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The life expectancy of Americans has gone up. We’ve risen to a predicted age of almost 78 years according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So we’re doing good–right?

MSN’s answer: wrong.

The CIA Factbook lets us see where the United States stands in life expectancy versus other countries. Surely one of the world’s leaders in healthcare should be in the top ten.

No such luck.

So we’re in the top twenty, right? Wrong again.

The United States is the 50th in a lineup of 224 countries for life expectancy. One of the sister countries in progression, Japan, is 3rd.

Why’s this important? The CIA defines the reason this is so important: “Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be thought of as indicating the potential return on investment in human capital and is necessary for the calculation of various actuarial measures.”

Okay, so life expectancy measures the investment on human capital. Why is Japan 3rd and the United State’s 50th? You could take it into the political arena and argue that there’s an issue with our health care system, or you could consider it on an individual basis. How healthy of a country are we, exactly? Do you, as an American, do the following:

• Focus on omega-3 fatty acids (add salmon and flaxseed to my grocery list)
• Get back on track with 30 minutes of exercise each day
• Watch out for trans fats (known to raise LDLs)

If you answered “yes” for all three, you’re in the minority. A healthy lifestyle is key for the increase in life expectancy, and yet for Americans, a healthy lifestyle is on the bottom of our agenda, right under: succeed at a high-paying career; get a college degree; and go on a vacation.

So next time you try to skip out on your workout or you’re headed for the grocery store, give your life expectancy a chance; take care of your body and live the healthy way!

The recession bogging down your wallet? According to Forbes.com, you could be saving an average of $300 a year simply by quitting smoking. Isn’t that a fine twist on an argument on leading a healthier lifestyle?

For decades, smokers have been told to quit smoking for health concerns–and that’s still true!–but with smoking at an all time high, and the threat of more taxes looming around the corner, the benefits of quitting are now twice as attractive. And $300 might only be a scratch on what you will actually save by not buying your cigarettes; smokers in Delaware, where packs cost $5.39, save over $900 a year.

Smokers also have a higher premium for health insurance and a risk of more medical bills due to the obvious risks of the butts in the ashtray.

Here’s the numbers from CNN.com:

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Forbes.com compiled the state taxes on a pack of cigarettes and the average price of a pack in each state. We then used the per-capita packs bought in 2007, as calculated by the CDC, to approximate how much the average smoker spends per year on cigarettes.

A pack of cigarettes in New York is more expensive than anywhere else in the country, at $8.66 (in New York City, cigarette taxes are higher, bringing the price up to $9.72). Yet in New York, only 34 packs are sold annually per capita, bringing tobacco spending to $296—still an attractive savings.

The cheapest pack of cigarettes can be found in tobacco-rich South Carolina, where a $.07 cigarette tax brings the price of a pack to only $3.33. But that doesn’t mean individuals in the state spend less on smoking overall. In fact, because 91 packs a year are sold per person in South Carolina, residents spend $304 per year on smokes—more than highly taxed New Yorkers.

Delaware spends $284 million on smoking-related health care costs per year. That’s a steep bill to pay after the cigarette pack revenue is all said and done for a habit that is as much of a luxury as a trip to the movies or scrapbooking.

Studies also show that smokers are more prone to spending money on other habits, like alcoholism. Cutting one habit could reduce the costs from others.

Suddenly the thinning in your wallet from the recession just got easier to handle. Ironically, however, economic downturns are the hardest times for people to quit.

Everyone agrees that there are certain foods that are better for you than others. But did you know that there are foods that are good for your mental health, as well as your physical health? The secret ingredient for your mental health is serotonin.

Healthy foods can boost your mood

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that can affect many aspects of your body and, in particular, your mood. Since serotonin cannot cross the brain-blood barrier, ingesting it in your diet has no direct effect on your mood. However, serotonin does need tryptophan, an amino acid, because it is converted by the body into serotonin. As a result, eating foods with tryptophan can help your brighten your day by increasing your levels of serotonin. A positive outlook is nothing to scoff at, so here are the top ten foods that can boost your mental well-being.

1. Chocolate
2. Oats
3. Egg whites (dried, available at health food stores)
4. Turkey
5. Chicken
6. Sunflower seeds
7. Pineapple
8. Parmesan and cheddar cheese
9. Nuts (especially walnuts)
10. Salmon

Most of these foods are common and they are all delicious additions to your meals. Of course, remember that everything is good in moderation and overdoing it with any one type of food is never ideal. However, in normal amounts these foods can help keep your mood balanced and upbeat.

• Chocolate Eaters May Be Less Likely To Die From Heart Disease: http://tinyurl.com/q8br5m #
• Pregnant Tunisian Has 12 Babies: http://tinyurl.com/llxy6z #
• Popcorn, And Other Whole Grain Snack Food Packed With Antioxidants: http://tinyurl.com/nayqg7 #
• Canada Studies Link Between Pot Smoking And Schizophrenia: http://tinyurl.com/krjs6f #

Healthcare workers are the first in line for the swine flu vaccine (H1N1), which the government is aiming to be available at mid October. This seems like a pretty obvious deduction of logic–the doctors and nurses are treating people that are coming in with these illnesses, and so they should be the first to establish immunity against them–and yet a recent statistic suggests only 45% of healthcare workers get a flu shot every year.

Healthcare workers cite the same reasoning for opting out that patients do. “I’m healthy and don’t need it,” or, “I’m worried about side effects,” or, “I’m afraid of needles.” The M.D.s and R.N.s get more flu shots than the other healthcare workers (such as lab techs and home health aides), but everyone is still in need of improvement.

Where did swine flu start? Back track to 2005. A teenage boy aided his brother-in-law butcher with 31 pigs in Wisconsin. The boy’s family simultaneously was caring for a chicken in their home, out of the harsh autumn. The teenager came down with a mysterious flu that lasted three days and recovered after visiting a local clinic. The story sounds simple, doesn’t it? The key is that the boy, in fact, had a new strain of illness, the H1N1 swine influenza, an evolutionary offshoot of a wild-bird flu that could be caught by humans, thanks to pigs.

Seasonal flu kills 36,000 Americans annually. Even if you believe swine flu is just another offshoot of the common flu and not the unique epidemic healthcare workers have made it out to be, swine flu that death toll that is already strikingly higher than most sick with the flu ever consider. There’s no need to take an unnecessary risk. Make sure to play it safe and get your swine flu vaccine; and then maybe ask a healthcare worker or two if they have gotten their shot as well!