Going to the grocery store nowadays is almost like going into a battle of sorts. To do it right and not lose the war on heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity, you have to plan your attack carefully, using strategies that are tested and effective.

Running unprepared and half-cocked into the store with all its colorful boxes and packages promising to make your life easier or your food tastier is a recipe for utter defeat.

Don’t let the war on good health be lost- you can win the day with these 5 skills that are like weapons in your arsenal.

Grocery store shopping might have been easy once upon a time, but between clipping coupons and trying to keep food on the table in an uncomfortable economy while creating healthful, heart-smart meals can be tricky.

Below, these 5 shopping skills should be practiced either every time you go to the store, or in the days leading up to a trip. Doing these things can help you win the battle for a healthy heart and body.

[adrotate group=”5″]Read healthful recipes, not ones that are obviously junk-

With Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, finding an abundance of recipes is not hard to do. People can’t wait to show off their bacon double cheeseburgers with donut buns and a side of fried Twinkies.

By “unfollowing” those posts and filling your mind with the healthy ones instead, you are setting yourself up for an easier time at the grocery store.

It’s like a sort of training or conditioning. It builds confidence in yourself that you can make the right choices at the store in the face of so many terrible processed foods.

Don’t let the price tag be the deal-breaker-

Fresh produce prices can be hard to take, especially if you are trying to go organic. However, you can find great buys if you know how- and when- to shop. Buying seasonal fruits and vegetables as opposed to the ones grown overseas or in expensive greenhouses is a start.

Buying frozen convenience meals can be a big temptation. It can be difficult to resist the allure of a “ten frozen meals for $10” deal, but those ready-made meals are mostly sodium bombs. Opt instead for fresh produce that’s been marked down and make meals from that- if you buy a lot of something, freeze the meals you make yourself for convenience meals later.

Let Fiber be your guide-

Not all foods are created equal, and even if something is billed as “fortified,” like cereal, that doesn’t make it healthy. Read the labels! What you want is not empty calories- you want as much fiber in every mouthful as you can. Thirty grams of fiber per day should be the minimum to keep your blood vessels clean and happy, which helps keep blood pressure out of the danger zone.

Watch the label for the type of fats-

The bad guy in this battle is trans fat. This is like a cholesterol missile that targets your heart. If you see this anywhere on the label, PUT IT BACK and walk away. All this does is stamp down HDL cholesterol, which you want to increase, and ramp up LDL, which you should be squashing down.

Kick inflammation to the curb-

If the label says “enriched,” that’s code for bleached beyond any nutritive value. High fructose corn syrup is on the hot-button list for inflammation and food intolerances, and an over-abundance of Omega-6 fatty acids (like what is in vegetable oil) in lieu of Omega-3s (like what’s in olive oil) will send your immune system into all-out warfare on your body, increasing your chances of developing (or worsening) arthritis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Avoid these triggers and your heart will thank you for being such a great protector.

For more information on how to improve your hearth health:

Discover how these 3 easy exercises drop blood pressure below 120/80 in as little as 9 minutes…

Or… follow this step-by-step plan to bring your cholesterol down to a healthy level in 30 days or less…

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