Best Fruit and Veg on a Budget
by Christina Larmer
Here's the lowdown on 10 great winter fruit and veg that give the most nutrition for the lowest price.
As the price of fresh food continues to soar – statistics show the price of vegetables has risen by 18 per cent and fruit by 25 per cent from March 2010 to March 2011 – many of us find ourselves asking which produce will give us more bang for our buck.
In particular, price hikes in broccoli, bananas, tomatoes and lettuce have left us searching for new staples. Is bok choy as good for us as broccoli? Is that overpriced lettuce now a waste of time?
"Some fruit and vegetables are more nutritionally dense than others, but they all have value and we should try to get a wide variety," says Aloysa Hourigan, senior nutritionist with Nutrition Australia.
As the amount of people avoiding fresh food altogether is reportedly now at 30 per cent, Hourigan says we need perspective on the cost and value of healthy food.
"Traditionally, prices have been low in Australia compared with Europe," she says. "Besides, many people would pay $2 for an ice block but balk at paying less than that for a banana."
You can get all the nutrition you need from fresh food without breaking the budget. "Go for things with good colour," Hourigan says. The more colour you have, the wider the variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
by Christina Larmer
Here's the lowdown on 10 great winter fruit and veg that give the most nutrition for the lowest price.
As the price of fresh food continues to soar – statistics show the price of vegetables has risen by 18 per cent and fruit by 25 per cent from March 2010 to March 2011 – many of us find ourselves asking which produce will give us more bang for our buck.
In particular, price hikes in broccoli, bananas, tomatoes and lettuce have left us searching for new staples. Is bok choy as good for us as broccoli? Is that overpriced lettuce now a waste of time?
"Some fruit and vegetables are more nutritionally dense than others, but they all have value and we should try to get a wide variety," says Aloysa Hourigan, senior nutritionist with Nutrition Australia.
As the amount of people avoiding fresh food altogether is reportedly now at 30 per cent, Hourigan says we need perspective on the cost and value of healthy food.
"Traditionally, prices have been low in Australia compared with Europe," she says. "Besides, many people would pay $2 for an ice block but balk at paying less than that for a banana."
You can get all the nutrition you need from fresh food without breaking the budget. "Go for things with good colour," Hourigan says. The more colour you have, the wider the variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Oranges
Average price: $2 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Strawberries, broccoli, capsicum, grapefruit or mango.
Why it's a good option: A source of folate and vitamin C, oranges help ward off infections and maintain healthy bones, teeth, gums and blood vessels.
One orange has all the vitamin C you'll need in a day.
Average price: $2 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Strawberries, broccoli, capsicum, grapefruit or mango.
Why it's a good option: A source of folate and vitamin C, oranges help ward off infections and maintain healthy bones, teeth, gums and blood vessels.
One orange has all the vitamin C you'll need in a day.
Silverbeet
Average price: $3.78 per bunch.
Eat this if you can't afford: Asparagus, broccoli or blueberries.
Why it's a good option: Silverbeet is a rich source of folate and vitamin E and helps lower your risk of heart disease and colon and breast cancer.
Silverbeet has twice the potassium found in asparagus.
Average price: $3.78 per bunch.
Eat this if you can't afford: Asparagus, broccoli or blueberries.
Why it's a good option: Silverbeet is a rich source of folate and vitamin E and helps lower your risk of heart disease and colon and breast cancer.
Silverbeet has twice the potassium found in asparagus.
Onions
Average price: $2.75 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, red capsicum, corn or eggplant.
Why it's a good option: "They have plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants and add flavour to meals," Hourigan says.
An onion has twice as much calcium as one green capsicum.
Average price: $2.75 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, red capsicum, corn or eggplant.
Why it's a good option: "They have plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants and add flavour to meals," Hourigan says.
An onion has twice as much calcium as one green capsicum.
Pumpkin
Average price: $1.50 per kilo (Kent variety).
Eat this if you can't afford: Lettuce, turnip or sweet potato.
Why it's a good option: They're a rich source of betacarotene, vitamin C, dietary fibre and potassium, which regulates blood pressure and maintains body functioning.
Pumpkin has nine times the amount of vitamin E than zucchini.
Average price: $1.50 per kilo (Kent variety).
Eat this if you can't afford: Lettuce, turnip or sweet potato.
Why it's a good option: They're a rich source of betacarotene, vitamin C, dietary fibre and potassium, which regulates blood pressure and maintains body functioning.
Pumpkin has nine times the amount of vitamin E than zucchini.
Bok choy
Average price: $1.80 per bunch.
Eat this if you can't afford: Zucchini, eggplant or mushrooms.
Why it's a good option: "Asian greens such as bok choy are often a cheap, nutritious option and provide plenty of folate, vitamin E and fibre," Hourigan says.
Bok choy has three times more iron than broccoli per serve.
Average price: $1.80 per bunch.
Eat this if you can't afford: Zucchini, eggplant or mushrooms.
Why it's a good option: "Asian greens such as bok choy are often a cheap, nutritious option and provide plenty of folate, vitamin E and fibre," Hourigan says.
Bok choy has three times more iron than broccoli per serve.
Carrots
Average price: $1.98 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Red capsicum or tomatoes.
Why it's a good option: "They provide fibre and beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A," Hourigan says. This boosts immunity and eye health and protects against cancer.
Just half a carrot will give you all the vitamin A you'll need in a day.
Average price: $1.98 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Red capsicum or tomatoes.
Why it's a good option: "They provide fibre and beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A," Hourigan says. This boosts immunity and eye health and protects against cancer.
Just half a carrot will give you all the vitamin A you'll need in a day.
Cabbage
Average price: $2.49 per half cabbage.
Eat this if you can't afford: Capsicum or brussels sprouts.
Why it's a good option: It's a good, affordable source of vitamin C, folate and protective indoles (phytochemicals which protect against cancer).
Half a cup of cabbage has 90 per cent of your daily vitamin K intake.
Average price: $2.49 per half cabbage.
Eat this if you can't afford: Capsicum or brussels sprouts.
Why it's a good option: It's a good, affordable source of vitamin C, folate and protective indoles (phytochemicals which protect against cancer).
Half a cup of cabbage has 90 per cent of your daily vitamin K intake.
Cauliflower
Average price: $3.78 each.
Eat this if you can't afford: Broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts or turnips.
Why it's a good option: "It's a member of the Brassica family and provides vitamin C, fibre and a wide range of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and indoles," Hourigan says.
One cup of cauliflower gives 13 per cent of the daily folate requirement.
Average price: $3.78 each.
Eat this if you can't afford: Broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts or turnips.
Why it's a good option: "It's a member of the Brassica family and provides vitamin C, fibre and a wide range of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and indoles," Hourigan says.
One cup of cauliflower gives 13 per cent of the daily folate requirement.
Kiwifruit
Average price: $3.42 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Strawberries, lemons, rockmelons or grapefruit.
Why it's a good option: Rich in folate and vitamin E, it "has excellent vitamin C and fibre, and is currently a cheap snack for school or work lunches," Hourigan says.
One kiwifruit has four times the vitamin C of a cup of blueberries.
Average price: $3.42 per kilo.
Eat this if you can't afford: Strawberries, lemons, rockmelons or grapefruit.
Why it's a good option: Rich in folate and vitamin E, it "has excellent vitamin C and fibre, and is currently a cheap snack for school or work lunches," Hourigan says.
One kiwifruit has four times the vitamin C of a cup of blueberries.
Apples
Average price: $4.75 per kilo (pink lady variety).
Eat this if you can't afford: Bananas, cranberries, blueberries or strawberries.
Why it's a good option: Apples are another great source of fibre, vitamin C and cancer-fighting antioxidants.
An apple has 25 per cent more fibre than a banana.
Average price: $4.75 per kilo (pink lady variety).
Eat this if you can't afford: Bananas, cranberries, blueberries or strawberries.
Why it's a good option: Apples are another great source of fibre, vitamin C and cancer-fighting antioxidants.
An apple has 25 per cent more fibre than a banana.
Ups and Downs
How Chiropractic Care Helps
Trying to be healthy and well while having spinal misalignments and nerve interference is like trying to run a quarter-mile with a 100-pound weight on your back. You're struggling to make the effort, but your resources are being drained by the effects of extraneous forces. Spinal misalignments create unnecessary forces and pressures on spinal muscles and ligaments. These soft tissues become irritated and inflamed. The inflammation causes pain and interferes with the free flow of nerve impulses between your body and your brain. These conditions can even lead to diseases affecting your digestive system, endocrine system, and cardiopulmonary system. Chiropractic care is designed to correct spinal misalignments and remove nerve interference. The results include musculoskeletal balance, a free flow of information between your brain and your body, and an overall improvement in health and well-being. Is it possible that ups and downs with respect to our health and well-being are yet another reflection of the ebb and flow of all things? Aren't ups and downs part of the natural process of life? If ups and downs are natural, should you really be concerned with the downs? Isn't disease merely the normal flip side to health? If you have a stretch of bad health, isn't that merely the luck of the draw, part of the price you pay for being alive? And if you can wait out the bad periods and expect that they'll eventually swing around to a period of feeling good, why should you exert yourself and spend time, money, and energy exercising and eating "healthy" if it's all going to even out anyway? The answers to these deep questions have profound implications for everyone. First, there are no "right" answers. How you conduct your life is a personal choice. But in fact many people do not make active choices. They exist in a default state, floating along on the current of any random convenient stream. "Whatever" is the slogan and catch-phrase of these persons. Such individuals fail to recognize that we live in an entropy-seeking universe. Breakdown, disorder, and decay are the tendencies of all things. Our health is no exception. If you do not proactively take steps to combat the inexorable progression to disorganization, your body will gradually fall apart. Literally. Understanding that the patterns of life are cyclical does not imply that you should just lie down and take it. The fact that downward trends are inevitable does not imply that doing good things for your health and well-being are useless and a waste of resources. In fact, taking action on your own behalf makes the highs of the cycles higher and simultaneously decreases the depths of the lows.1,2 The result of such action is specific improvement of your health over time. Yes, improving your health takes effort. In this space-time continuum unless effort is exerted to maintain the organization of matter, disorganization will rapidly follow. Muscles don't stay hard and strong on their own. Without proper training, heart and lung efficiency and strength deteriorate over time.3 With a careless diet, digestive organs become sluggish and function poorly. And so on down the entire list of physiologic components and functions. So, yes, it's a random universe. Stuff happens, so why not sit back and "go with the flow". Quality of life is the criterion. How much quality our lives have is based on our personal contribution. Our personal effort. Our personal commitment to healthier lives for ourselves and our families. And that requires effort. 1 Stineman MG, Streim JE: The biopsycho-ecological paradigm: a foundational theory for medicine. PM R 2 (11):1035-1045, 2010 2Pinto BM, Ciccolo JT: Physical activity motivation and cancer survivorship. Recent Results Cancer Res 186:367-387, 2011 3 Brinkhaus B, et al: How to treat a patient with chronic low back pain - Methodology and results of the first international case conference of integrative medicine. Complement Ther Med 19(1):54-62, 2011 |
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain
Chiropractic Care Provides Multiple Benefits
Chiropractic care, by its very nature, is a holistic method of healing. By using noninvasive methods which balance function within both the nerve system and the musculoskeletal system, chiropractic care gives your body the best chance to recover from many complicated problems. Chiropractic care is a key component of the multidisciplinary approach to management of multisystemic disorders such as fibromyalgia. By restoring more normal function to the person's nerve system, chiropractic care unleashes powerful and natural healing forces. The result is a body whose parts are now working together instead of against each other. As the body heals, pain and symptoms will likely naturally begin to reduce and resolve The condition of fibromyalgia creates many challenges for a person with this disorder. These challenges often go far beyond the characteristic chronic pain which alone can be potentially debilitating. Those with fibromyalgia have pain in many locations and the presence of multiple pain sites is often confusing to their doctor or doctors. Family physicians, internists, endocrinologists, and even pain management specialists and rheumatologists often have great difficulty in comprehending the full extent of fibromyalgia and the serious health and well-being issues that are caused by the disorder. Persons with fibromyalgia have so many symptoms that an uninformed physician may find it easier to refer such patients to a psychologist or psychiatrist. But the physical symptoms of fibromyalgia are real. The sufferers have widespread pain on a chronic basis. Additional symptoms include fatigue, sleep disturbances, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, joint stiffness, and cognitive dysfunction (brain fog). Depression commonly affects those with fibromyalgia. Owing to the presence of so many chronic symptoms, fibromyalgia is notoriously difficult to treat. Such patients are typically taking multiple medications, prescribed by multiple specialists attempting to combat the problems that fall within their particular branch of medicine - pain management, rheumatology, and psychology/psychiatry. Despite taking several medications on a long-term basis, most fibromyalgia patients tend not to improve. Depression and chronic pain take a profound toll, and daily living becomes quite burdensome. Many fibromyalgia patients despair of ever finding even a partial solution. Attempts to address the problems of fibromyalgia by just treating the symptoms often fail. As the physiologic causes of the disorder are unknown, holistic approaches have a much greater likelihood of success. Multidisciplinary treatment is needed to impact this systems-wide disorder, including chiropractic care, nutritional recommendations, psychological counseling, and a gradual return to increased levels of physical activity and exercise.(1, 2, 3) 1Schneiderr M, et al: Chiropractic management of fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review of the literature. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 32(1):25-40, 2009 2Hauser W, et al: Guidelines on the management of fibromyalgia syndrome. A systematic review. Eur J Pain 14(1):5-10, 2010 3Busch AJ, et al: Exercise for fibromyalgia: a systematic review. J Rheumatol 35(6):1130-1144, 2008 |
Trigger Points and Pain
Chiropractic Care and Trigger Points
Trigger points associated with lower back and leg pain are commonly found the iliotibial band (near the upper thigh), as well as in muscles near the hip and buttocks, including the psoas, gluteus maximus, and piriformis. Trigger points associated with neck, upper back, and arm pain are commonly found muscles near the upper back and neck such as the the shawl portion of the trapezius muscle, the rhomboid muscles, and the levator scapulae. These chronic, persistent, localized muscle spasms are caused by postural inefficiencies, biomechanical faults, and stress. Any or all of these factors may be involved. Stress may be ongoing, depending on the person's circumstances, but posture and biomechanics can definitely be addressed and improved with chiropractic care. Your chiropractor will analyze and identify biomechanical issues, particularly those involving spinal misalignments. A chiropractor will design treatment specifically tailored for your individual needs and, if needed, will help educate you regarding good postural habits and exercises that will be beneficial for many years to come. Trigger points are persistent, localized muscle spasms that can cause a great deal of pain.1,2,3 Trigger points alone may be responsible for many cases of neck pain, upper back pain, and lower back pain. This relationship is fairly common knowledge among physicians who treat pain, including chiropractors, rheumatologists, and physiatrists (doctors of physical medicine). What is not generally known is that trigger points may also be implicated in radiating pain into the arm and hand or radiating pain into the leg and foot. In fact, radiating pain due to trigger points may be mistaken for pain caused by a herniated disc, in either the neck or lower back. Trigger point pain affecting the wrist and hand may even be misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. A patient in whom a correct diagnosis of trigger point pain is missed may lose much precious time and other resources, as she fruitlessly "tries" one doctor after another and needlessly undergoes all sorts of complex and costly testing. The key to correctly identifying the source and cause of upper or lower extremity radiating pain is to be able to accurately characterize its nature. Radiating pain caused by trigger points is diffuse - the pain broadly covers a region. This diffuse pain is described as "scleratogenous", meaning that it is pain referred from connective tissue such as muscle and tendon. Radiating pain caused by a compressed spinal nerve (ultimately caused by a herniated disc, for example) is described as "radicular" or "dermatomal". This pain is confined to a specific area - the area that is supplied by a specific spinal nerve. For example, pain involving the thumb and index finger could be caused by compression of the C6 spinal nerve. Pain involving the outside of the foot and the little toe could be caused by compression of the S1 spinal nerve. Scleratogenous pain is not specific. A person might complain of pain across the "shawl" portion of the upper back and traveling into the upper arm, experienced "all over" the upper arm. Another person might be experiencing pain across the gluteal region, hip, and upper thigh. Both of these patterns of radiating pain are likely due to several trigger points, localized to the respective areas. Of course, an accurate diagnosis is necessary to be able to develop an effective treatment strategy. The good news is that although trigger points necessarily represent a chronic muscular process, they may be treated with very good to excellent outcomes using conservative protocols. Chiropractic care is the optimal method for managing trigger point pain. Chiropractic care is a drug-free approach which directly addresses the biomechanical causes of these persistent trigger points and their associated patterns of radiating pain. Chiropractic care improves mobility and restores function, helping to reduce and resolve chronic pain. 1Alonso-Blanco C, et al: Multiple active myofascial trigger points reproduce the overall spontaneous pain pattern in women with fibromyalgia and are related to widespread mechanical hypersensitivity. Clin J Pain Feb 28 2011 (Epub ahead of print) 2Bron C, et al: Treatment of myofascial trigger points in patients with chronic shoulder pain: a randomized, controlled trial. BMC Med 9:8, 2011 (January 24th) 3Renan-Ordine R, et al: Effectiveness of myofascial trigger point manual therapy combined with a self-stretching protocol for the management of plantar heel pain: a randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 41(2):43-50, 2011 |
Could your lifestyle be making you sick?
Climbing that Mountain
You may have been considering making positive lifestyle changes for a long time. You’d love to lose a few pounds, maybe more than a few, and you’d love to be one of those people who somehow find the time to exercise every day. It’s certainly true that for people who make their own schedules it’s easier to plan time for exercise and food preparation. It is somewhat tougher for those who work on a more formal schedule and for those who are raising children. But regardless of your specific situation and your specific circumstances, each of us gets to choose how we’re going to find the time to do things that are in our long-term interest. A truism is that if things don’t get scheduled, they don’t get done. For people very busy with commuting to work and raising a family, finding time to exercise might require getting up an hour earlier each day or going to bed an hour later each night. That’s just one of the many possibilities for “expanding” one’s day. The good news is that once you’re doing this, you become highly motivated to continue doing it because you begin to feel better and reap the benefits of your new health-focused schedule. What is your lifestyle? Not whether you are married or where you live, but rather, how are you choosing to live your life? What choices are you making to keep yourself and your family healthy and well? It is startling to learn that some of the most prevalent causes of illness, disease, and death – including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes – are all heavily influenced by lifestyle. For example, we don’t usually think of cancer as a lifestyle disease. We think a person is unlucky if they have cancer, and often we have a fatalistic outlook toward news that someone has developed cancer. “It’s in their genes,” we say. But only approximately 10% of cancers are based on genetics. The vast majority of cancer cases are very much related to how we live our lives – our environment, the food we eat, whether we exercise regularly, and the quality of our relationships. Within the last ten years medical researchers have been learning of the strong correlation between overweight/obesity and a person’s likelihood of developing cancer. It seems that fat cells are not merely passive storehouses of excess energy in the form of fat. Fat cells are metabolic furnaces that spew out a wide range of chemicals, including hormones and inflammatory agents that may often cause normal cells and tissues to become cancerous.1 Most people and even some physicians are unaware of these facts. The connection between lifestyle and heart disease, and between lifestyle and type 2 diabetes, seems obvious.2,3 But cancer, too, is a lifestyle disease. The very good news is that by creating the willingness to make healthy lifestyle choices, you’re making positive long-term changes in your health and well-being. Additional good news is that these choices are in your hands. Every day you get to choose a healthy lifestyle or not. Of course, some days or even some weeks just seem to go by without a real opportunity to do things that are healthy. You might be on a business trip in a country where it’s difficult to find good, nutritious healthy food. It might also be difficult to find the time to exercise when you’re on a travel schedule. That’s OK, though, because lifestyle is a lifetime project. If you’re eating healthful nutritious food most of the time and doing daily exercise most of the time, you can take a week off or even two weeks off here and there. The main goal is to be on a healthy lifestyle path the vast majority of the time. Chiropractic care is an important component of healthy living by ensuring that your body is functioning at its maximum. Your chiropractor will be glad to provide guidance on creating nutritional plans and exercise programs that will work for you. 1 Chan AT, Giovannucci EL: Primary prevention of colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology 138(6):2029-2043, 2010 2 Shi Y, et al: Cardiovascular determinants of life span. Pflugers Arch 459(2):315-324, 2010 3Ma J, et al: Evaluation of lifestyle interventions to treat elevated cardiometabolic risk in primary care (E-LITE): a randomized controlled trial. BMC Fam Pract 10:71, 2009 |