When fuel prices soar we have choices to make. We can take public transportation to work. We can downsize our vacation plans or cancel them altogether. When food prices rise, our choices are limited. Knowing how important a nutritious diet is to our overall health, we can’t cancel dinner or fail to prepare a healthy breakfast for our kids.

After nearly two decades of relatively low food inflation, prices for staples such as bread, milk and eggs are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates, according to the US Department of Labor. In the past year milk prices have increased 20 percent and egg prices have jumped 40 percent. Escalating food prices, along with soaring oil prices could present a big problem for the national economy. The average family spends three times as much for food as it does for gasoline. Our Food accounts for about 13 percent of household spending compared with 4 percent on gas.

Many Americans are under the mistaken impression that when grocery prices soar, compromises must be made and eating healthy foods is simply too expensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that Mother Nature’s bounty is within everyone’s financial reach. In most cases, healthy foods can be purchased at the same price (or even lower) than unhealthy foods.

Here are some tips on how you can provide healthy meals for your family on a tight budget:

• Buy local fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Get to know local farmers and the people who run local greenhouses. Ask them to tip you off on good buys at various points in the season.

• Choose nutrient rich foods, rather than foods like sweets that are high in calories but low in other nutrients. That way you get more nutrition for your food dollar.

• Grow your own. Many vegetables, herbs and fruits are surprisingly easy to grow. Gardening is also a great family activity and it helps children learn the importance of honoring the environment.

• Cook at home. Learn to cook new healthy recipes and share the cooking experience with your family. Actually sitting around the table for dinner as a family feeds the body and the soul.

• Substitute Eggs. Reduce your cholesterol consumption and help your budget by substituting the eggs in baked goods with a tablespoon of soy flour.

The age-old wisdom that you shouldn’t shop on an empty stomach is especially important when food prices soar. If you’re hungry, you’ll end up buying things you don’t really need and wouldn’t normally buy. Make a list and stick to it. Be careful when using coupons. Make sure you use them only for things that you would normally buy.

Don’t let soaring food prices cause you to compromise nutrition. Nothing is more important than your family’s health.

Yours in good health,

Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch

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Knee pain is the most common musculoskeletal ailment that afflicts Americans. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans go to their doctors because of knee discomfort. Pain can occur in the knee from diseases or conditions that involve the knee joint, the soft tissues and bones surrounding the knee, or the nerves that supply sensation to the knee area. In fact, the knee joint is the most commonly involved joint in rheumatic diseases.

Many causes of knee pain, especially those related to overuse or physical activity, respond well to self-care:

• Rest and avoid activities that aggravate the pain, especially weight bearing activities.

• Apply ice. First, apply it every hour for up to 15 minutes. After the first day, apply it at least 4 times per day.

• Keep your knee elevated as much as possible to bring any swelling down.

• Gently compress the knee by wearing an ace bandage or elastic sleeve. Either can be purchased at most pharmacies. This may reduce swelling and provide support.

• Take acetaminophen for pain or ibuprofen for pain and swelling.

• Sleep with a pillow underneath or between your knees.

If you have chronic knee pain, consider swimming or water exercises. In water, the force of buoyancy supports some of our weight so our knees do not have to. If you don’t have access to a pool or do not enjoy water activities, at least try to limit hard pounding and twisting activities such as basketball, tennis, or jogging. Whatever you do, respect and listen to your body. If it hurts, change what you are doing.

Many senior citizens are under the mistaken belief that chronic knee pain is inevitable, as we grow older. The fact of the matter is that knee pain is not a natural part of aging and there are many treatments available that can treat or prevent knee problems.

Medical studies reveal that each and every day we’re exposed to harmful substances, not only in the form of common air pollution, but through the very foods we eat. The Standard American Diet (or SAD for short!!) is loaded with preservatives, antibiotics, pesticides, and dangerous chemicals — all waiting to inundate your system, from your organs, to your bloodstream, from your head down to your toes, robbing you of the vibrant good health that you deserve.

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What if there was one single activity that could reduce stress, increase your fitness level, encourage proper nutrition, increase your social skills and boost your self-esteem? There is such an activity and it is as near as your backyard. Gardening has been proven to provide a vast array of physical and mental benefits. And it’s fun!

Many people find working out in a gym to be tedious, time-consuming and boring. Gardening, on the other hand, coaxes our winter-weary bodies out into the fresh air and sunshine where we are surrounded by the beauty and wonder that only Mother Nature can provide. Gardening connects us to nature and provides us with fresh fruits and vegetables and the encouragement to eat them.

In addition, it provides improved flexibility, stronger muscles and better cardio fitness. The regular physical exercise associated with gardening has been shown to help prevent heart disease, obesity, adult-onset diabetes and high blood pressure. The physical acts involved in planting and maintaining a garden work all major muscle groups. Bending to pull weeds, getting up and down from the ground, lifting equipment, hauling compost and fertilizers, and digging all are regular gardening activities. Combined, they work the arms, the legs and the core muscles.

Economically speaking, gardening is within everybody’s reach. Growing your own vegetables is very inexpensive because all you need are soil, seeds and a few basic tools.

Gardening is the perfect activity to share with your children and grandchildren because it teaches them respect for Mother Nature and it helps them understand the importance of caring for the environment. Children of all ages can learn valuable lessons by planting seeds and watching them grow.

If you are gardening with kids, consider the following:

• Make sure you keep their area of the garden small and manageable. Window boxes, recycled milk cartons and small wooden pots are excellent for kids to use to plant seeds and watch them grow.

• If your child expresses an interest in gardening, consider buying child-size gardening tools to help make them feel like the garden really belongs to them.

• Use the gardening experience as a chance to help kids explore other aspects of Mother Nature, like learning about the birds and butterflies that are frequent visitors to the garden.

• Choose garden chores that are age appropriate. Younger kids can help water with a small watering can, but might not have the strength or stamina to carry the hose around. Assign weeding chores to older kids that can tell the difference between a weed and a plant.

• Keep a garden journal. Children can journal their thoughts on the garden. Encourage kids to be creative with their garden journals. You can keep a garden journal, and add notes about what the kids like and don't like to plan for the next garden.

Yours in good health,

Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch

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