Healthy food choices lead to unhealthy grocery shopping

Health in a Heartbeat

It’s human nature. Many of us probably don’t even know we’re doing it. You’re in the supermarket, rolling a cart through the produce section.

Ah, here comes broccoli, one of the healthiest foods available. You drop some into the shopping basket. The vegetable will work its magic with numerous health benefits, from helping lower blood sugar to reducing heart disease risk. It’s a superfood so healthy that it will probably tell you to fasten your seatbelt on the ride home.

Later, a few aisles away, you see a chocolate bar. You’ve made the healthy choice with broccoli, even though you hate its taste. Maybe you deserve a reward. The chocolate joins broccoli in the cart as they no doubt scowl at one another.

If this seems far-fetched, like something you’d never do, think again.

A recent European study shows that grocery shoppers tend to follow their healthy food purchases with unhealthy selections and vice versa. At times, we might be doing it subconsciously. It’s a veritable tug of war between vice and virtue, with our best-laid shopping plans subject to the whims of a sweet tooth.

Researchers literally followed 5,000 shoppers at a Dutch supermarket chain, scanning their food choices as the selections were made. Then, they conducted an online simulation with 500 Americans.

The study found that in both scenarios, a guilty pleasure like chocolate more often followed a healthier choice. At the same time, junk food was most often followed by a selection that would make a cardiologist happy.

The lesson is to remain committed to your health and shopping goals. Do not listen to the siren song of the frosted donuts in the bakery section.