Cheapest Healthy Foods You Can Buy

From an article titled: "Cheapest Healthy Foods" from the Yahoo! Health Net. Think your groceries are getting too expensive? Last winter, residents of a remote Canadian village were paying $28 for a head of cabbage and $65 for a pound of chicken. It's unlikely such absurd food prices will trickle south, but they are creeping up--and when food prices rise, diets typically tank. That's ironic, too, because some of the healthiest foods in the world are also among the cheapest. Even eating organic isn't all that much more expensive, when you stick with basics and get creative with your cooking. So put down the 99-cent can of Beefaroni and grab one of these cheaper, healthier alternatives:

Oats Cost: about $3 pound
Benefit: Oats are rich in avenanthramide, an antioxidant that protects the heart. Other oat accolades? The superfood lowers cholesterol and has been shown to possess disease-zapping antimicrobial activity, making organic oatmeal the perfect affordable breakfast item for cold and flu season.

Dry Beans Cost: about $2 per pound, depending on the variety
Benefit: Forget expensive steak and sausage. Dry beans and dry lentils pack a healthy low-fat, plant-based protein punch. Known as a "perfect food," just one cooked cupful can provide as much as 17 grams of fiber. Beans are also loaded with protein and dozens of key nutrients, including a few most people fall short on--calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Studies tie beans to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast and colon cancers. Soak beans overnight and rinse them well to eliminate most of the flatulence-causing compounds.

Garlic Cost: $1 per bulb
Benefit: This onion relative contains more than 70 active phytochemicals, including allicin, which studies show may decrease high blood pressure by as much as 30 points. High consumption of garlic lowered rates of ovarian, colorectal, and other cancers, according to a research review in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. To boost garlic's health effects, be sure to crush the cloves and let them stand for up to 30 minutes before heating them. Extend the life of your garlic by storing it in a paper bag in the refrigerator.

Cayenne Pepper Cost: about $3 per jar
Benefit: If you can handle the heat, this powerhouse pepper is worth your while. The heat in cayenne peppers come from a phytochemical called capsaicin, which can help clear congestion, fight cholesterol, melt away body fat, and jump-start your metabolism. Sprinkle it over veggies and beans to sneak it into your diet--just a half a teaspoon is all you need.

Celery Cost: $1.99 per bunch
Benefit: Eating four sticks of celery a day can produce modest reductions in blood pressure, thanks to the vegetable's rich supply of phthalides, phytochemicals linked to cardiovascular health. Single? Celery is loaded with androstenone and androstenol, pheromones that help attract women.

Tomatoes Cost: $1.50 per pound
Benefit: Tomatoes are our most common source of lycopene, an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease and breast cancer. Stock up at farmer's markets or from your own garden while you can. Canned tomatoes (a cheaper option when fresh tomatoes are out of season) can expose you to the harmful plastic chemical BPA, which is used in the epoxy coatings that line cans. When fresh tomatoes aren't available, or aren't good, look for jarred or boxed varieties.

Onions Cost: $2.99 per two-pound bag
Benefit: This bulb boasts far-reaching health benefits, including immunity-boosting compounds that can help prevent everything from the common cold to cancer. Onions are also rich in quercetin, a flavonoid shown to keep your blood healthy. It's also a must-have for natural allergy prevention. Tip: Store your onions somewhere cool and dry, such as a dark cabinet or unused closet, and that two-pound bag will last for months.

MyAchingKnees tip:  Try a slice of Tomatoe on a slice of onion,...even better with a slice of Avacodo and a touch of Sea Salt. 


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Miracle Vitamin C Cure?

The Miracle Vitamin C cure, at least that's what it sounded like on a morning talk radio infomerical with a Doctor, who I'll call, Dr. Unicorn. We all should know by now that Supplement Manufacturers are restricted by the FDA on making claims pertaining to how their nutritional supplements cure disaeases and conditions.

Doctor Unicorn apparently did not understand that, or is willing to face being a target of the FDA when he claimed that his Vitamin C supplement will lower your blood pressure, lower your LDL (the bad cholesterol) and do other amazing things. It's one thing to say we believe that any particular nutrient or product helps with this or that condition, but to make a claim that it cures a disease is wholly another.

He did correctly state that the FDA's minimum Required Daily Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C is 60 mg and that is way too low of a dose. I certainly believe that a person needs a much greater dose of Vitamin C and every other nutrient than the old, antiquated RDA recommends, but I also believe that we can't pick one or two nutrient's and take them in mega doses and expect much good to come from it. I believe we need the whole gamet of nutrients in large doses that will work synergistically to provide nutrients for optimal celluar health.

I believe that not only advanced doseages of all nutrients are important but the quality of that nutrient, from the source through to manufacturing, is very important. Doctor Unicorn continued his infomercial by reading ingredients from other manufactuers' products and likened some of the ingredients with toxic substances,....words to the effect,...."cellulose,...that's really chopped up newspapers",.......... ...."Silicon,..that's a lubricant like Motor Oil".

Oh yeah, Doctor Unicorn also made the claim that since his product is a powder, it activates and it's absorbed better and faster. Really? Well, I hope the people who fall for Doctor Unicorn's Miracle Vitamin C are few in number, but if it works for them then maybe they should stick to it. Doctor Unicorn could use the income because he ain't concerned about his reputation.


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The 6 Worst Natural Ingredients

The 6 Worst Natural Ingredients, by Emily Main on Yahoo! Health.  I am glad this was brought to the net  especially the Fruit Juice Concentrate and the High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

Carrageenan Behind the label: You may not have any idea what this weird-sounding ingredient is at first glance, but it's derived from seaweed and used in dozens of so-called "natural," and even some organic, foods to keep ingredients from separating. The problem is, it's been pegged to inflammation, which itself can lead to chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and

Your move: Carrageenan is used mostly in dairy products, so read labels carefully or shop from this list of organic dairy products that are free of carrageenan.


Carmel Coloring Behind the label: The caramel candies you ate as a kid got their coloring from caramelized sugar, which turns brown as its heated. The caramel coloring you find in your soda--not so much. It's created when sugar is heated with ammonium compounds, and the process creates a cancer-causing byproduct called 4-MI, which exists as a contaminant in caramel food coloring at varying levels. Coca-Cola recently switched to a lower-MI formulation of its caramel coloring, but tests from the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently found sodas sold across the country with widely varying, and dangerous, levels.

Your move: Do you really need that soda? After all, cancer-causing contaminants are just one of many disturbing side-effects of soda, which include kidney problems and liver fat.


Palm Oil Behind the label: Palm oil became the go-to replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted trans-fat-labeling rules on processed foods, but that replacement didn't do much for public health. A number of studies suggest that palm oil is as bad for your heart as the trans fats hidden in by partially hydrogenated oils. The most recent, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found that it raised bad LDL cholesterol levels as much as partially hydrogenated soybean oil. In addition to its heart-damaging health problems, enormous tracts of rainforests and peat bogs have been razed or filled in to make room for palm oil plantations. Peat bogs are ecologically valuable, because they sequester globe-warming carbon dioxide, and rainforest destruction has led to the endangerment of 140 animal species in Indonesia and another 50 in Malaysia, the world's two largest producers of palm oil.

Your move: Palm oil is mostly used in crackers, cookies, and other baked goods, so scrutinize labels. Safflower or sunflower oil are healthier and don't carry the problems associated with other genetically modified vegetable oils made from corn, canola and soy. If your favorite product does contain palm oil, call the manufacturer and ask how it was sourced. Some companies use palm oil produced under an industry group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which is trying to develop standards that would protect vital species habitats.


Evaporated Cane Juice Behind the label: "Evaporated cane juice" may sound benign enough, but it's essentially refined white sugar with a fancier name, according to naturopathic physician Andrew Weil, MD. It's not even really juice, but dried crystals that are left behind after raw sugar cane has been boiled. Those crystals then undergo additional processing, removing any vitamins and minerals that may have existed in the raw sugar cane. Because it isn't juice, the FDA has proposed new rules that would make the term illegal on food packages, opting instead for "sugar" or "dried cane syrup." The agency has even sent warning letters to juice manufacturers who use the term misleadingly, for instance, advertising a product as "100% juice."

Your move: When you do need processed foods, opt for those containing sweeteners with real nutritional value, such as real maple syrup, molasses, raw honey, and others that made our list of the 5 Best Sweeteners.

Fruit Juice Concentrate Behind the label: You probably see the words "fruit juice concentrate" on a jar of jam or in a fruit drink and think it's got to be healthier than sugar, right? Wrong. Apple, pear and white grape fruit juice concentrates are some of the most commonly used sweeteners added to foods, and they're simply empty calories, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. They're used as fat replacements, because their water content provides bulk, yet they still contain high levels of fructose, a form of sugar tied to heart problems and one that can actually lower your ability to remember things.

Your move: Fruit is "nature's candy" so eat it whole. The fructose levels are tempered by the added fiber, vitamins and minerals you get when downing whole fruits. When you do need processed foods, opt for those containing sweeteners with real nutritional value, such as real maple syrup, molasses, raw honey, and others that made our list of the 5 best sweeteners.


High Fructose Corn Syrup Behind the label: There's little redeeming nutritional value to HFCS, the ubiquitous sweetener added to everything from bread to salad dressing. It provides empty calories, which promote obesity, it's been linked to heart disease, and the manufacturing process has the potential to contaminate it with brain-damaging mercury. Yet HFCS still shows up in so-called "natural" foods. Back in 2008, the FDA decided that, due to the highly industrialized process used to create HFCS, using the sweetener in products labeled "natural" was deceptive and misleading. But after backlash from the Corn Refiners Association, the agency reversed that decision two months later.

Your move: Few nutritionists out there would agree with the Corn Refiners Association's assertion that HFCS is "natural," but since they don't make the rules, it's up to you to read labels. HFCS is very common in "low-fat" foods, so read ingredient lists.



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Drink Water, Use Coca-Cola for Cleaning

Water or Coke - incredible! This is very interesting, sent to me by a friend of mine who I was successful in getting to quit drinking Aspartame laced drinks. 

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population)

#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.

#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.

#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?

COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

#8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years! Now the question is, would you like a glass of water?



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