How can we eat healthy food and stay within our food budget?

My girlfriend talks about how expensive healthy food is when compared to junk food.  Fresh fruits and vegetables cost more.  Even at the cafeteria at work, a salad (which is charged by weight) costs more than a burger and fries.  We should consider the healthy food as an investment in our future health because it does cost more.  What are some ways to hold down the grocery bill while eating more healthy? 

Buy in season and shop for weekly specials on fresh produce.  

Find a local farmers market and comparison shop there.  

Plant some veggies and herbs in your flower bed.  I did. 

Do you have any suggestions you utilize to keep your grocery bill within budget while eating healthy?

We can't resist junk food--and we wonder why

Last blog post I talked about a news article which said we can't resist junk food--even when our health depends upon it.  Some of you may find this article written by New York Times investigative report Michael Moss interesting.  In February 2013 he wrote “the public and the food companies have known for decades—or at the very least since a meeting (in 1999) that sugary, salty, fatty foods are not good for us in the quantities we consume them.” More information about this topic can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

We can't resist Junk food, even when our health depends on it

In the News—We can’t Resist Junk Food, even When our Health depends on it

Are you a junk-food eater?  What’s your favorite?  Sometimes I want salty chips.  Other times I crave sweets.  My favorite treats are Cheetos (I remember my mother buying cheese puffs) and malted milk balls.   And I think that life would be pretty boring without occasional junk food.  However, we must like our junk food too much.  A study about Americans’ love for salty, sweet and fat snacks was published in the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Marketing.  The study found that in American households, when one person is diagnosed with diabetes, we change our eating habits.  We eat less sugar and switch to diet drinks—but we eat more fatty and salty foods in our efforts to be satisfied.  

Then the researchers looked at American households for their income levels, higher levels of education and interest in nutrition. The highly educated households and those who were interested in nutrition responded as the rest of the households.   The households who made healthier changes were households with younger people (especially if the person recently diagnosed with diabetes was a female), and those with the higher income levels.  More information can be found at http://health.yahoo.net/articles/diabetes/we-cant-resist-junk-food-even-when-our-health-depends-it

The Marketing magazine information can be found at http://www.journals.marketingpower.com/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.11.0443

Protect yourself from the sun

On Thursday June 6, I talked about protecting ourselves from the sun.  The CDC article I quoted talked about using sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher.  I received an excellent e-article from the University of Texas Health Science Center which recommends much higher SPF level sunscreen (a minimum of 30).  The writer of the article shared that she uses 50 and 100 SPF sunscreen.  I agree with the UTHealth article and encourage you to read the article and protect yourself from the sun.  This article can be found at http://www.uthealthleader.org/index/article.htm?id=5dc9a8c5-a35c-4f42-b0fe-564d91438444

Men's Health Week--Low testosterone

Low testosterone

The level of testosterone,  the male sex hormone, can be low and cause men to have symptoms of fatigue, depression, reduced sex drive, sexual dysfunction including erectile dysfunction, loss of muscle and bone strength with an increase in body fat.  The testosterone level is a blood test and normal levels are 300-1000 ng/dL.  This is the last of five important health risks listed at http://www.driveforfive.com/high-psa.aspx  For more information about low testosterone levels, check out Mayo Clinic information at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/testosterone-therapy/MC00030