How we benefit the economy

The Mersey Forest contributes both directly and indirectly to the

economy - through creating jobs, reducing ill-health and showing
off the North West at its best.
Attracting investment and increasing land and property values

By planting over 9 million trees, The Mersey Forest is improving the image of our towns and cities, a
vital foundation for attracting investment, skilled workers and tourists to the area. Improvements are
targeted at key sites such as derelict eyesores or key transport gateways to provide maximum
impact.

The economic benefit from all of this is clear: in St.Helens, £15 million was added to property values
according to the District Valuer thanks to the development of a community woodland on a former
colliery site (pictured below). US and UK studies have shown that houses prices in tree-lined streets
can be worth 18% more than those in tree-less streets.

Timber industry, job creation and partnerships with businesses

The Mersey Forest has a creative and innovative approach to working with businesses for the
benefit of the region. We help bring timber suppliers together with the North West's top craftspeople
to create great new products through our Timber Network.

150 new jobs have been created and training programmes run to help excluded pupils get back on
track. Businesses ranging from United Utilities to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have also
contributed to the creation of the Forest through our Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.

Tourism, recreation and leisure

A new generation of Forest Parks is developing visitor infrastructure and attracting visitors, and there
is something for everyone in our directory of walks and cycle rides.

Value for money

For every £1 invested in The Mersey Forest, £8 of outputs is generated thanks to the way we
maximise funding. £31 million of investment in projects has been secured so far. When surveyed,
100% of the Forest's local authority partners were satisfied or very satisfied with their investment in
the Forest.

The 11 benefits

Through the Natural Economy Northwest project, research from ECOTEC and AMION sets out a
wealth of evidence to show how our green infrastructure adds real value to the region's economy
categorised into 11 key benefits:

Economic growth and investment

Businesses attract and retain more motivated staff in greener settings

Land and property values

Views of natural landscapes can add up to 18% to property values
 Labour productivity
Green spaces near workplaces reduce sickness absence, increasing productivity

Tourism
Rural tourism supports 37,500 jobs in the North West

Products from the land

40,000 people work in agriculture in the North West

Health and well being

Green infrastructure reduces pollution which leads to asthma and heart disease

Recreation and leisure

Footpaths, cycle paths and bridleways enable healthy, low-cost recreation

Quality of place
Community-owned green spaces can create jobs and local pride

Land and biodiversity

Green infrastructure provides vital habitats and jobs managing the land

Flood alleviation and management

Urban green spaces reduce pressure on drainage and flood defences

Climate change adaptation and mitigation

Green infrastructure can counter soaring summer temperatures in cities

Through these 11 benefits, the Forest makes a huge economic contribution to the North West.

Benefits of the New Economy

1) Equal standard of living for all: An economic policy based on mutual consideration will
lead to allocating necessary public resources to raising lower income classes above the
poverty line. At the same time, workshops and training on life skills and personal finance will
help develop personal and economic independence. Living beyond one’s means, over-
consumption, and reckless use of credit have become a global pandemic that requires
treatment. These have played a major role in the global economic crisis that has been going
on since 2008, if not before.

2) Reducing the cost of living: When greed is no longer the basis of our commercial and
economic relations, when each of us settles for a reasonable profit and does not strive to
maximize profits at the expense of others, prices of products and services will plunge toward
their real cost. The prime beneficiaries of the deflation will be the lower income classes. The
reduction of the cost of living will reduce inequality and the social and economic gaps in
society.
3) Narrowing inequality and social gaps: A phenomenon that has become more evident
in the global economy is the constant increase in inequality. This is the main reason for the
worldwide social unrest. When we relate to one another like family, we will not be able to
tolerate inequality among us or among countries in the international community. Instead of
tension and fear of revolution or violence, the mutual guarantee economy will produce broad
consent on the need to narrow the economic gaps, thus maintaining the stability of the
system. Diminishing inequality means, among other things, economic and social concessions
on the part of the upper classes, education and influence of the environment toward mutual
guarantee, and an effective deliberation mechanism, known as “the round table.” These will
guarantee that decisions are made in transparency and fairness, reflecting the social and
economic consensus required by the relationships of mutual guarantee among all people.

In return, those who can contribute to everyone’s well-being will receive social acclaim and
approbation. At the same time, those who receive assistance will enjoy a life of dignity and
will appreciate the new system for having improved their economic and social status.
Moreover, the mutual guarantee economy will guarantee that gaps existing today will not be
duplicated in the future because the system will be balanced, stable, and based on high social
cohesion.

4) A genuine reform in the budget: The only element that will enable us to create social
justice in mutual guarantee, while noting the well-being of every individual in society—without
breaching the budget—is the sense that we are all in the same boat and must cooperate for
mutual benefit. We must determine a more equitable order of priorities in national budgets
from broad consensus, instead of acting like wrestlers in the ring. There should be an economy
managed with transparency, one that allows everyone to understand and influence how
decisions are made.

5) Improving human relations at work and the individual-firm-state relations: In a

mutual guarantee-based economy, economic and governmental systems will become friendly
toward people under the umbrella of mutual guarantee—catering to citizens, rather than to
governments. Similar improvements will take place in the authorities’ treatment of firms and
in relations between the business sector and the state’s tax authorities.

6) Trust: The transition to another economy will be gradual. First, there will be dynamics of
change and hope, a new spirit in society, a sense of cohesion and personal security. The
anxiety and fear of being used and abused will give way to voluntary concessions and gestures
in many areas, such as housing and rent prices, wage agreements that are fair to all sides,
simpler and more efficient bureaucracy that truly serves the public, fair and honest banks, or
garages that fix only what requires fixing and at a reasonable cost. All these examples have
one thing in common—a sense of trust in others, a feeling that is so desperately needed in
these insane times.

7) An efficient decision-making process: The new economy will be conducted with

transparency. People will be able to see how decisions are made and will be able to influence
them. The sense of transparency, along with involvement in the process, will create sympathy
with the decisions made. Many studies in organizational behavior show that when we partake
in a process, we tend to support decisions even when we are not in complete agreement with
them. This is the way toward the feeling that we are so badly missing—the sense of fairness,
our ability to approach decision-makers, and the need for social justice. This is the only way
for the transformations in society and in the economy to be successful. There will be a
progressive welfare policy, and inequality will be narrowed down through public deliberation
and broad consent. Collaboration, sharing, and transparent decision-making will contribute to
the stability and sustainability of the socioeconomic system.

8) Balanced consumption: The over-consumption that has become such an important part
of our lives will, with the encouragement of our social environment, gradually, and through
broad consent, make way for balanced consumption. Private consumption will return to
normalcy instead of the exaggerated consumption that relies on commercials and social
pressure whose sole purpose is to persuade us to purchase products and services we do not
need. Many redundant products and services will disappear, and consumption will rely on
practical calculations of utility and service in our daily lives at a reasonable level that is the
norm in our respective environments. Brands as social status will be replaced with contribution
to society and participation in community life and work for the common good.

Following the decline in demand, the cost of living will drop and a reasonably dignified living
standard will be accessible to all. That process has already begun and is connected to the
crisis and the gradual transition of humanity from a competitive, wasteful economy that is
self-centered and unequal, to a balanced and functional economy whose goal is to provide for
the basic needs of every person.

9) Improving the state of ecology and Nature: The shift from exploitative economy and
over consumption—which deplete natural resources and damage man and the Earth—into
balanced consumption will reduce the amount of industrial production and the number of
unnecessary products. These processes will contribute significantly to improving the planet’s
ecology: air and water pollution will decrease, the mountains of waste will be reduced
dramatically, and the plundering of energy and natural resources will cease. The return to
normalcy of consumption and production, to equality and fairness in division of resources, will
guarantee that the use of natural resources is done at a pace that allows earth to replenish
its treasures.

There are plenty of resources on this Earth to provide for the entire human race and all the
species on earth for a long, long time. The mutual guarantee economy is a balanced and
harmonious economy, and hence will be friendly toward Planet Earth, on which our lives
depend.

A profound advantage of the mutual guarantee is that in a balanced and harmonious system,
the likelihood of conflicts among nations and countries, even aggressive diplomacy, is virtually
nonexistent. Power struggles, protectionism, tariffs, currency struggles, and exploiting
weaknesses of other countries will make way for the new economy—in the spirit of mutual
guarantee.

Causes, Advantages and

Disadvantages of Economic
Growth
Introduction

Economic growth is the increase in the level of potential output in the economy over a
period of time and it can be shown by a rightward shift in the production possibility
frontier (PPF) (Graph 1) and this will also shift the long run aggregate supply (LRAS)
curve to the right (Mankiw and Taylor, 2011). Economic growth can also be measured by
the change in the gross domestic product (GDP) and the change in the real national
income which is the income that adjusted for inflation (Matthews, Powell and Parkin,
2012). The fluctuations in the economy are known as the business cycle which resulting
the change in economic growth. The business cycle has four main phases, boom,
recession, slump and recovery (Graph 2). In a boom, aggregate demand increase so
firms will increase output and this will cause economic growth.

Type of growth

There are three types of growth in the economy, including actual growth, potential
growth and trend growth. Actual growth is the changing of GDP over a period of time
and it is affected by the change in the aggregate demand and the efficiency of the
resources in the economy, potential growth is the rise in the quantity and quality of the
resources in the economy and it is possible to happen without actual growth taking
place, and finally, trend growth is the expected increase in potential output over time
and it is a measure of how fast an economy can grow without considering inflation
(Grant and Vidler, 2000). This essay will highlight the main causes, advantages and
disadvantages of economic growth and consider various alternative measurements of
economic growth which associated with the standard of living.

Causes of Economic Growth

Technological Progress

Economic growth happened because of a few factors, one of them is the technological
progress. The increase in the productivity of technology can increase potential output
by using the same amount of capital and employment (Sheffrin and Sullivan, 2006).
When the economy has enough supply, consumers are able to spend more.
Technological progress will also increase the productive efficiency as the cost of
production is reduced. A scientific calculator was not able to be produced a century ago,
but 50 years ago, it could be produced with only very expensive machines, and today
the calculator is available for only a few pounds (Anderton, 2008). The developed
technology can produce new and better quality of goods and this will increase the firm’s
profit as consumers are attracted to purchase those products. Hence, with those extra
spending, there would be an economic growth.

Capital Investments

Economic growth is also caused by capital investments. A significant amount of fixed

capital investments in factories, machinery and equipment is important for an economy
to develop (Manser, 1994). When a firm decides to invest in new machinery, it means
that the potential output level will increase and the labour cost will decrease so the
firm’s profit will rise. If the successful investment in the economy increases, the
productive capacity will also increase and this will then shift the PPF and LRAS curve to
the right. In 2009 and 2010, the United Kingdom spent over 15% of its annual GDP on
fixed capital (Gross Fixed Capital Formation, 2014). From 1960 to 1991, Japan, South
Korea and Singapore had the highest economic growth because the rates of
investments in those countries were high at that time (Hall, 2014).

Quantity and Quality of Labour

The other factor of economic growth is the quantity and quality of labour in the
economy. The greater the amount of labour in the economy the more it will stimulate
economic growth because the more workers, the higher the potential output level a firm
can achieve (Sutcliffe and Sloman, 2001). Besides quantity, labour skills and abilities are
also very important to economic growth (Parkin, 2010). The machines in the factory
often require people to operate them, so it is important for the workers to have those
skills. Workers who are well-trained and educated are more likely to contribute ideas to
improve the current way of production and the technology. This will then lead to better
uses of scarce resources, increase the potential output level and the long term trend rate
of growth.

Confidences and Expectations

The cause of economic growth is people’s confidences and expectations on the

economy. Firms will increase investments if they feel confident and expect the rate of
return on the investment to rise in the future (Begg, Fischer and Dornbusch, 2003).
When planned investments rise, the economy will grow because of the addition to the
capital stock in the economy which used to produce more goods and services. If
consumers are confident about the future, they might increase consumption and create
extra spending in the economy. Expectations of large increases in income will also
encourage people to spend more and this will cause the economic boom (Soskice and
Carlin, 2006).

Natural Resources

The next cause of economic growth is the presence of natural resources. Resources are
important to a country because the country which has a lot of natural resources is able
to produce goods and services which are low in costs and prices compared to those
countries which need to import the resources (Samuelson and Nordhaus, 2001). When
the costs are low, firms are able to increase output and export the goods to other
countries and this can create surplus in country’s current account.

Advantages of economic growth

Standard of Living

The advantage of economic growth is that people’s standard of living will increase.
Economic growth can reduce poverty because it can increase people’s income and this
allows them to get essential goods for living (Samuelson and Nordhaus, 2001). If people
have high income, they can consume more luxury goods and stimulate aggregate
demand. This encourages firms to produce more and this will then increase the potential
output level in the economy. When the income and output rises, the tax revenue will
also rise without increases in tax rates (Parkin, M, 1997). The government then can
spend more money to improve the public services, such as education and health care
and this will then improve the standard living of people.

Employment Rates

The other advantage of economic growth is that employment rates will rises. When
there is economic growth, aggregate demand will rise so firms will employ more
workers to increase the level of production and this will create more job opportunity
(Blanchard, 2000). Firms will feel more confident to increase investment during
economic growth because of the high rate of return. When investments increase, job
opportunity will also increase. The Quorn Food Company had created around 400 jobs
because of the £30m of investment (BBC, 2014). If the employment rate rises, the
government`s expenditure on paying people’s welfare for being unemployed will then
decrease. In 1990s, the rate of employment for unmarried mothers rise by around 50%
and this caused the amount of welfare paid to decrease by nearly 56% (Kim and Rector,
2006). Hence, the government can spend a large amount of money to enhance the
quality of the public services.

Disadvantages of economic growth

Inflation

Next, the major disadvantage of economic growth is the inflation effect. Economic
growth will cause aggregate demand to increase. If aggregate demand increases faster
than the increases in aggregate supply, then there will be an excess demand but a
shortage in supply in the economy. Hence, producers will tend to increase the price and
this situation is known as inflation (Beardshaw et al., 1998). When aggregate demand
continues to increase but the economy is already at its full productive potential, over-
heating will occurs (Anderton, 2008). This will then leads to high inflation with little or no
increase in output. In 1980s, the inflation increased by 10% in the UK because of the
high economic growth (UK Recession, 2014). High level of inflation will decreases
people’s confidence and this will decreases the number of local and foreign investments.
So, it is important for a country to have equilibrium in the aggregate demand and
aggregate supply to prevent inflation.

Environmental Problems

Economic growth will cause a lot of environmental problems. During economic growth,
factories will operate for a longer time to increase the production output so this will lead
to the increase in the emission of carbon which then causes the air pollution.
Economic growth means that a large number of raw materials are needed to
manufacture more goods and services and this can quicken the depletion of non-
renewable resources (Sloman, 2001). In an economic growth country, large amount of
waste will be generated because of the high consumption and many forests will be
destroyed to build factories in order to increase output. This action has then destroyed
the habitats for plants and animals and also causes climate change. Hence, economic
growth which damages the environment will then decrease the rate of sustainable
growth (Beardshaw et al., 1998).

Overall, economic growth can be a good thing because it leads to low unemployment
rate and reduce poverty. When a country experiences economic growth, the national
income will increase and this will then increase investments in technology which can
then solve the environmental problems and produce some alternative materials which
to replace those non-renewable resources.

GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of output produced in an economy over
a period of time (King, 2012). GDP is also used to measure the national income which
includes the value of indirect taxes such as VAT (Mankiw, 2013). GDP per capita is
measured when GDP is divided by the number of people in the country. GDP can be
expressed in two terms, real GDP and nominal GDP. Real GDP reflects the value which
has been adjusted for inflation while nominal GDP reflects the value without considering
inflation (Abel, Bernanke and McNabb, 1998). The following section will highlight how
GDP is measured, the benefits and limitations of GDP per capita, other ways to measure
the standard of living along with conclusion.

Methods to measure GDP

GDP can be measured by using three methods, the first method is through production
approach which estimates the market value of the goods and services produced in the
economy. The second method is the income approach which measures the income
earned by all individuals in the economy. Next, GDP can also be measured by the
expenditure approach which is the measurement based on the total spending on goods
and services (Understanding GDP and how it is measured, 2014). Besides GDP, national
income can be measured by gross value added (GVA), gross national product (GNP),
and net national income (NNP). GVA is the value when GDP minus indirect taxes and
includes subsidies, GNP is GDP plus income earned from other country minus income
paid for foreign investments and NNP is GNP minus depreciation of value of the
national capital stocks. (Lipsey and Chrystal, 2011)

Benefits of GDP
The benefit of using GDP per capita to measure the standard of living is that it is used
widely in the world so this allowed countries to make comparison (Burda and Wyplosz,
1997). By measuring the GDP, people will know how the economy works and this helps
government, businesses and economists to predict and plan for the future (Mankiw,
2013). GDP per capita is a useful measurement because it shows the average output
each person provides to the economy and it is measured frequently. Hence, this allows
us to judge economies positions more accurately. So, when GDP per capita increases,
this indicates that there has been economic growth and the standard of living had
increased as the consumption rose.

Limitations of GDP

GDP per capita also has its limitations. GDP only measures the output in the legal
economy but it does not take into account the black economy. Some people were
tempted to work in the black economy because they wanted to avoid paying a huge
amount of taxes (Barro, 1984). It is very difficult to measure the size of the hidden
economy but in the UK it was estimated to be around 7-15% of the GDP (Anderton,
2008). The countries which have the highest percentages of black economy in the world
are Thailand and Nigeria (Limitations of GDP When Measuring Living Standards, 2014).
Besides this, GDP also ignores the environmental costs. If the GDP per capita is
calculated by considering the environmental costs, then it would be much lower than
the true value. Hence, a country with a high GDP per capita does not mean that the
quality of life is high, possibly because of the inherent pollution. The United States,
which has a high GDP per capita, was ranked as the 2nd most polluted country in the
world (Top 10 World’s Air Polluted Countries, 2012).

HDI, HPI, GPI

Besides GDP, there are still other ways to measure the standard of living, such as Human
Development Index (HDI), Human Poverty Index (HPI) and Genuine Progress Indicator
(GPI). HDI is used to measure the development of an economy based on three criteria,
life expectancy at birth, education level and the standard of living which is measured by
using real GDP per capita (Doyle, 2005). In the year 2010, the country which had the
highest HDI was Norway and the country with the lowest HDI was Zimbabwe (Equality
matters if we are to reduce poverty, 2010). Human Poverty Index (HPI) is a composite
measure of long healthy life, knowledge and the ability to get the basic needs (Maunder
et al., 1995). HPI is constructed for developing countries (HPI-1) and industrial countries
(HPI-2) (Grant and Vidler, 2000). GPI is altered by the variables which related to the
economy, society and the environment, such as income distribution, changes in leisure
time, value of volunteering jobs and the cost of pollution (Genuine Progress
Indicator, 2014).

Conclusion
In conclusion, although GDP has its limitations but it is still used to measure the
standard of living in most country in the world because the advantages of GDP will be
more than offsets the disadvantages of GDP. However, instead of GDP, HDI, HPI and GPI
can also be used to measure the living standard in the economy. These three
measurements should be used together because none of them are totally perfect.
Hence, if GDP, HDI, HPI and GPI are used together, the limitations of one can be
replaced by the other’s strength. (2200 words)

Production Possibility Frontier

Graph 1: (Riley, Economic Growth, 2012)

Business Cycle
Advantages & Disadvantages of
Technology in Our Economy
Technology has been a major factor of economic expansion throughout mankind's
recorded history, since the invention of the wheel. However, it was after the Industrial
Revolution that extensive use of new technology revealed the boost machinery can give
to an economy's output. Furthermore, relatively recent experience (of the last century)
has also revealed certain drawbacks applied science can have for capital circulation
and people's economic prosperity.
Technology Increasing Productivity

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the introduction of
advanced machinery in factories has made it possible to give human workers only the
most delicate or crafty of jobs and leave the rest to automated devices. For example, it's
machines that paint new cars, making this final step of the production process much
quicker. However, not only goods' production benefits from new technology, but also
services, such as information technology, media companies and financial firms rely on
computers and networks (Internet) to send and retrieve valuable information quickly.
Reaching New Markets

An important aspect of a successful economy is its ability to sell its excess production to
other markets, in other words to export goods and services. For example, according to
data from the U.S. Census Bureau, exports brought $193.9 billion to the economy in
March 2014. Technology in the form of new means of transportation (faster freighters,
cargo airplanes), as well as new methods of communication (fax, Internet) has
effectively shrank the world and made international trade more accessible and efficient.
Reliance on Technology

As technology has become a basic element of all modern enterprises, production is

affected greatly by flaws and malfunctions of machinery and information systems. E-
commerce businesses cannot function if Internet connection is lost, while production of
a factory is reduced when a machine stops operating. In addition, as technological
devices become more advanced and complicated, only specialized professionals, such
as mechanics and programmers, have the ability to fix a problem.
Loss of Jobs

New technology has created a whole new field of jobs, which includes mechanics,
programmers, machine operators and other relevant specialized professions. However,
at the same time a number of low- to middle-level jobs -- requiring no particular
specialization -- are lost, as machines replace the human capital. For instance, modern
machines can undertake routine tasks in factories, making one or more salaried
employees unnecessary. Unemployment deprives people of money that they could
spend in the market, making their contribution to the economy tiny.

Market Economy

Market economy is based on supply and demand where the prices of goods and
services are determined within a free price system. This system encourages economic
freedom and was set up so that it would regulate itself due to money flowing where the
demand is greatest and encouraging competition and initiative. There are many
advantages and disadvantages of market economy which are described briefly below.
The Benefits of Healthy
Habits
The impact of good health
You know that healthy habits, such as eating well, exercising, and avoiding
harmful substances, make sense, but did you ever stop to think about why you
practice them? A healthy habit is any behavior that benefits your physical,
mental, and emotional health. These habits improve your overall well-being
and make you feel good.

Healthy habits are hard to develop and often require changing your mindset.
But if you’re willing to make sacrifices to better your health, the impact can be
far-reaching, regardless of your age, sex, or physical ability. Here are five
benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

CONTROLS WEIGHT

Controls weight
Eating right and exercising regularly can help you avoid excess weight
gain and maintain a healthy weight. According to the Mayo Clinic, being
physically active is essential to reaching your weight-loss goals. Even if you’re
not trying to lose weight, regular exercise can improve cardiovascular health,
boost your immune system, and increase your energy level.

Plan for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week. If you
can’t devote this amount of time to exercise, look for simple ways to increase
activity throughout the day. For example, try walking instead of driving, take
the stairs instead of the elevator, or pace while you’re talking on the phone.
Eating a balanced, calorie-managed diet can also help control weight. When
you start the day with a healthy breakfast, you avoid becoming overly hungry
later, which could send you running to get fast food before lunch.

Additionally, skipping breakfast can raise your blood sugar, which increases fat
storage. Incorporate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables into your
diet per day. These foods, which are low in calories and high in nutrients, help
with weight control. Limit consumption of sugary beverages, such
as sodas and fruit juices, and choose lean meats like fish and turkey.

IMPROVES MOOD

Improves mood
Doing right by your body pays off for your mind as well. The Mayo Clinic notes
that physical activity stimulates the production of endorphins. Endorphins are
brain chemicals that leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. Eating a
healthy diet as well as exercising can lead to a better physique. You’ll feel
better about your appearance, which can boost your confidence and self-
esteem. Short-term benefits of exercise include decreased stress and
improved cognitive function.

It’s not just diet and exercise that lead to improved mood. Another healthy
habit that leads to better mental health is making social connections. Whether
it’s volunteering, joining a club, or attending a movie, communal activities help
improve mood and mental functioning by keeping the mind active
and serotonin levels balanced. Don’t isolate yourself. Spend time with family
or friends on a regular basis, if not every day. If there’s physical distance
between you and loved ones, use technology to stay connected. Pick up the
phone or start a video chat.
Combats diseases
Healthy habits help prevent certain health conditions, such as heart
disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. If you take care of yourself, you can
keep your cholesterol and blood pressure within a safe range. This keeps your
blood flowing smoothly, decreasing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Regular physical activity and proper diet can also prevent or help you manage
a wide range of health problems, including:

 metabolic syndrome
 diabetes
 depression
 certain types of cancer
 arthritis

Make sure you schedule a physical exam every year. Your doctor will check
your weight, heartbeat, and blood pressure, as well as take a urine and blood
sample. This appointment can reveal a lot about your health. It’s important to
follow up with your doctor and listen to any recommendations to improve
your health.

BOOSTS ENERGY

Boosts energy
We’ve all experienced a lethargic feeling after eating too much unhealthy
food. When you eat a balanced diet your body receives the fuel it needs to
manage your energy level. A healthy diet includes:

 whole grains
 lean meats
 low-fat dairy products
 fruit
 vegetables

Regular physical exercise also improves muscle strength and boosts

endurance, giving you more energy, says the Mayo Clinic. Exercise helps
deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and gets your cardiovascular
system working more efficiently so that you have more energy to go about
your daily activities. It also helps boost energy by promoting better sleep. This
helps you fall asleep faster and get deeper sleep.

Insufficient sleep can trigger a variety of problems. Aside from feeling tired
and sluggish, you may also feel irritable and moody if you don’t get enough
sleep. What’s more, poor sleep quality may be responsible for high blood
pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, and it can also lower your life
expectancy. To improve sleep quality, stick to a schedule where you wake up
and go to bed at the same time every night. Reduce your caffeine intake, limit
napping, and create a comfortable sleep environment. Turn off lights and the
television, and maintain a cool room temperature.

IMPROVES LONGEVITY

Improves longevity
When you practice healthy habits, you boost your chances of a longer life. The
American Council on Exercise reported on an eight-year study of 13,000
people. The study showed that those who walked just 30 minutes each day
significantly reduced their chances of dying prematurely, compared with those
who exercised infrequently. Looking forward to more time with loved ones is
reason enough to keep walking. Start with short five-minute walks and
gradually increase the time until you’re up to 30 minutes.
The takeaway
Bad habits are hard to break, but once you adopt a healthier lifestyle, you
won’t regret this decision. Healthy habits reduce the risk of certain diseases,
improve your physical appearance and mental health, and give your energy
level a much needed boost. You won’t change your mindset and behavior
overnight, so be patient and take it one day at a time.

The health benefits of popular

foods
Though the field of medicine continues to advance and branch out in many ways, nutritionists and
health experts continue to praise the benefits of certain foods. In fact, eating healthfully has been
shown to reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular illnesses, and even certain types of cancer.

Why is it important to eat vegetables?

Eating vegetables provides health benefits – people who eat more vegetables and fruits as
part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases.
Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Nutrients

 Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces
or seasonings may add fat, calories, and/or cholesterol.)
 Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary
fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, and vitamin C.
 Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable
sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato
 products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet gree ns, soybeans, lima beans, spinach,
lentils, and kidney beans.
 Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood
cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper
bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber -containing foods
such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
 Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. W omen of childbearing age
who may become pregnant should c onsume adequate folate from foods, and in
addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This
reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal
development.
 Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
 Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C
aids in iron absorption.

Health benefits
 Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may
reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
 Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an o verall healthy diet may
protect against certain types of cancers.
 Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce
the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
 Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium a s part of an overall healthy diet may
lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and
help to decrease bone loss.
 Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some
other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

The Advantages of Eating

Healthy Food

Related Articles
 The Disadvantages of Junk Food
 5 Benefits of Proper Nutrition
 The Benefits of Eating Healthy Foods as a Child
 What Are the Benefits of Eating Healthy Vs. Unhealthy?
Weight control is a common reason that you might consider eating healthily. Although following a
balanced diet can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, this is only one benefit. Those
who follow a healthy, well-balanced diet reduce their risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart
disease and cancer. Aim to consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and unsaturated
fats.

Weight Loss or Maintenance

Use fruit, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains to replace high-fat, high-calorie foods. Staying
within your required calorie range is vital for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. The fiber
in whole grains, fruits and vegetables help fill you up faster and keep you full longer than foods that
are loaded with sugar. The longer you are satiated, the less likely you are to exceed your ideal calorie
range.
Blood Sugar
Sugary foods, such as white bread, fruit juice, soda and ice cream, cause a spike in blood sugar.
While your body can handle occasional influxes of glucose, over time this can lead to insulin
resistance, which can go on to become type 2 diabetes. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain
bread, oatmeal and brown rice, cause a slow release of sugar into the bloodstream, which helps
regulate blood sugar.
Decreased Risk of Heart Disease
Regularly consuming high-fat foods can increase your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can
cause plaque to buildup in your arteries. Over time, this can lead to heart attack, stroke or heart
disease. Eating a moderate amount of healthful fats such as those found in olive oil, avocados, fish,
nuts and seeds helps protect your heart.
Decreased Cancer Risk
Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, which are substances that seek and neutralize
potentially damaging cells called free radicals. Free radicals contain an uneven amount of electrons,
making them highly unstable. As they seek out and steal electrons from healthy cells, they can cause
damage. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating one of their electrons, turning the free
radical into a stable molecule.

How Junk Food Affects Children

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 Reasons Eating Junk Food Is Not Good
 The Disadvantages of Junk Food
 How to Prevent Children From Taking Too Much Junk Food
 What Attracts Kids to Fast Food?
Junk food can be appealing for a variety of reasons, including convenience, price and taste. For
children, who do not always understand the health consequences of their eating habits, junk food may
appear especially appetizing. However, regularly consuming fattening junk food can be addictive for
children and lead to complications like obesity, chronic illness, low self-esteem and even depression,
as well as affecting how they perform in school and extracurricular activities
nergy and Focus
According to the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, diet has a significant effect on children’s
study habits. Junk food and foods with high sugar content deplete energy levels and the ability to
concentrate for extended periods of time. Energy and focus are especially crucial for school-age
children. Children set the foundation for lifelong habits in their youth, making junk food particularly
hazardous to their well-rounded development. Physical activity is also essential for children of all
ages, and regularly eating junk food does not provide the necessary nutrients children need for
sufficient energy to engage in physical activity. A lack of physical activity is harmful to physical and
mental well being and may also exclude a child from critical social development.
Obesity Risk
A study published in “Pediatrics” in 2004 found fast-food consumption in children was linked with
many dangerous precursors for obesity. According to this study, kids who ate fast food were more
likely to consume a higher amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates and added sugars in one fast food
meal. They were also less likely to consume as much fiber, milk and fruits and vegetables as children
who did not eat fast food. Children who consumed more fattening foods while eating fast food were
also likely, in general, to eat more unhealthy foods at other meals. According to a statement released
by the journal “Nature Neuroscience” in 2010, high-calorie food can be addictive, causing children
who occasionally eat fast food to learn problematic patterns of eating. These factors were found to
place children who regularly ate fast food at increased risk for obesity.
Chronic Illness
According to the Prevention Institute, experts blame junk food for rising rates of diabetes, high blood
pressure and stroke. Increasing rates of chronic illness affect children who regularly consume junk
food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts if current trends continue, one in three
U.S. adults will have diabetes by the year 2050. Diabetes can result in disability and premature death.
The Center for Food Safety noted in 2012 that obese children are also more likely to develop high
cholesterol and heart disease later in life. According to the Women’s and Children’s Health Network,
changes can happen in children’s bodies even when they’re young that are associated with disease at
a more advanced age.
Self-Esteem and Depression
Self-esteem and confidence in oneself are especially important to growing children, and regularly
consuming junk food can negatively impact this sense of self. According to “Kids Health Club”
magazine, junk food can affect a child’s physical development in detrimental ways, including
unhealthy weight gain, which can result in self-esteem problems. Low self-esteem can lead to
consequences like depression. Nutritionists at MayoClinic.com also report eating junk food can
potentially cause depression on its own. According to the journal “American Family Physician,”
depression -- which can be very dangerous for children -- has negative impacts on growth and
development, performance in school and social relationships and can ultimately lead to suicide.

8 Benefits of Education That Combat Global Poverty

SEATTLE — The benefits of education equip individuals of all ages with the skills and knowledge
needed to be productive and successful global citizens. Educating citizens within poverty-stricken areas
can be an effective way to address and eradicate global poverty.
The following are eight benefits of education that help to combat global poverty:

1. Education Raises Literacy Levels

Illiteracy is a cycle which reinforces long-term poverty levels throughout generations. Individuals living in poverty
are often prevented from entering educational settings.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a 12 percent drop in
global poverty could be achieved if each student within low-income countries received basic reading and literacy
skills by the time they left school.

2. Education Increases Income and Wealth Creation

Increased education levels directly give individuals the necessary skills to increase their income level. Each extra
year of schooling a child receives increases that student’s earnings by up to 10 percent, according to UNESCO.

Education also boosts the income levels and amount of food farmers produce on their land by giving them the
necessary information to cultivate cash crops or follow other measures that may raise their cultivation levels.

3. Education Helps Reduce Instability and Corruption

According to the Global Partnership for Education, 36 percent of children worldwide who are not receiving
education live in areas of conflict. This lack of opportunity damages their ability to find employment once the
conflict ceases. Education promotes stable and peaceful societies that are capable of development.

4. Education Promotes Healthier Lives

Education and awareness give individuals the tools they need to take control over their health choices. Education is
also important for the containment of communicable diseases.

According to the World Health Service, an individual who has completed a lower secondary school education has
poor health 18 percent less than individuals with no education.

Prevention programs help to fight the transmission of diseases within affected communities and
reduce mother/infant mortality rates.

UNESCO reported a mother who is literate is 23 percent more likely to give birth with the help of a skilled attendant
or midwife. Further, children born to literate mothers are also 50 percent more likely to live past the age of five.

5. Education Empowers Females

The benefits of female education are not limited to childbirth. When women receive educational opportunities they
have greater abilities to generate income, their families are healthier, they raise fewer children and get married at
older ages, thereby averting child marriages.

Educating mothers is integral for the societies they belong to. Over the last four decades, around four million child
deaths have been prevented due to an increase in female education according to a study funded by the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation posted in The Lancet journal.

6. Education, Food Security and Nutrition

Poor nutrition affects brain development and the ability to learn for individuals living within poverty stricken areas.

According to UNESCO, 1.7 million fewer children would suffer from stunting, a sign of malnutrition, if all women
completed primary education levels. Education also contributes to a more varied diet which reduces the prevalence
of malnutrition.

7. Education and the Development of Technical Skills

With increased levels of education, a country’s residents will be more likely to gain knowledge of technical skills
creating employment opportunities in fields such as agriculture, construction, technologies and transportation. The
development of infrastructure gives children living in remote areas the ability to reach school facilities more easily,
raising educational levels within that particular area.

8. Education Boosts Economic Growth

Education promotes and fuels productivity gains that boost economic growth within countries. As reported by the
United States Agency for International Development, increasing the average level of education in a country by one
year can increase the annual gross domestic product of that nation by half a percentage point.