Real food is a big part of the Code Red Lifestyle, and I fully support and encourage you to buy locally grown fruits and veggies, and purchase meat from a local farmer or rancher.

In fact, an ideal world, we’d all either naturally grow and raise our own nutrient and mineral-rich food, or buy it from people who do.

But, for a variety of reasons, I don’t require it on the Code Red Lifestyle. You can lose weight, heal, and be successful on Code Red without buying organic. I know because I see it on a daily basis!

I still encourage you to make real, fresh, whole food as much of your diet as possible, whether you buy it at the store or from a local farmer.

For those times when you need to buy something in a can or package, however, here are five simple hacks to help you choose the healthiest option.

1. Avoid anything that says low or reduced fat.

When you take the fat out of food, it tastes like cardboard. Food manufacturers know this, and they add sugar to improve taste. Go for the full-fat version.

2. The fewer ingredients, the better.

The fewer ingredients on a food label, the less processed the food usually is. Pick the product with the least number of ingredients.

3. Beware hidden sugars.

There are dozens of names for sugar that don’t include the actual word sugar. Get familiar with them, because they’re stuffed into the vast majority of processed, packaged food you see on grocery store shelves.

4. Sugar-free and no added sugar aren’t automatically healthy.

Just like fat-free isn’t healthy, don’t assume sugar-free or no sugar added are safe.

No added sugar doesn’t mean there’s no sugar in the product – it just means the food company supposedly didn’t cram in extra.

And sugar-free may still contain loads of chemicals, as well as harmful artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

5. Don’t assume foods labeled all-natural are superior.

Extremely poor regulations allow food manufacturers to slap “natural” on just about anything they want, then increase the product’s selling price because they know you’ll pay more if you think the product is “all-natural.”

“All-natural” versions of foods often have fewer ingredients and fewer chemicals, both of which are good things.

But never assume that’s the case–always read the label and see for yourself, then decide if you want to pay extra for the “all-natural” version.

There are foods in packages and cans that are safe to eat. But in today’s world, they’re outnumbered by foods that aren’t.

That’s why, whenever possible, stick with real, whole food, as close to its natural state as possible.