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I never clip coupons , mostly because they're usually for Fritos or Gatorade or Cheezits, things I try not to buy.   Big chains use them to lure you into the store, offering discounts mostly on processed food and snacks, according to The Washington Post's Lenny Bernstein. "When researchers looked at  1,056 coupons available online for supermarkets nationwide  , they found that the largest share (25 percent) were for 'processed snack foods, candies and desserts,'" he notes.  Another 14 percent offered price breaks on prepared meals, 11 percent were for cereals, and 12 percent were for beverages, more than half of which were sodas, juices and energy or sports drinks. Just 3 percent offered discounts on vegetables, 1 percent were for unprocessed meats, and fewer than 1 percent provided breaks on fruit prices. And those fruits were canned, not fresh.   If stores make “the unhealthier option less expensive and easier to purchase, we can’t be surprised when [p...

My husband is not going to be happy about this, this man who every day eats apples, cherries, blueberries, spinach, and red peppers.   A new study finds that five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is still not enough. Say what?  According to the Los Angeles Times, we really should be eating seven. Eating five a day was supposed to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.  Scientists from the University College London who looked at data concerning fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from a 12-year period for more than 65,000 people over the age of 35  found that participants "ate on average 3.8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, with a serving being three ounces. Those who ate more fruit and vegetables were found to have a lower body-mass index," Jenn Harris reports.  I'm not that good either.  I try to have two vegetables at dinner and eat fruit throughout the day, but I certainly don't, al...

Can it really be?  Is McDonald's really going to offer healthy food , not just salads that, when you add the dressing and croutons, have more fat and calories than Big Macs? Looks like it might be true.  Both The New York Times and Daily Mail ran stories this week about the fast food giant's new menu that will in, three years, in some places, allow diners to swap french fries for salad, fruit or vegetables (real vegetables), something they've been doing in France (it figures) for some time, and other healthy choices. The new menus are being rolled out in 20 of the company's markets, both here and abroad, that are responsible for 85% of their sales.   The changes will take place in half  of McDonald's restaurants in three years, and the rest will roll out sometime. .  .later.  Oh, 2020. The reason they're doing this?  There're a lot, but one of the main ones is you millennials, who prefer Chipotle and Panera (me, too). What's in store?  ...

According to Nicholas Bakalar, some fruits are better for you than others, but eating a variety is the best. Writing at nytimes.com, Bakalar says, "Recent studies have found that eating a greater variety, but not a greater quantity, of fruit significantly reduces the risk for Type 2 diabetes." This made researchers wonder whether some fruits might have a stronger effect than others, he adds. Tracking diet and disease prospectively over a 12-year period in more than 185,000 people, of whom 12,198 developed Type 2 diabetes, researchers found "some fruits — strawberries, oranges, peaches, plums and apricots — had no significant effect on the risk for Type 2 diabetes. But eating grapes, apples and grapefruit all significantly reduced the risk." The big winner: blueberries, Bakalr reports. "Eating one to three servings a month decreased the risk by about 11 percent, and having five servings a week reduced it by 26 percent." What's interesting is t...

A recent study done in the UK has found that eating fruit and vegetables can make us euphoric.  Seven portions a day, that is. http://www.andrewoswald.com/docs/October2FruitAndVeg2012BlanchOswaldStewartBrown.pdf