Healthy Food

'No discount' threat pushes people to buy health food

 

 People are more likely to choose healthy options at the grocery store if they are told to risk losing their monthly healthy food discount, said a new research. The researchers conducted a randomized controlled experiment with over 6,500 households enrolled in the Discovery Health Vitality Rewards programme in South Africa.
They were given an opportunity to voluntarily increase their healthy food purchases by 5 percentage points for next six months or forfeit their entire monthly cash-back discount on all healthy food items, said the study that appeared in Psychological Science.
The data revealed that only the households who volunteered to put their cash-back discount on the line increased their healthy food purchases - by an average of 3.5 percentage points - over each of the six months in the study.
"Those who failed the task and did not get the discount nevertheless wanted to stay in the programme," said psychological scientist and study co-author Dan Ariely of Duke University in North Carolina, US.
"The power of a financial incentive can motivate people to do a lot of things, but constantly doling out increasing amounts of money to keep incentives going over the long term might quickly sap institutional coffers or prove ineffective," the researchers added.
They found that shoppers who agreed to put their grocery discount on the line would be more likely to make healthier choices at the grocery store.
"The new research indicates that people really do understand the importance of purchasing healthy foods, and are even willing to put a constraint on themselves as a way of changing their environment in order to try to achieve that goal," added the study.

Eat vitamin rich food to improve immunity: Expert 

 

 “Allergy is a reflection of reduced immunity. To improve immunity, fruits rich in vitamin C such as oranges, sweet lime and lemon should be incorporated into the diet,” Ravindra Gupta, Consultant - Internal Medicine, Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon said in a statement.

"People should have a balanced diet with lots of green vegetables, fruits and nuts," he added.

He says it’s best to avoid food items such as milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice cream, bananas and cucumbers as these trigger a number of problems like eczema and asthma.

People with allergic tendencies are also more sensitive to smoke produced by cigarettes, vehicles or even incense sticks.

Common symptoms of allergies are burning eyes, cough and shortness of breath.

Eat food items rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which contain natural anti-inflammatory agents to fight allergies. Good sources of Omega-3 are soya bean, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and salmon. Fruit juice and green tea should also be included in your diet.

Want to be fit? Swap unhealthy food with healthy diet

 

Here are some simple food swaps that can be incorporated into your everyday routine to help you lead a healthier life:

* Choose whole fruit instead of juice: Juice tends to be high in sugar and low in fiber. Fresh fruit, on the other hand, contains more fiber than the juice and has higher water content, both are excellent for weight loss.

* Eat whole grains instead of refined grains: Grains and starches are not bad but it's the kind of grain that matters. Whole grains are the best choice as they are full of nutrients and fiber. Include brown rice and oatmeal instead of white bread, white rice and white pasta.

* Drink water instead of soda: Soda contains pure sugar and has lots of calories. Swapping soda for water can save you hundreds of calories. For flavour, add a bit of lemon, orange or cucumber.

* Start your meal with a vegetable salad instead of a fried appetizer: Starting your meal with a fresh salad is a great way to include vegetables into your diet. Salad and vegetables are high in vitamins and minerals, full of fiber and low in calories.

* Choose a low fat soup instead of a cream-based soup: Soup is perfect for winter season. The key is to eat a vegetable based soup and to skip the cream.

Source : post.jagran.com