67 per cent of males and 55 per cent of females eat fruits and vegetables less than five times per day increasing their chances of premature illness and the risk of chronic disease according to the study fruit and vegetables may decrease the risk of heart disease hypertension stroke type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer ms stevenssaid threequarters of the groceries in the shopping cart should be fruits vegetables and grain products there should also be some dairy and a bit of protein you need four to six ounces of protein a day she said red meat should be eaten once or twice a week poultry twice and fish three times a week she also suggests substituting peanut butter soy or beans for meat one day a week we buy a lot of fruits and veg etables said barbara buonocore while shopping in newmarket with her daughter stefania we try to buy organic ms buonocore said they avoid genetically modified foods and are annoyed at thelack of proper labelling we buy organic milk stefania said we dont want the hormones that the cows are eating we look for the sugar content ms buonocore said we dont want any sugar we avoid all preservatives and big name science stuff she said they also filter their water to avoid the fluoride healthy eating is our number 1 priority she said people eat too much fast food because they dont have enough time ms stevens suggested going around the outside edges of the store when shopping this vvill keep you away from the junk food she said five to 12 servings a day of grain products are recommended this includes rice breads cereals and pasta- brown rice has a bit more fibre she said any long grain rice is good tod ms stevens suggested a daily intake of 80 to 90 mg of fat a day for men and 60 to 70 mg for women if you can have a meal under 10 grams ofifat thats good hi 1111 11 m u iimtwiwmii thitviafiwm is frjday saturday stmdi space available wmsecall early to avoid i disappointment mm 4ext224 markham centennial coiffiunity ceh 8600 mccoiyan roadafkham jsejg show across from markvijle shopping c mrwmhkw4 mlhmm