So you think you have a food sensitivity and want to embark on an elimination diet or try new alternatives–but how do you find these new products? Your typical route through the grocery store might change and it’s not always clear where you can find the best products for your new dietary needs. In fact, your go-to grocery store may no longer be the best for you. Wherever you are on your journey to take back control of your life and gut health, this handy guide of the best grocery stores for your dietary needs should help ease your fears of grocery shopping with a special diet.
Best Grocery Stores
At YorkTest, we’ve analyzed which are the biggest and most popular grocery stores found in America. We then analyzed their product listings to see which catered the most “free-from†items; specifically items that were gluten-free, lactose-free, dairy-free, organic, vegan, and sugar-free as these are some of the most prevalent sensitivities and dietary considerations.
Here’s what we found:
As you can see, grocery stores aren’t all created equal, even when they’re within the same group like Safeway and Albertsons in our analysis. That being said, they were the grocery stores that had the most varied items to suit different diets. In fact, they were the top 2 in any given category except for in its selection of gluten-free foods, where Publix beat out Albertsons.
This might be surprising for Whole Foods fans, since the store has a reputation for being health-conscious. In fact, many monthly searches include gluten-free food-, dairy-free products-, vegan foods- plus Whole Foods–meaning the reputation is there, but customers would actually be better off going to some of the larger, well-known grocery stores to look for “free-from†options..
The only other grocery store that was searched more in terms of those specialty products was Trader Joe’s (but unfortunately we were unable to find their full product list in our research).
The Rise in Diet Friendly Foods
Food sensitivity searches have risen over 80% since the start of the pandemic, showing Americans have become a bit more health conscious in the past year. In fact, there has been a 306% rise in searches for “food sensitivity test†as people try to take back control of their diet and regain freedom from some of the typical aches and pains associated with food sensitivities such as IBS, migraines, and even depression. Recent studies also suggest that there is a correlation between gut bacteria and Covid, putting our gut health more at the forefront of our minds.
And while going gluten-free, dairy-free or even vegan may seem like fads to some, the facts show otherwise. In the US, searches for lactose-free, dairy-free, and vegan food run in the thousands but are continually trending up, especially in the last year. Dairy-free products have gone up 55% in the past year alone. Gluten-free may not seem as much of a buzzword anymore, but American consumers are still on the lookout for options with over 187,000 searches a month. It’s clear that the desire for these products will not be going away.
Changing your diet can be really difficult and trying for many, even if it means it could help you with your digestive issues over time. One of the biggest areas of concern is where to find these food swaps and alternatives. Luckily, many grocery stores are carrying a wider selection of items, and recipes are cropping up everywhere online and on social media. So, having to change your diet doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the foods you love the most.
How to Navigate a Grocery Store When You Have A Food Sensitivity
A good rule of thumb in general is to work your way around the outskirts of the grocery store first as most of the tempting and not-as-healthy options lie within the inner aisles. The outer edges of the grocery store is where you will find your fresh products like fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy amongst others.
But while this is a good place to start, with newly discovered food sensitivities, you may have to venture into more of the inner aisles where you can usually find specialty diet sections with popular food alternatives. In most popular grocery stores, you can find gluten-free aisles where you can source easy food swaps for all of your favorites like gluten-free pastas, breads, and snacks. If you’re going dairy-free or are lactose intolerant, many alternative milk options have entered the market in recent years, and can be found easily in the normal dairy aisle amongst your favorite yogurts, creamers, and more.
Changing up your diet doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, you may discover new corners of your go-to grocery store that you may never have found otherwise. But while that may be the case, not all grocery stores are equal. That’s why we’ve broken down which grocery stores are best for different food sensitivities and dietary needs.
If you’re concerned that your gut health is not as it should be and a food sensitivity could be an underlying issue, check out our Premium Food Sensitivity Test.
