Dr. Mercola’s 5 Tips to Extend Food Shelf Life

Summer is the ideal time to sunbathe, swim, and to socialize. All the socializing usually comes with a lot of eating and snacking. After the outdoor barbecue is over, does your food go to waste because you don’t know how to manage your leftovers?

However, food is not only wasted in the summer. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Foundation and the International Water Management Institute, almost HALF of the food produced worldwide is wasted.

Americans waste an estimated 1,400 calories of food per person DAILY. These wasted calories represent about 39 percent of the available U.S. food supply and account for approximately 300 million barrels of oil annually. Not to mention all of the environmental implications that go along with fossil fuel consumption, says Dr. Joseph Mercola.

Making small changes in the way you plan your meals and store your groceries will go a long way. Here are some useful tips from Dr. Mercola that will help extend the shelf life of food and avoid spoilage:

1. Check the Source
   Don’t buy a fancy new fridge. It’s more important to choose where you buy your food. Try shopping for groceries at small, local, organic farms so you can personally check their condition. Food that is grown on a smaller scale usually contains lower levels of bacteria and will give you a few more days of leeway before it spoils.
2. Store Food Correctly
   Store your food in glass containers. Dr. Mercola suggests using the “rule of four.” This means keeping food no more than four days at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius. Raw chicken, ground beef, and cuts of beef and lamb are usually safe for three days at this temperature, and four days for leftovers. Read this article to get more detailed instructions on how to store specific fruits and vegetables.
3. Keep Oxygen Out
   Oxygen accelerates food decay. You can “vacuum pack” most of your produce to protect them from the damaging effects of oxygen in the air. Use the bag at the grocery produce section to store your vegetables. Put the bag against your chest and squeeze the produce against your chest using your arm to force all the air out of the bag. Once the air has been removed, seal the bag with a twist tie.
4. Be Mindful When Throwing Food Away
   Don’t throw away bread, cheese, fruits, and vegetables just because of a spot of mold, bruises, or an imperfection. If the food starts smelling a little different, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has gone bad. Cut or remove the particular spot because you can still eat the rest of it.
5. Plan Your Meals
   Planning your meals will help reduce the amount of food that goes to waste and will help you optimize the nutritional content of your meals, Dr. Mercola advises. Plan your meals according to your Nutritional Type, so you know what to consume, and therefore, what to buy and prepare.

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Tags: Dr. Joseph Mercola, food shelf life, Nutritional Type