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One of the benefits of an economy’s downturn–the only benefit, really–is the price tags going down. Basic living expenses become marginally more affordable as people struggle to make ends meet.

But food isn’t looking like it plans on sticking to that trend. With only a glimmer of economic hope peeking out from the clouds, there are already discussions abound about how meat, eggs, and seafood could be climbing in 2010 by as much as 5%. Daily Finance is referring to this as “sticker shock,” where the consumer will be suddenly floored by the visible growth in prices on the labels of their foodstuffs and at the checkout line of their local grocer.

This is not a phenomena that is just affecting the United States, either. The UN is also reporting anticipated record growth for food prices in 2010. The economy is globally brushing upon the basic living needs that sustain us. And the news isn’t new; back in 2008, CNN predicted this would be happening for 2 years or more, meaning that we’re already around-about halfway up this hill, with no turning back.

In the education industry, rising food prices have had a visible impact on the nutrition of our K-12 students. The health of our future generations relies on the school lunches we provide for them, and yet we struggle to keep the standards high when it comes to the collision of K-12 student meals and the rising costs from the grocer.

What are your thoughts on the costs of food as the economy rolls into the next year?

Clinical depression is an epidemic that is diagnosed in over 9 million Americans each year–a marginal amount of the real number it affects, since most Americans never seek medical aid for clinical depression. Clinical depression comes in a variety of forms.

While most Americans know about major depression–an episode of severe sadness–and other strains, such as postpartum depression and bipolar disorder, very few know about dysthymic depression. Dysthymia is characterized as depression that is not as acute as a major depressive disorder, but still falls within the spectrum of depression and is longterm, for two or more years.

In Greek, dysthymia means “bad state of mind” or “ill humor.” Dysthymic depression is often harder to identify than a major depressive disorder, as it is more subtle and long-term. Dysthymic depression is different from major depression in that the individual never experiences sharp amounts of depression that might lead to forced clinical help, such as suicide attempts; the individual is also able to remain mostly functional, although like any form of depression, dysthymia can interfere with critical choices and stages of life.

Several of the following symptoms, over the span of at least two or more years, may be cause to seek psychiatric help for dysthemia:

• Little to no joy in life
• Poor appetite (over- or under-eating)
• Insomnia or hypersomnia (too little or too much sleep)
• Low energy or fatigue
• Low self-esteem
• Poor concentration or difficulty making decisions
• Feelings of hopelessness
• No history of a major depressive episode, manic episode, mixed episode, hypomanic episode or cyclothymic disorder
• Significant amounts of impairment or distress

Dysthymia is known for developing early in a person’s life, but help is not usually sought out for ten years or more. This is unfortunate, as the Primary Care Journal points to three percent of society being affected by this mental illness epidemic, and Harvard Health says that at least three-quarters of dysthymic depression individuals have other physical illnesses or psychiatric disorders like anxiety, drug addiction, and alcoholism; in short, these additional physical illnesses or psychiatric disorders could be prevented by treating the dysthymia earlier rather than later.

But don’t jump the gun and categorize yourself as dysthymic too fast; it’s easy to confuse grief with depression. Bereavement–the experience people have when someone close to them has died or is dying–has parallel symptoms to depression. Such grief could lead to major depression but should not be confused with the long-term debilitation of dysthymia.

Consult your doctor if you are concerned about your mental health.

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!

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.

Creativity has long been a discussion among business, politics, and academia. Comedy Central’s Indecision released an article about how creativity is playing a fundamental aspect in the continual political battle for health care reform. Sir Ken Robinson gave a fantastic lecture on whether or not schools are killing creativity that started at TED and took the world by storm. Businesses throw the word “creative” around during everyday meetings on marketing strategies.

The power of creativity in life is monumental, whether you are talking about an artist, a professional, or a stay-at-home parent. Everyday people are embracing creativity as a means to living healthier. According to New Lifestyles, creativity is also a fundamental aspect of prolonged life and beneficial to the elderly.

Quality of Life Ideas from Coachville lists the top 10 benefits to creativity:

1. Expanded sense of time
2. Freedom
3. Enhanced relationships
4. Living integrity
5. Save money
6. Energetic, lighter quality of life
7. Connection with other creative people
8. Faith and confidence in impulses
9. Honoring the source of creative ideas
10. Self-knowledge and discovery

So if creativity is so quintessential to health an improved lifestyle, how do we go about in embracing our inner creativity? How to Do Things writer Dan Goodwin believes there is a blueprint to finding your creativity. That’s right–the things that benefit architects can benefit you, too! Follow these basic guidelines in order to improve the overall creativity in your life:

1. Find what you want to create. Creativity is about creating things, so pick something to let your creativity out with. This could be a blog, a scrapbook, a car project, even a professional marketing project at work. Whatever you can think of that you can produce with your creative juices will work as a starting point to understanding how creativity plays a role in your life.
2. Find out when to create. Now that you have a general direction, find out what time of day you are the most productive. If this a work project, this might be more difficult, because you likely are only at work 8 hours a day. If this is an at-home project, you might be restricted based upon your daily activities. It is best to be keenly aware of when your creativity is optimal though–do you work better at morning? before bed? after lunch?–in order to work at the height of your creative possibilities.
3. How long to create for. Some people spend hours upon hours on one project. Others spend ten minutes. Try to keep your level of passion in your creativity high, even if it means approaching it in short spurts.
4. Analyze what you are creating. Is this project something you find yourself continuously enjoying, or are you creating something that you feel other people want you to make, that you are trudging through? The height of your creativity will come from something that you enjoy, or at least are whole-heartedly dedicated to, from start to finish.
5. Where to create. Creativity often thrives in certain environments. Does a specific kind of lighting, a scent, or amount of space seem more attractive than other alternatives? What atmosphere do you must thrive in?
6. How to stay creative. Now you have developed your creative blueprint! Take a look at what makes you at the height of your creativity and utilize this to lead to a happier, healthier lifestyle.

Creativity is one of mankind’s methods of survival. It is an instinctual process that is inherent in all of us, and suppression of creativity could lead to frustration, narrow-mindedness, stress, low self-esteem, failure in relationships, and lack of expansion or growth. It is imperative to understand creativity is a fundamental aspect of our health and not just the foodstuff of hobbyists and artists.