A doctor has done a study that will let you know the average lifespan you can expect based on where you live and how much money you make. This wouldn't seem unusual on the surface if you consider the extremes - poverty-sticken areas with higher crime rates versus wealthy areas with no crime. However, there may be more questionable results when you get to the center of the curve, those areas that make up a majority of the country - average income, average lifestyle, in average-priced neighborhoods - the middle to upper-middle class of people. Dr. Anthony Iton has still managed to come up with an estimated lifespan based on these few factors. Here's more --

If you tell Dr. Anthony Iton where you live and how much money you make, he'll tell you how long you're likely to live. The public health director for Alameda County said he was startled by the results of taking the county's deaths and mapping them according to U.S. Census tracts, a far smaller and precise geographical region than ZIP Code.

"There are hot spots of death where life expectancy is literally on the order of a decade shorter than other parts of the county," said Iton, who has been on the job five years. "That's pretty astounding. That's 10 years of life lost due to social conditions."

According to Iton, the vast majority of deaths in the so-called hot spots in Alameda County were not due to crime or AIDS, but to heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions - the same diseases that kill the general population. These diseases just kill people in poorer neighborhoods faster.

But he believes, contrary to health reform proposals nationwide, that health insurance does little to solve the problem. "Health care doesn't work to reduce health disparities. We spend way more than anyone else, and health costs are going up. The more we spend, the worse the problem seems to be getting," he said, adding that genetics account for a relatively small percentage of chronic illnesses.

To Iton, the greatest determinant of an individual's health and life expectancy is education. read more...

Comment: According to other studies, he is correct - a higher education is associated with a longer life, something that we blogged days ago. So not only would you benefit from continue to learn each day, and live with a healthy diet at a healthy weight, but you might want to consider a move to an area where your chances are greater for a longer life!?

HWI Recommendation: If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

The aisles are not safe, people! There are some crazy-high-calorie and freakishly fatty foods lurking in your local grocery store -- prepare to be shocked! Bear Naked All Natural Granola, Apple Cinnamon PER SERVING (1/4 cup): 140 calories, 7g fat, 5mg sodium, 17g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g sugars, 3g protein.

If you were scanning the granola section, you might think this Apple Cinnamon stuff is a diet-friendly choice. After all, it's fruity and natural, and 140 calories per serving doesn't seem unreasonable for a breakfast cereal/snack food. But get this -- the serving size is just 1/4 cup! That's only four measly tablespoons! A full cup of this stuff packs in 560 calories and 28g fat. At the very least, you'd think this would be a better option than Bear Naked's chocolate or peanut butter granolas... right?!? Wrong-O! The Heavenly Chocolate actually has HALF the fat and 10 fewer calories a serving, and even the Peanut Butter has less fat than the Apple Cinnamon. Watch out for this stuff, unless you have amazing self-control.

A much better breakfast alternative is the Medifast meal plan. Trader Joe's Veggie Chips (Potato Snacks) PER SERVING (about 26 chips, 1 oz.): 160 calories, 10g fat, 240mg sodium, 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 0g sugars, 1g protein

Time and time again people at T.J.'s grab these so-called Veggie Chips and say to their shopping pals, "Look! Chips made from vegetables! Perfect for my diet and my potato chip addiction!" Sadly, these are nothing but veggie-flavored potato chips with as much fat as the real things. In fact, they're not even MADE with actual vegetables. After potato, oil, and salt, you'll find "tomato powder" and "spinach powder" on the ingredients list. Powder?!? Puh-leeze!

Brothers-all-Natural fruit crisps are a much better alternative to fattening potato chips...You can find them at most health food stores or on line at www.brothersallnatural.com (I LOVE the Fuji Apple flavor!) Oscar Mayer Lunchables Maxed Out Ham and Cheddar Cracker Combo PER SERVING (1 container): 660 calories, 22g fat, 1,600mg sodium, 101g carbs, 2g fiber, 57g sugars, 18g protein Attention moms and dads!!! Just because something is labeled "Lunchables," that does not make it a healthy pick for your kids. This simple cracker pack contains 34% the daily value of fat, 45% the DV of saturated fat, 67% the DV of sodium (1,600 salty milligrams!), and too many calories altogether. Once you recover from reading those INSANE stats, consider this: Those percentages are based on a 2,000-calorie diet, the estimate for the average adult's daily needs. Craziness! We don't recommend that anyone, of any age, snack on this wacky cracker pack.

Every morning we pack a healthy lunch for our children, making fresh sandwiches, fruit, a mini bottle of water. Keep in mind, your kids health depends on what YOU choose to feed them! Hershey's Shell Topping (original chocolate) PER SERVING (2 tbsp.): 220 calories, 18g fat, 15mg sodium, 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 14g sugars, <1g protein A few squirts of candy-flavored dessert topping on your low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt certainly seems like it would be a guilt-free alternative to an actual candy bar. But a serving of this stuff actually has MORE fat (and just 50 fewer calories) than a full-sized Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar -- and that's BEFORE you factor in your ice cream or fro yo! Not only that, but the plain chocolate topping's even got more fat and calories than the Reese's and Heath flavors in the Shell Topping lineup (don't get excited -- those have horrendous nutritionals as well).

Hey, here's a thought, just forgo ice-cream altogether and you won't need this junk to pour on top of it? Kill two birds w/ one stone!

Recommended: If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

The subject of genetics and the connection to disease is often discussed, as technologies have advanced to the point of being able to detect gene mutations which may give individuals an idea of what diseases they may be predisposed to. But are we putting the cart before the horse? Does our daily choices and lifestyle habits contribute to possible genetic defects? Afterall, aren't our genes influenced by what we put into our bodies?

There are studies that show a healthy diet may in fact provide for less DNA disruption than an unhealthy diet. With the amount of free radicals drastically increasing over the years from unhealthy foods and environment, it is no wonder genetic defects could be the result. This is just a theory and has not been proven (to this author's knowledge). There are countless companies that now offer at-home tests to determine if you have any genetic defects and therefore higher likelihood of certain conditions or diseases.

Here's more from the Associated Press about the newest at-home test:

Dr. John Kelsoe has spent his career trying to identify the biological roots of bipolar disorder. In December, he announced he had discovered several gene mutations closely tied to the disease, also known as manic depression. Then Kelsoe, a prominent psychiatric geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, did something provocative for the buttoned-down world of academic medical research: He began selling bipolar genetic tests straight to the public over the Internet last month for $399.

His company, La Jolla-based Psynomics, joins a legion of startups racing to exploit the boom in research connecting genetic variations to a host of health conditions. More than 1,000 at-home gene tests have burst onto the market in the past few years. The proliferation of these tests troubles many public health officials, medical ethicists and doctors. The tests receive almost no government oversight, even though many of them are being sold as tools for making serious medical decisions. read more...

Comment: Do yourself a favor and decrease the risk of sickness and disease by improving your diet. Feeding your body the best nutrition you can and working with the "cards" you were dealt, will at least keep an additional factors from contributing to the likelihood of sickness and disease. A healthy diet should consist of more fruits and vegetables, as studies show most people are not getting any where near the minimum recommended daily amount.

HWI Note: If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.