Health News
Report highlights high cost of housing and food; lower-income people are forced to make difficult choices
Healthy food is becoming increasingly out of reach for low-income families on Vancouver Island, a new report says.
Grocery costs for a family of four on a nutritious diet costs $1,366 on average per month in the Island Health region, a BC Center for Disease Control report says.
Those in the North Island health region, which includes the Sunshine Coast, were found to pay $1,370 on average, while families in Central Vancouver Island and South Vancouver Island paid an average of $1,343 and $1,386
Today, the Provincial Government is announcing support of approximately $386,000 to Food First NL. This one-time funding will support Food System Transformation initiatives and advance collaborative efforts through four interrelated community food projects, and will open up opportunities for future investments from national partners.
These community food projects include:
Cholesterol is one of those words that always sound ominous, especially when your doctor mentions it at your annual checkup. First, we need to point out that cholesterol — a waxy, fat-like substance that travels through your bloodstream — is not inherently bad. It’s an important and necessary substance created by your liver to digest fatty foods, create hormones and build cells, among other crucial functions. However, in addition to the cholesterol your liver pumps out, you also get cholesterol from the food you eat (especially animal products
The Write-Right Nutrition Program (WRNP) hosted a free nutrition literacy community workshop at the Niagara Falls Public Library on May 25.
Organizers called the event a huge success as participants learned the benefits of a well-balanced diet, healthy food substitutes/alternatives, and important nutrient information.
Major Robert Restaino attended the event and shared a few words of encouragement to the workshop participants.
Organizers also thanks the Niagara Falls Public Library for its support and assistance as well as co-sponsors of the event, Tops Markets, Home Depot, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, DiCamillo Bakery and Papa John’s Pizza.
WRNP provides food assistance to individuals,
Is eating healthy more expensive? Let’s get this out of the way: healthy eating doesn’t break the bank. In fact, healthy eating can actually be . than buying highly processed, additive-laden packaged food. Unfortunately, the general population believes that healthy equals expensive. But oftentimes, that’s not the case. So, why are we conditioned to think that healthy eating isn’t budget-friendly?
Part of the issue is that we confuse ‘healthy’ with other labels like organic and gluten-free. Just because a package of crackers (or artificial candy) is gluten-free, doesn’t mean that it’s nutrient-dense or inexpensive. The other issue is that healthy
Until a few months ago, the concept of ultra-processed food (UPF) was only mentioned in a handful of academic journals and the occasional newspaper article. The term itself was only coined in 2009. This year, mainly thanks to Chris van Tulleken’s heavily promoted book Ultra-Processed People, fear of UPF has gone mainstream. A number of journalists have written about their struggle to keep UPFs out of their lives. Van Tulleken himself was on Channel 4 News last night blaming UPFs for “pandemic obesity” and Panorama followed this with a documentary about “chemicals” in the food supply.
No one has
A new report has highlighted the fact that for many middle- and low-income families in BC, the cost of maintaining a nutritious diet is escalating beyond their financial means.
The Food Costing in BC 2022 report shines a light on the high cost of healthy eating and the health cost challenges posed by food insecurity, which is described as a “significant public health issue” by Dr. Geoff McKee, medical director of population and public health with the BC Center for Disease Control (BCCDC).
“The price of food does not affect everyone equally and the root cause of household food insecurity
A common piece of advice when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet is to fill your cart from the outside aisles of the grocery store.
That’s where you’ll find the meat department, dairy case and, most importantly, the produce section – all the least-processed offerings in the building.
Of course, there are exceptions. The middle aisles are where you can find many healthy grains as well as canned fruits, vegetables and legumes. The freezer section holds healthy options as well. Flash-frozen produce is as nutritious, we’re told, as the fresh stuff, but has the advantage of keeping it far