Healthy food is less expensive than junk food, study finds

Though it's widely believed that healthy food is more expensive than junk food, a new government analysis shows that does not have to be the case.

"In fact, carrots, onions, pinto beans, lettuce, mashed potatoes, bananas and orange juice are all less expensive per portion than soft drinks, ice cream, chocolate candy, French fries, sweet rolls and deep-fat fried chicken patties," reports Nanci Hellmich for USA Today.

"We have all heard that eating a healthy diet is expensive, and people have used that as an excuse for not eating a healthy diet . . . but healthy foods do not necessarily cost more than less healthy foods," said Andrea Carlson, an economist and co-author of the report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. "The price of potato chips is nearly twice as expensive as the price of carrots by portion size."

Carlson and colleague Elizabeth Frazão analyzed national pricing data on more than 4,000 foods and ranked them according to price based on calories, weight and portion size. The foods were placed in five food groups: grains, dairy, protein, fruit and vegetables. Another category was added for unhealthy items, which did not fall into any of the other calories or were high in sugar, sodium and/or saturated fat such as cookies, desserts, granola bars and many cereals. They found:

• Given portion size, the ranking from least expensive to most expensive is: grains, dairy, vegetables, fruit, protein and less healthy foods. Protein and less healthy foods cost nearly the same.

• Meat, chicken and fish are the most expensive sources of protein but there are low-cost options like eggs and beans.

• Fruit and vegetables are lower in cost overall than unhealthy foods.

• Grains, such as bread, oatmeal, pasta and rice, are the cheapest foods no matter how the portion is measured. (Read more)

Couple loses combined 347 pounds in 2 years, pretty simply; similar success stories are always compelling

"When Art and Betty Halcomb look at each other, they still have a hard time believing how much weight they have lost," reports Nola Sizemore for the Harlan Daily Enterprise. Together, the couple has lost 347 pounds, a journey that started in April 2010.

Art weighed 384 pounds and Betty was 308. "We decided we were going to do everything we could do in a three-month period to see how much weight we could actually lose," Betty said. That included counting calories and daily exercise, which at first comprised for a half-mile of walking. Within two weeks, they were able to walk one mile.

"We did portion control with our meals, actually measuring out serving sizes," Betty said. "I was eating 1,200 calories per day and Art was eating 1,500 calories per day. We didn't limit ourselves to any certain foods. We wanted it to be a lifestyle change, not just another diet."

One of their major motivations was their daughter, Kristen Swanner, a two-time cancer survivor who has endured chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant. To watch her "literally fight for her life and we were just throwing ours away, we felt so guilty," Betty said.

When they discovered Swanner was pregnant, after being told by doctors that she couldn't conceive, the couple had even more drive to shed the weight, knowing they were soon to be grandparents.

"Jesus says he wants us to have an abundant life," Betty said. "If we can do this, anyone can do it. Make that decision today to lose weight and live a more happier life. Don't give up — keep trying." (Read more)

Columnist wants 'healthy labels, not stealthy labels' on groceries

Research has shown shoppers spend an average of just 1 second looking at the nutrition labels on food packages, which lends credence to an argument that the labels need to be easier to digest in a short amount of time.

In January last year, the Grocery Manufacturers Association said its members would soon start adding nutrition information to the front of packages showcasing the quantity of calories, saturated fats, sodium, sugar and nutrients inside, writes Ezekiel J. Emanuel in a column for The New York Times: "Not much happened until September, when the GMA announced that 'Facts up Front' would be the theme for the initiative, and began a second public relations blitz about the forthcoming labels."

But since then, nothing has changed. Emanuel points to failed negotiations between the GMA and the federal government that happened in fall and early winter of 2010 in which the Food and Drug Administration wanted calories, salts, sugars and saturated fats put on the front of labels. The GMA was amenable to the idea, but wanted to also post positive information about vitamins and minerals. The government balked, and negotiations fell through.

But the GMA "knew it had to do something, or risk a more stringent label rule in the future," Emanuel writes. "So it announced its own voluntary label." That label will be flawed, Emanuel argues, because "There is no reason to include positive information on Vitamin C or fiber along with the crucial information on fats, salt and calories. A lack of fiber doesn't lead to the same health crisis as an overdose of salt. And including so many facts results in information overload, diluting the label's impact. A cynic might say that is precisely what the GMA wants."

Walmart has responded by creating its own symbol system called "Great for You," which Emanuel says is a step in the right direction, "but if every company and grocer goes the independent Walmart way, we could end up with many different, confusing icons." (Read more)

Don't let food take control of your Valentine's Day!

Trying to avoid, or at least over-indulging in, chocolate and candy on Valentine's Day? Steer clear of making the day about food, experts say.

"Focus on spending quality time with your friends and loved ones," suggests Cristina Harder, a licensed dietician at the Loyola Center for Fitness. "Trying a new activity together is a great way to share time with family and friends."(VirtualChocolate.com photo)

When it comes to eating, cook at home rather than go out to a restaurant, and get some exercise, reports research-reporting service Newswise. In one hour, a person can burn:
• 200 calories walking, ballroom dancing or bowling
• 500 calories playing racquetball
• 600 calories playing tennis

If the celebration just isn't complete with some indulgence, keep track of what it is. Five Hershey's Kisses just have 100 calories, as do 30 plain M&Ms and three Dove dark chocolate hearts. "They will satisfy a sweet tooth without killing a diet," Harder said. "If you do over-indulge, just get back on track as soon as you can," Harder added. "A minor dietary mishap is only a bump in the road and should not derail your efforts." (Read more)

New Year's resolutions: How to stick to them, how to set up a game plan, and even a few you may want to consider making

Research-reporting service Newswise has compiled an extensive New Year's resolutions package, information particularly helpful to newsrooms in search of copy during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Use these items for tips and information that can encourage your readers to live healthier lives. (Illustration by Tara Kaprowy, Kentucky Health News)

Resolutions need a course of action

If you want to achieve your New Year's resolution goals, you need to be detailed about it, said Joshua Klapow, a clinical psychologist at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

If the goal is to lose weight, "You have to outline the days and times you will go to the gym, the menu adjustments you will make and who in your circle can help keep you accountable for these goals," Klapow says. He advises a "gut-check," asking yourself if you really want to commit to the resolution in the first place. "It's better to be honest than to fail.".

Other tips for success include:

• Be realistic about the goal; shoot for success instead of the stars

• Set short-term and long-term goals

• Be open to making adjustments to your resolutions.

Monitoring progress is also important. "Simply keeping a mental track will not cut it," Klapow said. "If you are dieting, write down the foods you eat. If you want to spend less, write down your expenses. This will give you a visual account of what is working and what is not."

An actual record will also establish the "three-day rule," which involves writing down the reasons you stopped if you've missed three days committing to your new habit or routine. It also involves picking a specific re-start date and putting the written record somewhere that can be seen.

It's also important to recognize limitations. "You have to arrange your life for success," Klapow said. "Buying junk food for your family while you are trying to diet is not going to help. If you want to save money, stop carrying credit cards. Control what you can control to make your goals more easily achievable." (Read more)

Use Monday to make resolutions stick

Almost 45 percent of Americans will make a New Year's resolution this year, but studies show many will fall off the wagon within the first week and almost half will break their resolutions within the year.

One trick to stay on track? "Make Monday the day to recommit to your resolution, evaluate progress and set your goals for the coming week," says research-reporting service Newswise.

"We think of Monday as the January of the week," said Sid Lerner, founder and chairman of The Monday Campaigns, a nonprofit initiative in association with Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Syracuse universities. "It's a call to action built into every calendar, giving you 52 chances for success." (Read more)

Secret to resolution success is to make attainable goals

"I think most people make resolutions that they don't achieve for many reasons, often because they seem so overwhelming," said William McCann, director of behavioral science education in Wake Forest Baptist's Medical Center. "So, from a psychological perspective, we should make resolutions that we are sure to be able to follow through on. While it seems counter intuitive, we should lower our expectations because we want to be able to say to ourselves by next Dec. 31st 'I did it.'"

McCann offers a sample list of resolutions:

• "I will eat a little less dried food this year."

• "I will drive a little more slowly this year."

• "I will help others a little more this year."

• "I will interfere in my children's lives a little less this year."

• "I will talk less and listen a little more."

"Doing a little bit is like a seed that might grow," McCann said. "Start little and see what happens in 2012." (Read more)

Resolution Solution: How to meet your goals

A recent study shows committing to a detailed plan to meet one's goal "not only makes it more likely to be done, but also gets it off your mind so you can think about other things." So says E.J. Masicampo, assistant professor at Wake Forest University. "The (plans) that work specify exactly what you are going to do, including when and where you are going to do it."

There are four elements to a good plan:

• It should specify what is the goal and in what situations it should be accomplished.

• The planner should know he or she is in control and the plan is not dependent on what someone else does.

• It should list specific opportunities to meet the goal.

• It should be a goal the planner is motivated to meet.

"You have to picture yourself carrying out your plan," Masicampo said. "That's where the power of the plans lie, in imagining yourself completing the tasks."

For people trying to lose weight, for example, Masicampo said people should make "if, then" plans. "An 'if, then' plan pre-decides how you will act in a given situation," he said. If a person goes to a restaurant, then they should plan to order a salad rather than cheeseburger. "Making a plan is like setting an alarm because you don't have to think about it under the alarm sounds and then you'll act." (Read more)

Ten resolutions to consider

The University of Buffalo offers its annual list of resolutions worth committing to, each of which is based on the research of its faculty:

1. Make returning war veterans feel at home.

2. Floss every day.

3. To lose weight, eat the same foods over and over. Repetition may discourage overeating.

4. Be a humble leader.

5. Talk to your child about bullying.

6. Combat loneliness by reading more fantasy novels.

7. Reflect on things that give life meaning.

8. Set up separate email accounts to avoid getting scammed.

9. Teach math to your toddler.

10. Be nice to nurses.
(Read more)

The common 'fat gene' can be overcome with a little exercise

Even if they've inherited "the fat gene," people don't have to be overweight if they have a relatively small amount of physical activity, such as walking their dog, a study has found. (Getty Images photo)

The research, published this month in the journal of PLoS Medicine, reviewed dozens of studies about the fat mass and obesity-associated gene, which is very common. "By most estimates, about 65 percent of people of European and African descent and perhaps 44 percent of Asians carry some version of the FTO gene," reports Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times.

But physical activity, even a small amount, may counter the effects of the gene, reducing reduced the effect of the FTO by 30 percent. "While that still leaves 70 percent of the potentially fat-encouraging effect of the gene intact, the consequences of physical activity on the workings of this single gene seem to be substantial enough to perhaps allow someone who otherwise would become seriously overweight to maintain a normal waistline," Parker-Pope reports.

Scientists are still stumped by how the FTO encourages weight gain, but know the gene is particularly active in the the regions of the brain "that regulate the balance of energy intake and expenditure," said Dr. Lu Qi, assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The loss of energy balance is the basis of development of obesity."

Physical activity, though, my counteract that. "Biologically, it is possible these two factors, genes and physical activity, may interact in affecting energy balance," Qi said. And exercise might affect how the FTO gene works, influencing "whether it expresses certain proteins or remains quiet," Parker-Pope reports.

Though researchers are being cautiously optimistic, they hope the implications of the findings will be encouraging. "Often people feel that obesity runs in the family or that obesity is in their genes, and therefore feel they have no control over their weight issues," said Dr. Ruth Loos, a program leader at the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge, England. "Our study shows that physical activity plays a role in weight control, even in those who are genetically predisposed." (Read more)

UK Extension Service launches online challenge to improve physical and financial wellness

The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has created an online challenge designed to help people improve their health and financial status. The Kentucky Fall 2011 Small Steps to Health and Wealth challenge starts Sept. 4 and runs to Oct. 2.

The free program asks participants to track daily choices they make about nutrition, physical activity and saving money. As they enter data into 10 categories, participants will earn points and see a comparison of their progress to other participants. Top finishers will receive prize packs. The first 150 people to complete the challenge will get a UK water bottle.

"As individuals work toward improving both their health and personal finances, it is important to realize that small changes do make a difference," said Jennifer Hunter, UK assistant extension professor for family financial management in the UK College of Agriculture. "Adopting only one of the 10 recommended daily practices is a step in the right direction."

To register, click here or call a local extension office.

Following advice to eat healthy is too expensive for many

Though the Department of Agriculture has recommended that most of a dinner plate should be filled with foods rich in potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, a new study says adopting such a diet "would add hundreds more dollars to (Americans') grocery bill," reports Donna Gordon Blankinship of The Associated Press.

Adding more potassium to one's diet alone could add $380 per year to the average person's food costs, a paper published in professional journal Health Affairs found. Lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, objected to how healthy eating is marketed, with ads showing a plate of salmon with green, leafy veggies and rice pilaf. Many Americans cannot afford to eat that way, he said.

He added some government policies are helping to cut down on the cost of fruit and vegetables, but some policies create problems. A state policy in Washington makes it difficult to buy potatoes with food assistance coupons, despite the fact that eating potatoes is an inexpensive way to gain potassium.

The study was based on a random telephone survey of about 2,000 adults in a county in Washington. It was followed up by a printed questionnaire, to which 1,300 people responded. Hilary Seligman, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, found the results eye-opening. A lot of people assume the poor eat cheap food because it tastes good, but they would make better choices if they could afford to, she said. (Read more)

Lifestyle therapies prove highly effective in the fight against chronic disease

by John Phillip
Lifestyle therapies that include proper nutrition, stress management, regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy body weight are key elements in the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke and dementia are all strongly influenced by fine tuning diet with plenty of raw organic foods and taking advantage of regular moderate physical activity. Once referred to as alternative medicine, health conscious individuals now embrace a natural lifestyle approach to health maintenance. Important research confirms that following four simple behavior patterns can help prevent chronic disease development and progression by more than 90%.

Lifestyle Therapy Proven Effective in Chronic Disease Prevention
Health minded individuals are opting for lifestyle interventions to control chronic disease. Big Pharma alternatives promote existing disease, and they all have side effects that can be more severe than the symptoms they are supposed to mask. The results of the EPIC study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine show that adherence to four simple lifestyle pillars can dramatically lower the risk from virtually every major chronic illness.

This significant study followed 23,000 people for nearly 8 years and examined smoking behavior, food consumption, exercise and maintenance of a healthy weight. The researchers found that those participants who didn`t smoke, consumed a diet high in fresh vegetables and low in meat, exercised at least 3.5 hours per week and maintained a normal weight (BMI less than 30) reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 93%. Heart attack risk was reduced by 81%; stroke risk was cut in half and 36% of all cancers were prevented. Allopathic interventions only perpetuate chronic disease and are ineffective at reducing disease risk.

Traditional Allopathic Statin Therapy Increases Diabetes Risk
Many traditional physicians hand out statins as if they were candy and some even joke that this Big Pharma sanctioned form of poisoning should be added to our public water supply. Statins are known to cause a wide variety of side effects. Muscle deterioration and cognitive decline are two of the most commonly reported detrimental effects that result from the unnatural suppression of cholesterol from long term statin therapy.

The results of research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show how using a dietary approach including fiber, almonds and natural plant sterols can lower cholesterol as much as dangerous statins. Another side effect of statin therapy is increased levels of insulin. Following a natural diet protocol does not raise insulin and has been shown to lower blood pressure, increase HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides and alter the ratio of atherogenic dense LDL particles toward the harmless large buoyant variety.

American Life Expectancy Drops, Lifestyle Therapies Needed
Americans have enjoyed a steady increase in life expectancy over the past century. A report from the CDC now indicates that this trend may have finally come to an end as more people suffer the effects of poor diet, decreased physical fitness and obesity. Despite a never ending supply of pharmaceuticals prescribed by medical professionals, lifestyle disease such as Alzheimer`s, kidney disease and hypertension experienced a marked increase. Following a natural lifestyle approach as detailed in the EPIC study would dramatically increase life expectancy.

The importance of following a natural lifestyle cannot be underestimated and is a powerful tool to prevent chronic disease. Pharmaceuticals such as statins are ineffective and are known to affect insulin levels that can lead to the development of diabetes. Lifestyle therapies have been repeatedly shown to cut disease risk and extend healthy lifespan.

Article References:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/29...
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/co...
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/n...

About the author
John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal.