• Cut salt, fat and sugar; eat a more plant-based diet… that’s the key message for healthy food choices from the federal government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  • The latest incarnation of diet guidelines urges all of us to reduce the amount of sugar, salt, saturated fats and refined grains and eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, low fat dairy and seafood. This not only will help us all stay healthy, it will lower the risk of chronic diseases and the prevalence of obesity.

The problem is that fats and added sugars make up almost 35% of the calories of the typical western diet.

Read the rest of this entry »

Healthy Diet Means Healthy Food

We all want to be healthy, and to achieve that, we need to follow a healthy diet. But what if the food we need are expensive? This could be the question that Americans may have formed in their minds when they read a recently conducted and published study last week. A study spearheaded by lead researcher and assistant professor from the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington concluded that the government should assist more consumers to develop the habit of eating healthy foods.

Last year, the so-called Food Pyramid of 2010 was released for the public’s knowledge and information. In the said pyramid, it was explained that to be healthier, there is a need to consume more foods rich in potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. Lately, however, there were reports though those foods rich in these elements are actually costly. Studies say that the average American household that plan to add more potassium-rich food in their family’s his diet will mean adding around $380.00 more a year to their grocery bills.

Another study was conducted and published in the Health Journal wherein respondents cited what food they ate, and their responses were analyzed for nutrient content and estimated cost. Random telephone surveys were conducted among 2,000 adults in King Country, Washington followed by a printed questionnaire that was sent back by about 1,300 people.

Read the rest of this entry »