Reuters – In the jungles of southeastern Myanmar’s Dawna Hills, rebels from an armed ethnic group are fighting to hold back columns of reinforcements sent by the country’s ruling junta to try to reclaim Myawaddy, a critical trading outpost on the Thai border.

What happens in the next few weeks in the scramble for Myawaddy and other strategic locations in Myanmar could determine the next phase of a bloody conflict that has dragged on for more than three years and ultimately dictate the fate of the junta.

Myanmar has been plunged into chaos since a military coup in February 2021 led to the rise of an armed resistance that is now working alongside ethnic minority rebel groups, some of which have been fighting the military for decades.

Healthy food can seem to be expensive or overly time-intensive to prepare. That is why, when the budget gets tight, we tend to take the easy way out and buy fast food or heavily processed snacks. These foods are more filling and provide the immediate gratification of “comfort food” ingredients—fat, sugar and sodium.

Yet excess sugar and starch weaken the immune system, making the body susceptible to illness and running down our health in the long run.

Even in the face of financial difficulties, you can trade convenient, empty nutrition for a diet that will keep you healthy but not break the bank. The following are nine tips for eating healthfully even when times are tight.