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Seattle, WA, United States (AHN) – In trying to eat healthy, making wise choices is not the only obstacle for many. Expense is another. New research shows that eating healthy can cost an extra $7.28 a week, or about $380 a year.

A recent update of U.S. nutritional guidelines, once known as the Food Pyramid and now called My Plate, calls on Americans to eat more fresh foods containing potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. But according to a study published Thursday in the journal Health Affair, for the typical consumer adding foods containing these vitamins and nutrients can add hundreds to a yearly grocery bill.

Researchers of the study note that 15 percent of America say they don’t have enough money to eat the way they want to eat. And, recent estimates show 49 million Americans make food choices based on cost.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New York City Council member Leroy Comrie Jr. filed a bill on Wednesday that proposed to ban fast food chains from using toy prizes in advertising as an attraction to children.

The restriction would not apply if the food has less than 500 calories and 600 milligrams of sodium, and less than 35 percent of the calories should come from fat. The meal must include a half cup of fruit or vegetables or a serving of whole grain products.

Among the food chains expected to be affected by the bill that aims to curb childhood obesity is McDonald’s, which offers toy prizes for its Happy Meals.

The bill is patterned after a similar measure passed in San Francisco in 2010 despite the intense lobbying against the law by fast food chains. A similar lobby is shaping up in New York City against the Fast Food Toy Ban Bill.

The New York State Restaurant Association said the government could not legislate what parents should feed their children and the bill would be an added burden to their businesses.

McDonald’s pointed out that the average child eats at McDonald’s three times a month, so childhood obesity should not be blamed on the food items and the enticing toys the chain offers since the kid has other sources of meals which could be the culprit behind the child’s weight problem.

McDonald’s currently offers Young Justice action figures and plastic animals for buyers of Happy Meals, which have varying nutritional content ranging from 380 calories and 460 mg of salt for Chicken McNuggets with apple slices, low-fat caramel dipping sauce and apple juice, to 700 calories and 1,060 mg of salt for a cheeseburger, French fries and low-fat chocolate milk package.

Comrie admits he filed the bill based on his experience as a parent whose two children – now aged 17 and 13 – grew up on McDonald’s Happy Meals because of limited time and limited options.

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Jerusalem, Israel David E. Miller – Aiming to control the Israeli narrative in the Holy Land, legislators have presented a new bill that would require all tour guides to hold Israeli citizenship.

The proposed law would mainly target Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem who do not hold Israeli citizenship, but benefit from the capital’s thriving tourism industry.

Titled “Law Proposal – Tourism Services,” the proposed bill stipulates harsh measures against non-certified tour-guides in Israel, but also demands that tour guides be Israeli citizens. The bill was tabled as private legislation by a group of five Knesset Members (MKs) from the right-wing Likud, Shas, and National Union parties and the centrist Kadima Party.

The Tourism Ministry has rejected it as a bad idea.

But former Tourism Minister Gideon Ezra from Kadima said that Palestinian tour guides often lie about the true history of Jerusalem.

“Suppose a Palestinian tour guide goes to the holy places in Israel, [he will say] there were no holy places for Jews in the past,” Ezra told The Media Line. “Speaking about Silwan [an east Jerusalem neighborhood], they will not say one good word about the Israelis.”

An explanatory paragraph elaborated on the motivation behind the bill.

“Some Israeli residents, such as the residents of east Jerusalem, often display ‘dual loyalty,’ since they vote for the Palestinian Authority. These residents sometimes display anti-Israeli positions before the tourist groups they guide,” the bill said.

“In order to ensure that foreign tourists are exposed to the national Israeli point of view, we propose that travel agencies see to it that these tours are accompanied by a tour guide who is an Israeli citizen, with institutional loyalty to the State of Israel,” it added.

“I believe that if you’re not a citizen of Israel, regardless of whether you’re an Arab or a Jew, you will do your best for the Palestinian Authority,” said Ezra, once a top commander in Israel’s internal security services. “Any guide can become an Israeli citizen, no problem. But they prefer not to.”

Ezra added that the law was first presented seven months ago, admitting that its current timing was problematic due to the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

“I don’t think we should bring such a law now,” he said.

Yahav Zohar, a Jerusalem-based tour guide, was worried about the proposed law.

“This is a dangerous law,” he told The Media Line. “It is a slippery slope. It means that whoever doesn’t agree with us or doesn’t believe in what we do cannot talk, and we will harm his ability to make a living. This is a clear and present danger to Israeli democracy.”

Zohar said that tourism was one of the only branches of income available to Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem after the separation barrier economically detached them from the West Bank.

“This bill also goes against the Israeli narrative whereby east Jerusalem is an inseparable part of Israel, and that Israeli law applies to it,” Zohar added. “It assumes that residents of east Jerusalem cannot represent the state.”

According to Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, 8,000 people carry an Israeli tour guide license; 3,000 of whom work in the profession.

Samir Bahbah, chairman of the Arab Tourist Guides Union (ACGO) said his organization would turn to the courts to counter the proposed bill.

“This proposal is unfair,” he told The Media Line. “We will turn to lawyers and even appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary. We have already contacted the European Union and the office of Tony Blair, the Quartet representative. They are working with us closely on the matter.”

The Arab Tourist Guide Union represents 300 Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem who stand to lose their Israeli accreditation as a result of the proposed bill.

Eran Tzidkiyahu, another Jerusalem-based tour guide, told The Media Line that the proposed bill was part of a larger campaign by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism to regulate the industry, co-opting tour guides into Israel’s advocacy effort.

“This concerns freedom of expression,” he said. “Why can’t any person stand in a given location and speak his mind? If I am, for instance, an expert in Armenian pottery–will I now have no right to talk about this?”

‘Abed Hamdallah, a resident of east Jerusalem, has been working as a certified tour guide in Israel since 1998. He believed the proposed bill would only draw a wedge between Arabs and Jews.

“The proposition is embarrassing,” he told The Media Line. “Where do they want to go with this? Does it strengthen our loyalty or help convey a good image of Israel? No, it’s completely negative. Instead of one people acknowledging the other they do everything they can to separate the peoples and build walls of hate.”

Hamdallah added that he would suffer economically if the law passed.

“This would affect me economically, but livelihood always comes from heaven,” he said. “I won’t be happy if my license is taken away, and I will not like the state of Israel.”

“In the bible, Samson was tied to the pillars of a building,” Hamdallah added. “If pushed to the corner, I too would want to bring the house down.”

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