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Many low-income Americans can't afford to eat healthy foods(Spinach Barf Alert)
Yahoo News ^ | 11-22-07 | Amanda Gardner

Posted on 11/22/2007 11:21:14 AM PST by kik5150

In this land and season of plenty, low-income and rural Americans continue to have difficulty finding healthy foods that are affordable, a new study finds.

One study shows that low-income Americans now would have to spend up to 70 percent of their food budget on fruits and vegetables to meet new national dietary guidelines for healthy eating.

And a second study found that in rural areas, convenience stores far outnumber supermarkets and grocery stores -- even though the latter carry a much wider choice of affordable, healthy foods.

"I think it's a matter of raising awareness among health professionals -- and that could be dieticians or diabetes educators or even doctors -- that when we typically give people a recommendation to eat more fruits and vegetables, that is actually so much more complicated in a rural environment," said Angela Liese, study author of the second report and an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

"There needs to be some thought given to how do you make these recommendations," Liese said.

Both studies appear in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, a themed issue on poverty and human development.

New dietary guidelines recommend that Americans eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, up from five servings in the previous guidelines.

Despite clear evidence that eating your vegetables can ward off heart disease, diabetes and cancer, only 40 percent of Americans meet the old guidelines and less than 10 percent meet the new guidelines, according to one 2006 study.

People with more money eat more fruits and vegetables than those with less money, research shows. In turn, poorer people also assume a greater disease burden relative to their wealthier counterparts.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: health; healthfood; nutrition; poverty; so
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Oh sure, they can super-size themselves at McDonalds or Burger King, but can't afford an apple or a carrot. Give me a break.
1 posted on 11/22/2007 11:21:15 AM PST by kik5150
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To: kik5150

Exactly.


2 posted on 11/22/2007 11:22:55 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Pray for, and support our troops(heroes) !! And vote out the RINO's!!)
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To: kik5150

Oh, BS! Go to the grocery store and look at the prices on canned veggies. They’re practically giving that stuff away. Poor people live on cigarettes and junk food. I love drive-through burgers as much as anybody (Whoppers Rule!) but you have to eat your veggies, too.


3 posted on 11/22/2007 11:26:03 AM PST by ozzymandus
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To: kik5150

Obviously, the government needs to distribute all our food so we can eat the right things. They just want to help us.


4 posted on 11/22/2007 11:29:43 AM PST by donna (We live in this fog of political correctness, where everything is perpetual deception.-John Hagee)
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To: kik5150
Fine with me, let's give them Food Stamps for free healthy food!

Ohhhhhhhhh, I forget, we already do that!

The answer is "Many low-income Americans (and illegal aliens) don't WANT to eat healthy food!

5 posted on 11/22/2007 11:29:59 AM PST by zerosix (Native Zenith Sunflower)
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To: kik5150
"Many low income Americans can't.."

Earn more money and then you will be able to..


6 posted on 11/22/2007 11:30:49 AM PST by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: kik5150

Let’s see...how much do beans, some ham bones and a can or bundle of fresh greens cost?


7 posted on 11/22/2007 11:31:39 AM PST by Clara Lou (Thompson '08)
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To: kik5150

Study says to eat more and another study says were already too fat.


8 posted on 11/22/2007 11:33:13 AM PST by edcoil (Reality doesn't say much - doesn't need too)
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To: kik5150
...rural Americans continue to have difficulty finding healthy foods that are affordable...

Rural Americans used to have G A R D E N S.

9 posted on 11/22/2007 11:33:35 AM PST by LibFreeOrDie (L'Chaim!)
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To: kik5150

Preposterous lying propaganda for more welfare. Fruits, veggies, and other healthy food is cheap and availiable in supermarkets, even in McDonalds. Subway and Wendy’s have entire inexpensive healthy fast food product lines.

Professional welfare parasites prefer 44 ounce malt beer, candy, chips, Whoppers, french fries, and fried chicken.


10 posted on 11/22/2007 11:33:41 AM PST by FormerACLUmember (“If a tax cut increases government revenues, you haven’t cut taxes enough.” –Milton Friedman)
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To: kik5150
What a crock! No mention of personal responsibility or choices made by the people eating the junk. No, it's that there aren't enough groceries stores or b/c the poor aren't given enough money.

The real goal: bigger government, make victims take more money!

The food stamp allocation could and probably should be increased and the government can do even better bringing in more farmers' markets and very low-cost sources of fruit and vegetables

Give more food stamps and force farmers' market to go where no one will buy their ware then people who don't buy veggies now will use the money to buy more junk and the farmer's wares will rot.

Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent. Jim Quinn 104.7
11 posted on 11/22/2007 11:34:20 AM PST by socialismisinsidious ( The socialist income tax system turns US citizens into beggars or quitters!)
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To: kik5150

Only under Marxism-Rodhamism will the poor be given the healthy foods that we know they crave. Then will hunger and obesity be simultaneously vanquished, along with evil free will and harmful individual choice. All hail Marx and Rodham!


12 posted on 11/22/2007 11:39:35 AM PST by Argus
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To: LibFreeOrDie

Was at my brothers place and his canned goods, frozen crop and salted crops would make mylocal grocery store look empty. Gave me 45 lbs of sauerkraught ‘cause he didn’t have room for it. Think I’ll give 1/2 to my boss because he’s so full of shit.


13 posted on 11/22/2007 11:40:51 AM PST by Safetgiver (So simple, even a Muslim can do it.)
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To: LibFreeOrDie

Yup.

One square yard of ground and you can grow enough lettuce to choke a goat.

It’s a freakin weed already!!


14 posted on 11/22/2007 11:43:34 AM PST by djf (Send Fred some bread! Not a whole loaf, a slice or two will do!)
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To: kik5150
When it really comes down to it, it is cheaper to buy nutritious food than the high fat, high sugar foods. I could feed a family of 4 on $50 a week easy. You just have to stay away from buying steaks and junk food.
15 posted on 11/22/2007 11:44:40 AM PST by notpoliticallycorewrecked (Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and get the U.N. out of the U.S.)
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To: kik5150

Yet another “You can’t be too thin or too rich” advocate for the poor and downtrodden.


16 posted on 11/22/2007 11:44:40 AM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: kik5150

Amen.


17 posted on 11/22/2007 11:45:59 AM PST by svcw (There is no plan B.)
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To: kik5150

HAHAHA! I get bulk oatmeal for $.49 a pound. Lasts a long time.


18 posted on 11/22/2007 11:48:24 AM PST by RobRoy (Islam is a greater threat to the world today than Nazism was in 1938.)
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To: kik5150

>>People with more money eat more fruits and vegetables than those with less money, research shows.<<

I think there is a correlation. Those with more money are also either smarter, more conscientious about their health, or more well educated.

Education is free.


19 posted on 11/22/2007 11:49:58 AM PST by RobRoy (Islam is a greater threat to the world today than Nazism was in 1938.)
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To: Clara Lou
Let’s see...how much do beans, some ham bones and a can or bundle of fresh greens cost?

A ham hock + lima beans = Real good eats!!

20 posted on 11/22/2007 11:53:48 AM PST by dearolddad (Opinions are like rectums: everybody has one.)
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