Hay River (Mar 28/05) - Grocery shopping is more than just filling a cart with whatever catches your eye. Sherry Medernach, a diabetes dietician in Hay River, believes consumers need to become better informed about how to make healthier choices.

Towards that goal, she occasionally offers tours of a grocery store for the general public.

On March 19, she conducted a 45-minute tour of the North Mart in Hay River for two people - one a senior and the other a mother. They went through all the aisles and compared the nutritional value of various foods.

"I don't tend to get a whole lot of people out," Medernach says, although she adds it's good to reach even one or two consumers. "People get to ask as many questions as they want."

She says a lot of people are interested in learning about labels.

"I think people sometimes get confused by what manufacturers have put on labels," she notes, adding some of the words can be very confusing.

She encourages consumers to closely read the product packaging.

Sneaky things

Medernach says it takes some skill to shop for groceries.

Food manufacturers sometimes do "sneaky things" to promote their products and meet changing health fads, she explains.

For example, if consumers are more concerned about sugar content, manufacturers may take out sugar and replace it with fat. However, if consumers are concerned about fat, it could be replaced with sugar.

"People are sometimes surprised what are in products," Medernach says.

As part of the tour, she provides a list of words on packaging that mean the product contains fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar.

Medernach conducted a similar tour last March, which is the annual Nutrition Month across Canada. A tour is also offered in November, which is Diabetes Month.

People should take more time when grocery shopping, the dietician says. "The more time you're able to spend looking at labels, the more healthy your family is going to be."

Grocery shopping requires common sense, she adds. "I don't say you have to give up things, but you have to eat in moderation."