Can crime TV make you fat?
Spend too many late nights watching CSI and Law & Order? If you're overweight, these shows might be to blame. Over at Fitsugar, they're talking about new research that shows an interesting connection between your TV habits and your eating and spending habits.
The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that consumers who had recently been reminded of their own mortality by seeing death on TV spent more money on groceries -- and ate more of those groceries as well. These findings were true of a number of food items, including snack foods like chips and soda, as well as non-snacky groceries like frozen foods, meats and vegetables. For more information on the findings, click here.

We can't ignore the fact that the economy is in a bit of a slump. And whether or not we recognize it, this affects nearly every aspect of our lives -- including our eating habits. During times of financial hardship, it's a natural reaction to stock up on foods that are processed and full of preservatives, but our healthy habits shouldn't be the first thing to go when things get a bit tough.
I like to think of myself as a fairly educated shopper when it comes to understanding nutrition labels at the grocery store (because I read so much about it) but I still find myself getting confused or overwhelmed sometimes when trying to keep everything straight. "Make sure there are no trans fats and not too much added sugar or artificial preservatives, go for organic as much as possible, how much fiber is considered enough in a serving? And what does 'low-fat' really mean? ... " The list goes on and the makers of food nutrition labels are looking to capitalize on that mess as best they can. See the gallery below for 


I don't know about you, but I love flipping through the pages of 
Low-income and rural Americans continue to have difficulty finding healthy foods that are affordable. One study shows that low-income Americans have to spend up to 70 percent of their food budget on fruits and vegetables to meet the new national dietary guidelines for healthy eating. A second study found that in rural areas, convenience stores far out number supermarkets and grocery stores -- even though the latter carry a much wider choice of affordable, healthy foods.
Grocery shopping can be expensive. And cooking can take up precious time that sometimes isn't always available. So what's someone on a money and time budget to do? 
When you're embarking on a new healthy routine, the costs can seem daunting. Gym memberships aren't cheap, and signing up for a weight-loss program like Weight Watchers isn't either. Plus, eating at fast-food chains is cheap and convenient -- cooking you're own healthy meals comes with a hefty grocery bill and takes time. 
I love fruit and vegetables, especially when they're fresh, but shopping for them can be more complicated than it looks. We've all seen the jokes where somebody's in the produce department of the grocery store trying to look like they know what they're doing thumping away on a large melon, meanwhile having no idea what they're doing or why. Well 








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