The Economy of Shopping Small Report from American Express has shown that Aussies like to support small businesses, and communities benefit from small businesses thriving. How you can encourage your community to Shop Small.

How everyday consumers feel about local small businesses.
Australian consumers like small businesses, and they love being able to support them. According to the report:

• 42% of Australians say they would continue to support a small, family-run business, even if prices increased by 10% compared to cheaper competitors. (In contrast, only 26% said they would support an online-only business if it raised its prices.)
• Two-thirds of consumers (67%) said they would miss their local small business if they were forced to close.
• 62% said their local shopping village and small businesses add to the good looks and charm of their local area.
• 54% felt very attached to their local shopping village.
• Those who support local businesses are 15% more likely to Shop Small instead of shopping online.

How business owners feel about their communities.
Australian small business owners love their communities, and they deliberately build their businesses in a way that can benefit the communities they live and work in.

• 75% said there was a high level of interaction between their business and the local community.
• 59% said the pull of “serving the community” was a major reason why they set up their business in the first place.
• 79% said they defined the success of their business as whether they were having a positive economic and social impact on their community.
• A smile makes all the difference! 99% of small business owners say they always welcome their customers with a smile – something that many large businesses do not achieve. On top of that, 94% always personally thank their customers, and 92% know the names of their regulars.

But there are certainly some challenges facing small business owners in Australia. The things business owners worry the most about are the increasing costs and overheads of running their small business (82%); the economic climate in Australia (76%); and the future cash flow of their business (74%).

Thankfully, small business owners can combat these money worries by encouraging more of their local community to Shop Small. You can also compare business financial products on the Canstar website, to make sure the costs of doing your business banking are as low as possible.

How communities benefit from small businesses.

• 92% of businesses said the local community benefits from their business.
• 73% of small businesses give back to the community through sponsorships for local community programs, and charitable donations to local charities.
• 44% of small business owners said their business is the heart of their community, and 42% said it is a place locals come to socialise.
• 52% said their business adds to the cultural diversity of the community.

Encouraging your community to Shop Small in November.
In November 2015, American Express is joining consumers and companies alike to join their Shop Small campaign, and championing the “small heroes” of their community. American Express will give a $10 statement credit to Card Members (cardholders) up to 10 times in November if they register their card and spend $20 or more at participating businesses.

Ways to encourage your community to Shopping Small

• Register your business as a Shop Small retailer (https://shopsmallaustralia.com/Merchants) or print off the customisable, free promotional materials from American Express on the website.
• Participate in the promotion as an American Express Card Member with your business credit card: visit shopsmallaustralia.com
• Put a sign in your shopfront window asking people to Shop Small in November.
• Post on your Facebook and Twitter about #ShopSmall or what your business will be doing on Small Business Saturday. If you’re stuck for ideas, post this video to your Facebook wall: American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault talking about small businesses creating more jobs.
• Print a bookmark listing some of the benefits of Shopping Small and thanking customers for choosing your small business, and staple a bookmark to each customer’s receipt.
• Hold a #ShopSmall in-store selfie competition and get customers to post their selfies onto your business’s Facebook or Instagram page.

​Credit to Source
Photo: Shopping Small Report
Article: https://www.canstar.com.au/business-overdrafts/the-shopping-small-report-shows-communities-benefit-from-supporting-local-small-business-retailers-how-to-encourage-your-community-to-shop-small/

​A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar, which can help keep appetite in check. Eating non-starchy vegetables and fruits like apples, pears, and green leafy vegetables may even promote weight loss. Their low glycemic loads prevent blood sugar spikes that can increase hunger.

At least nine different families of fruits and vegetables exist, each with potentially hundreds of different plant compounds that are beneficial to health. Eat a variety of types and colors of produce in order to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs. This not only ensures a greater diversity of beneficial plant chemicals but also creates eye-appealing meals.

Vegetables, fruits, and disease

Cardiovascular disease
There is compelling evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

• A meta-analysis of cohort studies following 469,551 participants found that a higher intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, with an average reduction in risk of 4% for each additional serving per day of fruit and vegetables. 
• The largest and longest study to date, done as part of the Harvard-based Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, included almost 110,000 men and women whose health and dietary habits were followed for 14 years.
• The higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those in the lowest category of fruit and vegetable intake (less than 1.5 servings a day), those who averaged 8 or more servings a day were 30% less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke. 
• Although all fruits and vegetables likely contributed to this benefit, green leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens, were most strongly associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale; and citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit (and their juices) also made important contributions. 
• When researchers combined findings from the Harvard studies with several other long-term studies in the U.S. and Europe, and looked at coronary heart disease and stroke separately, they found a similar protective effect: Individuals who ate more than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day had roughly a 20% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, compared with individuals who ate less than 3 servings per day.

Blood pressure

• The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study examined the effect on blood pressure of a diet that was rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and that restricted the amount of saturated and total fat. The researchers found that people with high blood pressure who followed this diet reduced their systolic blood pressure (the upper number of a blood pressure reading) by about 11 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) by almost 6 mm Hg—as much as medications can achieve.
• A randomized trial known as the Optimal Macronutrient Intake Trial for Heart Health (OmniHeart) showed that this fruit and vegetable-rich diet lowered blood pressure even more when some of the carbohydrate was replaced with healthy unsaturated fat or protein. 
• In 2014 a meta-analysis of clinical trials and observational studies found that consumption of a vegetarian diet was associated with lower blood pressure. 

Cancer
Numerous early studies revealed what appeared to be a strong link between eating fruits and vegetables and protection against cancer. Unlike case-control studies, cohort studies, which follow large groups of initially healthy individuals for years, generally provide more reliable information than case-control studies because they don’t rely on information from the past. And, in general, data from cohort studies have not consistently shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables prevents cancer.

• For example, over a 14-year period in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, men and women with the highest intake of fruits and vegetables (8+ servings a day) were just as likely to have developed cancer as those who ate the fewest daily servings (under 1.5). 
• A meta-analysis of cohort studies found that a higher fruit and vegetable intake did not decrease the risk of deaths from cancer. 

A more likely possibility is that some types of fruits and vegetables may protect against certain cancers.

• A study by Farvid and colleagues followed a Nurses’ Health Study II cohort of 90,476 premenopausal women for 22 years and found that those who ate the most fruit during adolescence (about 3 servings a day) compared with those who ate the lowest intakes (0.5 servings a day) had a 25% lower risk of developing breast cancer. There was a significant reduction in breast cancer in women who had eaten higher intakes of apples, bananas, grapes, and corn during adolescence, and oranges and kale during early adulthood. No protection was found from drinking fruit juices at younger ages. 
• Farvid and colleagues followed 90, 534 premenopausal women from the Nurses’ Health Study II over 20 years and found that higher fiber intakes during adolescence and early adulthood were associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer later in life. When comparing the highest and lowest fiber intakes from fruits and vegetables, women with the highest fruit fiber intake had a 12% reduced risk of breast cancer; those with the highest vegetable fiber intake had an 11% reduced risk. 
• After following 182,145 women in the Nurses’ Health Study I and II for 30 years, Farvid’s team also found that women who ate more than 5.5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day (especially cruciferous and yellow/orange vegetables) had an 11% lower risk of breast cancer than those who ate 2.5 or fewer servings. Vegetable intake was strongly associated with a 15% lower risk of estrogen-receptor-negative tumors for every two additional servings of vegetables eaten daily. A higher intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of other aggressive tumors including HER2-enriched and basal-like tumors. 
• A report by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that non-starchy vegetables—such as lettuce and other leafy greens, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, as well as garlic, onions, and the like—and fruits “probably” protect against several types of cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, and stomach. Fruit probably also protects against lung cancer. 

Specific components of fruits and vegetables may also be protective against cancer. For example:

• A line of research stemming from a finding from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study suggests that tomatoes may help protect men against prostate cancer, especially aggressive forms of it. [12] One of the pigments that give tomatoes their red hue—lycopene—could be involved in this protective effect. Although several studies other than the Health Professionals Study have also demonstrated a link between tomatoes or lycopene and prostate cancer, others have not or have found only a weak connection. 
• Taken as a whole, however, these studies suggest that increased consumption of tomato-based products (especially cooked tomato products) and other lycopene-containing foods may reduce the occurrence of prostate cancer. [12] Lycopene is one of several carotenoids (compounds that the body can turn into vitamin A) found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and research suggests that foods containing carotenoids may protect against lung, mouth, and throat cancer. [12] But more research is needed to understand the exact relationship between fruits and vegetables, carotenoids, and cancer.

Diabetes
Some research looks specifically at whether individual fruits are associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. While there isn’t an abundance of research into this area yet, preliminary results are compelling.

• A study of over 66,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, 85,104 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 36,173 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study—who were free of major chronic diseases—found that greater consumption of whole fruits—especially blueberries, grapes, and apples—was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Another important finding was that greater consumption of fruit juice was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. 
• Additionally a study of over 70,000 female nurses aged 38-63 years, who were free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, showed that consumption of green leafy vegetables and fruit was associated with a lower risk of diabetes. While not conclusive, research also indicated that consumption of fruit juices may be associated with an increased risk among women. 
• A study of over 2,300 Finnish men showed that vegetables and fruits, especially berries, may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Weight
Data from the Nurses’ Health Studies and the Health Professional’s Follow-up Study show that women and men who increased their intakes of fruits and vegetables over a 24-year period were more likely to have lost weight than those who ate the same amount or those who decreased their intake. Berries, apples, pears, soy, and cauliflower were associated with weight loss while starchier vegetables like potatoes, corn, and peas were linked with weight gain. [1] However, keep in mind that adding more produce into the diet won’t necessarily help with weight loss unless it replaces another food, such as refined carbohydrates of white bread and crackers.

Gastrointestinal health
Fruits and vegetables contain indigestible fiber, which absorbs water and expands as it passes through the digestive system. This can calm symptoms of an irritable bowel and, by triggering regular bowel movements, can relieve or prevent constipation. [18] The bulking and softening action of insoluble fiber also decreases pressure inside the intestinal tract and may help prevent diverticulosis. 

Vision
Eating fruits and vegetables can also keep your eyes healthy, and may help prevent two common aging-related eye diseases—cataracts and macular degeneration—which afflict millions of Americans over age 65. [20-23] Lutein and zeaxanthin, in particular, seem protective against cataracts. 

Credit to Sources
Photo: Photo by Dose Juice on Unsplash
Article: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/