vegetables

If there’s one food that people associate with Valentine’s Day, it’s chocolate. More than half of those celebrating are expected to give candy this year, spending 1.8 billion dollars on sweet treats, according to the National Retail Federation. Although studies that find chocolate is good for your brain grab headlines, this Valentine’s Day consider skipping the candy and instead spending quality time with loved ones.

Have you noticed how more and more of your grocery budget is spent on meat these days? If so, you’re not alone, and for good reason: Meat prices are rising faster than any other food group, with the price of beef, pork, poultry and fish all recently reaching record highs. The price of ground beef, for example, is up more than 75 percent in just the past five years. That’s enough to give a cheapskate like me a grocery shopping phobia.

This year's unrelenting winter makes it feel like spring weather will never get here, but eventually there will be a new crop of nutrient-packed spring foods to boost your health and help you shrug off those winter doldrums.

News, discoveries and fun ...

As AARP health writer Elizabeth Agnvall reported last week, a large new study finds that women in their 50s and 60s who ate a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables, fruits, fish, grains and olive oil were 46 percent more likely to be free of chronic disease and memory problems in their 70s.

Cancer researchers have long known that certain vegetables contain powerful anticancer compounds, but whether our bodies get the full dose of these substances often depends on how we cook the vegetables and even what other foods we eat along with them.

Once again, the Mediterranean diet is winning out in the diet wars - this time for both physical and brain health. A large new study finds that women who follow a healthy diet during middle age have more than 40 percent greater odds of surviving past the age of 70 with no chronic illness, physical impairments or memory problems. In other words, the kind of spry old age we all hope to have.

Enjoying a slice of avocado on a sandwich or mixing up a little guacamole to eat while watching a football game seems like the natural thing to do today, which is why it's strange to think that 30 or so years ago, fewer than half of Americans had ever even tasted one.

Here's a healthy, money-saving New Year's resolution: Stretch your budget by helping fresh food stay fresh longer.

The juiciest tomatoes and the sweetest corn are two of summer's most anticipated gifts, which is why we were both happy and troubled to read the latest health news on both those favorite foods.