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Super Bowl LI featured some great ads, quite a few of them for food. Who’s advertising? McDonald’s, KFC, Snickers, Skittles, and yes, to balance all that sugar fat and salt there were lonely Avocados from Mexico.

Junk food ad spend is enormous – 5 million for a 30 second ad in the 2017 Super Bowl – and snack and fast-food companies spend billions each year to convince Americans to consume their merchandise.

Surprisingly, when it comes to fruits and veggies, we’re wasting billions by not eating them.

Many chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer are attributable, at least in part, to diet and lifestyle. Other modifiable lifestyle factors – exercise, obesity and smoking for instance – are addressed often, and their economic burden is calculated.

Estimates of the price of not eating your fruits and veggies are hard to find.

In a new study in Public Health Nutrition, Canadian researchers, led by John Ekwaru and Paul Veugelers looked at chronic diseases in which fruits and veggie intake significantly reduces disease burden across many studies. After assembling the established estimates of the risk of inadequate vegetables and fruit on these chronic diseases, they found that the 80 percent of women and 89 percent of men in Canada eat inadequate amounts of veggies and fruit. Their most conservative estimate of the price of not eating your fruits and veggies in Canada is 3.3 billion $CAN yearly, a third of which is in direct health-care costs and two-thirds is indirect costs due to people being too sick to go to work.

And this is in Canada. The US population is almost ten times larger, and healthcare and drug costs in the US are far steeper.

Healthy food is a good investment

It’s rather heartless to measure human disease in dollars. Healthcare and productivity costs are dwarfed by the price in human pain and suffering. But this economic calculation is valuable when it comes to investing funds in public health.

When you look at it this way, it becomes evident that helping people eat better isn’t just the just and humane thing to do; it’s a solid financial investment, with very good returns, even if all you care about it the bottom line in dollars and cents.

Making healthy food accessible should be a public health priority.

The take home message from this study, for us, as individuals, is very simple. When you’re out shopping for food, the price at the grocer doesn’t always reflect the true cost. When you’re buying healthy food you’re investing in your own health. When you buy junk food, its price at the cash register is a fraction of what it will really cost you down the line. The cheapest foods and 1-dollar menus are actually very pricey and too expensive to even consider.

SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ayala-laufercahana-md/the-steep-price-of-not-ea_b_14638008.html?section=us_healthy-living


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Practice Policy Update Regarding COVID-19

Dear Patients:

Our patients, employees and family are our top priority at Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C.

We ask you to not visit any of our locations if you have symptoms such as fever, sneezing, coughing and possible shortness of breath.

Please cancel your appointment and re-schedule once you are feeling better and are no longer suffering with symptoms.

Only non-symptomatic patients will be seen. No exceptions.

Accompanying family members – including children – are asked to remain in the waiting area and will not be allowed to enter the exam rooms.

During this time of high concern regarding the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we are taking extra precautions to maintain the highest possible standards of safety and cleanliness. Please be advised that we are carefully following recommendations from both the CDC and WHO and are here to help guide you through this time if needed.

Some steps we are taking to keeping safe:

  1. We know how important cleanliness is and always maintain the highest standards of cleanliness. To further offer you peace of mind, we have increased the frequency of the cleaning of our office.
  2. Rest assured that hand washing is strictly followed. Hand sanitizer is available to all staff and patients.
  3. Additionally, if you have recently traveled to a country with high rates of the coronavirus or have been on a cruise, please reschedule your visit for at least 14 days from your return date. We will gladly accommodate your needs to reschedule. At that time, a telehealth interface can be arranged if necessary.

Find up-to-date and accurate information on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and feel free to reach out with questions.

- Your team at Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C.

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Thank you very much for contacting Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C.

To best serve your individual needs, please choose from the following options:

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To learn more about Long Island Spine Specialists – and to discover how we can relieve your pain and help you find an improved quality of life – please contact our office today and schedule a consultation.

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