Whether you're a broke college student like me, a single mom, or anything in between, living that healthy life in the big city is usually expensive and inconvenient. This blog will address some of the challenges to healthy living in the city, highlight the media coverage of these issues and give you a few tools to make the task of healthy living a little easier. Live long and prosper! But seriously.
I intern at Street Sense, Washington, D.C.'s homeless newspaper. We rarely break news. But we did on September 26, when we wrote about the federal government's plans to cut food stamps, the program commonly known as SNAP, across the board. "In the District, more than 144,000 people participate in the program, up 3,353 beneficiaries (or 2.4 percent) from the previous year," reported Ramanda Lazaris, my friend and coworker. More than a month later, the Washington Post picked up the idea that we first broke, in Brad Plumer's article:
First up is a big automatic cut to SNAP scheduled for Nov. 1. This is happening because the food-stamp program was temporarily expanded in 2009 as part of the Recovery Act. That bill spent $45.2 billion to increase monthly benefit levels to around $133, on average.
Homeless advocates (many of the people I work with at Street Sense) and the urban poor are quick to blame the GOP for these cuts, painting the political right as haters of the homeless and the poor. I didn't really know how to deal with this as a defiant of political stereotypes. I'm a Christian, who was homeschooled--stereotypical of a Republican. I'm also half-black, lower-middle class (just a half step above receiving food stamps), and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area--stereotypical of a Democrat. I don't align myself with either political party, but I'm wary of hasty blame tossing. My skepticism was confirmed by the news that Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign may be a reason that food stamps are being cut. Andrea Peyser reported November 11, on the New York Post:
The great food grab began in 2010, when President Obama, with Michelle and US Department of Agriculture honchos at his side, signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. At the time, he admitted taking cash from one pocket to feed the other. "Some of the funding [for the lunch program] comes from rolling back temporary increases in food-stamp benefits," he said, starting in the fall of 2013.
The kids who qualify for lunch programs in schools are usually from families who receive SNAP discounts. Essentially, children's dinners are being taken away so as to give them a "healthy" lunch.
This might be justifiable if the overall health of American kids were improving as a result, and Michelle's "Let's Move" campaign was achieving its desired goals. But one report from Bizpac Review indicates otherwise:
Students complain they are still starving after the small lunches and say the food is just downright disgusting. "They say it tastes like vomit," one board member, Myra Mosley, said, according to the Enterprise. "Kids can't learn when they're hungry!" parents reportedly shouted to the assembled board (from Janeen Capizola's article "School kids to Michelle Obama: Our lunches 'taste like vomit'").
So let's keep this straight...families now have less money to spend on groceries, and healthy foods are being wasted in schools because kids can't stand them. No matter where I turn, I see evidence that the government cannot fix all the problems of our nation or make choices for its citizens--we need the freedom to make those choices for ourselves. Advocates will point to the heartbreaking stories of people who are going hungry because of the SNAP cuts, instead of the abusers using food stamps to purchase contraband and commit fraud. There are two sides of the coin, and I don't claim to have an answer to the question: how do we feed people without wasting millions of taxpayer dollars? It's complicated. Is this a Republican problem? Is this a Democrat problem? No, but it is an American problem. And all voting Americans need to put some thought into the food stamp dilemma before passing more legislation or electing someone who makes big promises with hidden drawbacks.
The winter months are not especially conducive to healthy eating. During summer, my cravings usually lend more towards salads and fruit smoothies. But when it's cold out, all I want is noodle soup, baked goodies, and hot chocolate.
The problem is not that we don't know what foods are healthier than others, according to Jana Frawley of Taste.com in her July 2 article "How to get the most from winter vegetables":
The problem lies in breaking old habits. Sure, our dinner vocabulary these days is not limited to meat-and-three-veg, but when one of the kids asks "what's for dinner?", chances are the response will be chicken, lamb, steak, fish, pork or sausages... Risotto or pasta may get a look in, but it would be a rare night when you'd breezily answer cauliflower or eggplant.
A big concern, every time, is the cost of the food you buy. Generally speaking, veggies are cheaper than meats. If you can only afford one, the veggies are your best bet. Despite the cold weather, there are plenty of options in most super markets. Check to see if there are any farmer's markets open year-round near where you live. From my apartment in Northeast D.C., I have access to Eastern Market's weekend farmer's market as well as the inexpensive grocery store Aldi and therefore, I have no valid excuse to eat unhealthy. Yanjun of NaturalNews.com said it well in a concise post, "Nine healthy winter foods to include in your diet," on November 8:
Being able to get fresh fruits and vegetables, even in the dead of winter, is a great advantage in today's world. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available year round, and these are the foods that are most likely to ensure health and wellness, as they impart vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances to the body.
The nine foods that Yanjun thought important enough to base the post on are: Brussels sprouts, leeks, beets, kale, pomegranate, kiwifruit, persimmon, guava and pomelo. One important addition to this list that I (and Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D., Associate Nutrition Editor of EatingWell Magazing) would make is all things citrus:
Citrus fruits, including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit are at their juiciest in the wintertime and can add sunshine to the dreary winter. Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C--one medium orange delivers more than 100 percent of your daily dose (from the article "5 of the Healthiest Winter Foods").
This is precisely the time when your body needs as many vitamins and nutrients as it can get to fight off those inevitable bugs that spread like a winter wildfire.
Soups are a fantastic go-to in the winter. They are warm, comforting, filling, simple enough to prepare and just perfect for those chilly days. A variety of recipes will clear out all those unwanted or old (but not yet rotten) veggies in the bottom of your fridge. Don't neglect good health simply because it seems so much more fitting to bake cookies. You and I both can begin winter healthy, happy and satisfied--and sustain that through the months ahead.
Unless you have loads of time on your hands, when you need to work out it had better be quick and effective. Ladies and gents: Squat. Squats work all of the muscles in your legs simultaneously, giving you more bang for your buck. Because you're bearing your whole weight while you perform the squat, you're also burning calories. Studies have been done to dispel the convincing myth that in order to lose fat you have to do hours upon hours of cardiovascular training (i.e. running, cycling, swimming). So if you don't have hours upon hours (really, who does?) then just take a few minutes and do this squat challenge:
The song is slightly annoying...the instructor is slightly annoying...but the 3 minutes and 13 seconds of squatting will tone your legs, burn calories, build muscle, and all those other wonderful things that keep your body in good health and good shape. If you want to be a nerd about it, you can even calculate a close estimate of how many calories you burn while you're squatting.
The Greatest wealth is health. ~Virgil Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. ~World Health Organization, 1948 In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired. ~Author unknown He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. ~Chinese proverb We drink to one another's health and spoil our own. ~Jerome K. Jerome A healthy body is the guest-chamber of a soul; a sick, its prison. ~Francis Bacon The best six doctors anywhere And no one can deny it Are sunshine, water, rest, and air Exercise and diet. These six will gladly you attend If only you are willing Your mind they'll ease Your will they'll mend And charge you not a shilling. ~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990
He's beautiful, he has an amazing voice, and he juices. Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get much better than Adam Lambert. But what you or I think about him really doesn't help us get through the ups and downs of life and its inevitable medical problems. However, juicing does. It's a popular fad for weight loss. Nowadays, everyone is trying a juice detox. I was so motivated last spring that I invested in a good juicer and went on a 10 day fast. I lost 10 lbs. in that time. It was brutal, but my body felt wonderful. The truth is, whole body well being is more important than shedding a few pounds for cosmetic reasons. If you clicked on that link to the juicer I bought, you might be thinking what I was initially thinking--this thing is too expensive and I just don't have the money for that. Besides that, fresh produce can get pretty pricey. Understandable. I'm a broke college student. I had to pay off that juicer over several months. Think of it in this way: you also can't afford medical issues that will lead to hospital bills and medications. This is especially true if you lack adequate health insurance. One mother told the story about her three-year-old daughter Desiree who was so plagued by her asthma that she was hospitalized regularly even while taking prescribed steroids, medications, and a rescue inhaler daily. These medical treatments did nothing to cure this little girl--they may have even made her worse. Natural News reported:
Fortunately, Desiree's family was able to find comfort through a lung specialist willing to listen to their story and, more importantly, who was open-minded about introducing their daughter to a raw food diet. Desiree went 100% raw and began juicing. Her mother says, "[F]rom day one, she has not had another asthma attack. She has not had another seizure.... She's had no asthma-related problems since then."
The up-front costs of juicing are comparable to purchasing health insurance which can prevent your body from developing ailments and potentially cure it of existing ailments.
My own father, who has been overweight for my whole life, lost more than 50 lbs. (from 420 lbs. to 370 lbs.) in about three months through a combination of juicing and eating healthy solid meals. He did it because he had to--an infection in his leg, exasperated by his weight, made him nearly bedridden and racked up the bills for a week's stay in the hospital. He couldn't afford to repeat that mistake, took his health seriously and is still losing weight and becoming healthier by the day. Most of the nutrients for fruits and vegetables are found in its juice, so you aren't losing much by getting rid of the fibrous pulp. Taking in the nutrients in a mostly juice form makes digestion much easier on your body and gets those cleansing agents where they need to be in half the time. Manuel Apreku, author of a natural home remedy blog, said:
Let me remind you first that, nutrient from fresh juice is quicker to be absorbed by your body than eating fruits and vegetables. Fresh juice contains an abundance of nutrients that will help you fight disease, build your health and energize your body...vitamins, minerals, soluble fiber and carbohydrates.
Allow me to reiterate, juicing is not easy. Most of our bodies are so addicted to sugar and fast food, that juicing for a week might feel (on a smaller scale) like detoxing from a drug addiction. The juice cleans out all the toxins--a potentially unpleasant process. However, that process is worth it if it also cleans out any of these ailments that you suffer from. Sometimes a pure fruit and vegetable juice fast is more than a body can handle, said Lori Corbin, in an ABC7 article, "Juicing responsibly; Diet, cleanse with energy."
But there is a way to juice responsibly so you can perform everyday tasks like taking a test, attending social events, and yes, exercising. For instance, try blending juice with extras. "You need a little more than the vegetables, so put a scoop of whey protein in there, put a scoop of almond butter in there," said [Ky] Evans.
So use some discernment, don't overdo it, but definitely don't be too afraid to try it. As a college student, it's hard to find the time and motivation to juice. For this semester in D.C., I had to leave my precious juicer in California with my family because it wouldn't fit in my suitcase. I can't wait to use it when I go home for Christmas break. Experiment with recipes to fight particular ailments or for your favorite fruits and vegetables. Happy juicing! And happy healthy living!
If you have never eaten kale before, you are missing out on a world of nutrition! Kale is a superfood that will pump your body full vitamins, detoxify it, boost your entire circulatory system, and so much more! Beware that some types of kale taste sweeter than others. Whenever it's available in supermarkets, I get lacinato (or dino) kale. My favorite juice recipe for kale is simple: 6-8 large kale leaves 1 cucumber 4 stalks of celery 2 granny smith apples 1/2 lemon 1 ginger knob (about the size of a quarter) Serves two! It can also be made into some fantastic tasting (and fantastic for you) salads. Some of those recipes can be found here. It will be like sending a cleaning crew through your body for somewhere between $2-$4. That can't be beat.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I never lacked fresh fruits and vegetables. My mom is a fantastic cook and although we struggled to make rent many times, we never went hungry or lacked a range of healthy foods. As I transitioned into college, I figured out that what my mom had made look so seamless was actually quite hard - eating healthy on a tight budget. It's especially difficult when there are no supermarkets nearby. I never had to face the reality of food deserts until I came to Washington, D.C. for the semester. From my apartment on the Hill, the nearest supermarket is 0.8 miles away, which means that I am not in a food desert. However, residents of Wards 7 and 8 have very limited access to healthy food and many struggle with food hardship on a regular basis, according to DC Hunger Solutions:
In 2009-2010, 37.4 percent of households with children in the District of Columbia said they were unable to afford enough food. This is the worst rate in the nation. The food hardship rate for households without children drops to 14.9 percent.
Why would average people - the broke college students like me, the single moms with two jobs, the recently unemployed, etc. - take the pains to pay for and prepare healthy meals when it's so much easier to buy fast food? When I come home exhausted from classes or work, I have no desire to walk a mile to buy lettuce and then walk a mile home to prepare a decent salad. Half of the time I don't even have money for that. All I want to do is grab a cheeseburger and kick back on my couch watching The Walking Dead. What the District could really use is a convenient, close, nonprofit grocery store, like Fare & Square in Chester, Pa. - the first of its kind in the United States.
The store is the brainchild of Bill Clark, the executive director of Philabundance, a nonprofit hunger relief organization. Chester has a 36 percent poverty rate and unemployment is 13 percent. Clark said at one time Chester had five grocery stores, but they all closed when the city fell on hard times after manufacturing virtually disappeared. About half of the city's residents don't own a car making it difficult and costly to travel to a supermarket. As Clark put it: "To bring a gallon of milk is a hardship if you have to use two buses to get home."
As a nonprofit, Fare & Square offers lower prices for a healthy range of fruits and vegetables. Time will tell if this model is sustainable and can be used in food deserts across the United States.
Unlike a drought, the weather doesn't control the District's access to healthy foods - we do. I could go on a rant about how "we the people" have the power, but I'll spare you the cliche. On top of that, the District isn't even represented in the federal government. I don't trust the government to fix the mess that we're in anyway. It'll take some enterprising individuals and some start up funding, but if it can happen anywhere, D.C. is the place. Steps are already being taken to increase the increase the inner city's access to healthy foods. One nonprofit organization is using land in Alexandria, Va. to grow food to be sold in food desert areas of Washington, D.C. There are plans in the works to build a massive urban greenhouse in Ward 8 by 2014, as reported by The Washington Post:
And while Ward 8 is desperately in need of jobs, as the average unemployment rate in Ward 8 in 2012 was over 22 percent (one of the highest in the country), this greenhouse isn’t really about jobs, despite how the event was spun. Yes, the 25 full-time jobs and 100 short-term construction jobs that BrightFarms is bringing is beneficial. There is no question there. The real gift to the community, however, is the one million pounds of GMO-free produce that the greenhouse will generate – provided it actually gets into the homes of Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents living in chronic food insecurity. This is the real test.
None of these initiatives in and of themselves will cure the District's food dessert. But combined, there's hope. Healthier foods with competitive prices will make the people of the District healthier. Because proper nutrition is so essential to health, the effects of this will be far reaching. I can't predict the future, but I can imagine how much brighter our Nation's capital will shine if its people, all of its people, have the power to take care of themselves. To see how prevalent food deserts are in the United States, check out this interactive map from the USDA Economic Research Service!
