Tips for Staying Healthy in a Bad Economy

I am sure you have had to hear some elder in your own family tell you, "Eat your vegetables, they will make you grow up strong and healthy!" As luck would have it, they were right. A true key to staying
healthy, is a proper diet, exercise, and cleanliness. Before the white man came to America, the Possum was the closest thing to "Junk Food" the Indians had, to compare to. With things like Chocolate, sugar, and tobacco, (to list a few,) being introduced into the western world, came rotten teeth, obesity, and lung cancer.

Now, it's not the products, so much, as it is the person's fault, who is using them. Addiction, abuse, and good old gluttony, is the true beast here in the western world. Knowing what it is your putting into your body, is as important to your health, as how much your putting into your body. Some things we eat can do more damage if abused, than other things do, such as, salt or sugar. I do not know any one who would drink one cup of salt in one day, but we do not find any trouble drinking one full cup of sugar in our tea, in just one day. Sad fact is, both are harmful, if used to much.

As the economy gets worse, people began to look for ways to cut back on spending, doing so, our health usually takes a back seat, to our power bill. The average middle class family goes out to eat once or twice a week, 90% of the food they eat will be fried, contain large amounts of: salt, sugar, fat, artificial colors, sodium citrate, lactic acid, sorbic acid, modified food starch, xanthan gum, calcium disodium edta, sodium benzoate, along with a huge list of other chemicals not found in a vine ripened Tomato, fresh picked apple, or even in a glass of water. (Not many of you reading this, can boast that you drink 3 glasses of water a day, now can you?)
So from this one writers opinion, and from the 40+ years of practices, I would suggest to you the reader, web surfer, and fellow American, family and friends, in this troubled economy staying healthy is to your best
benefit, doing so means eating right, and cutting back on the other things you may consider more important. Use less electric, gas, and "Night out on the town" in a month instead, then you can save more money, you know, for your grocery bill!

Investing in your health, instead of the hot rod in the garage, will save you thousands, upon thousands in medical bills. In turn, having better health, leads to a longer happier life. Any public library will have a book on "The Proper Diet" for all ethnics and ages. As I am sure, the Sergeant general would agree, eating healthy, and keeping clean, has been known to lead to sever longevity and happier life, in laboratory studies.

For the most part, store have category like any good book. On isle 12, is bread, flower, sugar, or what not, and on isle 8 you'll find coffee, tea, and spices. The true differences are not the product, but rather the prices. One store may impose a 300% markup, while another only imposes 125%, where as, the one who supplies the store is charging a lot less, for the same thing, but without the chemicals to preserve it.

As I see it, If the stores charged a 5% to 7% markup (instead of the 150% to 300%,) they would not be able to keep the shelves loaded fast enough, (resulting in no need for preservative in the first place,) but that is just my own opinion.

Farming and ranching should never exceed it's available size. Doing so causes product to expire before it can be delivered to it's destination. The proper thing would be to make another (farm, or ranch) closer to the intended destination, eliminating the need to extend the shelf life of editable foods.

So shop your local markets who buy from there local markets, check the sales list, fliers, and paper, for bargain deals, coupons, and special days, for lower prices on the things you need. Try your local "Farmers Market" for your produce, look in your area for a meat production facility, like for example; "Copeland's Central Packing Company" (USDA Inspected!) on Sheppard access, in Wichita Falls, Texas. (close to my home,) where your hamburger meat wont get a "Dye" (FD&C red #11, 7, and 19.) or saturated in salt water, such as is done to chicken. To me, the beauty of a steak, is when it's taken off the grill, and not before it's put there, that truly matters the most.
Shopping SMART, is better for the "Human Body" and provides better health, which prevents medical cost, reducing insurance cost, and saves money in your wallet over the greater picture of time. It should be
logical to assume that "eating" the same as you "shop" would have the same (or better,) end results. One very smart thing you can form into a habit, is get your local "Sunday's Paper" from a news stand, and browse the prices in the store's advertisements. It will save you loads of time, and gallons of gas in the years to come. (Also gets your eye's off this screen at least once a week.)

Even if you do not cut, clip, coupons, (Which really does help save you a lot of money!) the price is posted, and there are usually more than one store's flyer's, coupons, and sales ads in them with there price on it. Walmart, Walgreen's, and Target, all three pay for Sunday's Advertisement in the same newspaper. (Example; Dallas Times, San Fransisco Times, etc.) all three have an AD for the same exact bottle of Bufferin Aspirin. All three advertise a slightly different price. Going by the lowest price, offered at the closest store, with the most items your looking for, is where you want to go.

There are many things you can do to save money in a hard economic environment, from using less, to saving more. Price checking, coupon clipping, and picky choosing, just to scratch the surface. Everyone has the ability to learn, and can do what they put there mind to doing, the human race is the only species on this planet that creates what they can imagine in there thoughts. No one is limited to anything less than there own imagination. So on this next "Shopping Day" try some of these Idea's, get out and meet some new people, think of other Idea's to try, ask around, do some serious communications with your local community, and read your local paper! (There ONLINE as well!)