Eating Healthy and following the Government recommended Food Pyramid may not be possible for about 49 million Americans.

An update of what used to be known as a food pyramid in 2010 had called on Americans to eat more foods containing potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. But if they did that, the study authors said, they would add hundreds more dollars to their annual grocery bill.

Inexpensive ways to add these nutrients to a person’s diet include potatoes and beans for potassium and dietary fiber. But the study found introducing more potassium in a diet is likely to add $380 per year to the average consumer’s food costs, said lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.

“We know more than ever about the science of nutrition, and yet we have not yet been able to move the needle on healthful eating,” he said. The government should provide help for meeting the nutritional guidelines in an affordable way.

Add eating organic and locally grown and the task becomes even more daunting.

The poorest members of our population, who depend on government funded healthcare, are the least able to practice prevention through dietary choices and are unable to meet minimum dietary and nutritional needs.

Pound for pound and dollar for dollar nuts are your best nutritional value at the market. Try to avoid cooking nuts because that will diminish their nutritional value but do be sure and add them at any opportunity; salads, cereal, oat meal, ice cream, and whatever else you enjoy.

The researchers from University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania, US say these antioxidants are also up to 15 times more potent than vitamin E. Antioxidants are known to help protect the body against disease. Study leader Dr Joe Vinson said, “A handful of walnuts contains almost twice the antioxidants as any other commonly consumed nut…But unfortunately, people don’t eat a lot of them.” Some people avoid nuts as they are thought to be high in fat but Dr Vinson said they had no link to weight gain.
Nuts are healthy and nutritious, containing high-quality protein, lots of vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fibre. They are also dairy and gluten-free. Earlier studies have shown that regular consumption of small amounts of nuts can reduce the risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, type two diabetes and other health problems.

Dr Vinson also said “The heat from roasting nuts generally reduces the quality of the antioxidants…People usually eat walnuts raw or unroasted, and get the full effectiveness of those antioxidants.”