healthy diet more expensive?

omid990

i've seen a lot of debates on here about whether having a healthier diet leads to paying more for food.
found this article on firperez and thought it was interesting:

A new study is confirming fears that we've already had: a healthy diet is just more expensive than an unhealthy one.
And that sucks. You'd think that being healthier would be rewarded in every area, including your wallet. And it would be a shame if money was the reason someone was holding back from making a lifestyle change.
An update of what used to be known as a food pyramid in 2010 had called on Americans to eat more foods containing potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. But if they did that, the study authors said, they would add hundreds more dollars to their annual grocery bill.
Inexpensive ways to add these nutrients to a person's diet include potatoes and beans for potassium and dietary fiber. But the study found introducing more potassium in a diet is likely to add $380 per year to the average consumer's food costs, said lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.
That's a lot of extra money just to hit the new food "pyramid" they way we should be. There are incentives like coupons, but those are proving to be not effective at all.
People who spend the most on food tend to get the closest to meeting the federal guidelines for potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, the study found. Those who spend the least have the lowest intakes of the four recommended nutrients and the highest consumption of saturated fat and added sugar.
"Almost 15 percent of households in America say they don't have enough money to eat the way they want to eat," Seligman said. Recent estimates show 49 million Americans make food decisions based on cost, she added.
"Right now, a huge chunk of America just isn't able to adhere to these guidelines," she said.

lsd007

While I can't afford to buy all organic, or junk from the fancy health food stores I actually spend a lot less on food now that I eat a "healthy diet". It probably has something to do with me eating a lot less, but still.

MFPfriend

I agree with the above poster.

Honestly, plan your meals. Buy what you need, and ONLY what you need. Check the store to see what's on sale, and plan your meals with that.
My father was spending 90 dollars a month on groceries for only himself. Since I started living with him and introducing a healthy lifestyle, together we spend 150 dollars on groceries per month. I plan the meals, we buy what we need, we use it all. It takes time and effort, but it can happen.

Athena413

While I can't afford to buy all organic, or junk from the fancy health food stores I actually spend a lot less on food now that I eat a "healthy diet". It probably has something to do with me eating a lot less, but still.

I agree with the eating less thing. Yes, the healthier foods are definitely more expensive, but if you eat them in the portions that you're supposed to, they last just as long as the cheaper food. I think people tend to eat twice the amount of cheap food just because it's cheap and they can - so if you're eating twice as much, you're really not spending any less, I don't think.

Kinda79

I have to agree that at least for my family it has raised the food bill by a hundred dollars or so. We are a family of 6 so it requires more of the good stuff to see all of us and sometimes, being a 1 income household right now, we have to skimp or come up with least fattening items to replace the super healthy stuff. I would love to eat fish 1 or 2 a week but we settle for 1 or 2 a month if we are lucky.

I just have to pinch pennies, grab coupons, hit the sales and buy in bulk where I can. We also started making a monthly meal or dinner menu plan and stick to buying what we need for the month or week, depending.

leopardvice

if youre gonna be eating out obviously healthy is more expensive.... but going to farmers market to get all your produce is SO CHEAP! i mostly eat fruits and veggies so its not too bad for me, my husband on the other hand requires meat in his diet so things can get expensive. but when you compare chicken breast to ribs/steak or juice and water to soda (soda is sooo ridiculously expensive!!) healthy is cheaper. i think it just depends what you eat. organic is always gonna be more expensive but just because something isnt organic doesnt make it unhealthy (when it comes to weight loss anyways) chemicals are a completely different story.

dougstevens

When comparing food vs. food, a healthy diet does cost more than the "traditional" unhealthy diet, especially at the cash register; but probably only at the register.

There are several ways to cut the cost of food, most of which involve eating in, planning ahead, and getting good deals (e.g. store loyalty cards, coupons, buy in bulk, etc.)

Please, consider taking a step back and look at the bigger picture. There are so many ways which a unhealthy diet costs more than a healthy diet.


In our house, beginning of this year, we switched from years and years of unhealthy eating, and moved to a more responsible healthier diet. The change was astonishing and dramatic. For starters, we cook our own meals in lieu of eating out. (Cha-ching....saving loads of money). In doing do, we watch our portions, and in turn watch our calories ( a plate of food at home is less than a plate at a restaurant). We also increased our activity levels and lost a lot of weight. (All without without a gym membership. (Cha-ching....another savings....cancelling our unused gym memberships.)
Eating better over the past several months, we noticed my health improved. Not only am I stronger, and most likely live longer. Allergy season was not severe (cha-ching....reduction in over the counter meds, allergy, alleve, etc.). We haven't been sick, where in the past someone was sick every other month. Speaking of being healthier, I have eliminated the need for blood pressure medicine and doctor visits (cha-ching.....huge savings)

leopardvice

When comparing food vs. food, a healthy diet does cost more than the "traditional" unhealthy diet, especially at the cash register; but probably only at the register.

There are several ways to cut the cost of food, most of which involve eating in, planning ahead, and getting good deals (e.g. store loyalty cards, coupons, buy in bulk, etc.)

Please, consider taking a step back and look at the bigger picture. There are so many ways which a unhealthy diet costs more than a healthy diet.


In our house, beginning of this year, we switched from years and years of unhealthy eating, and moved to a more responsible healthier diet. The change was astonishing and dramatic. For starters, we cook our own meals in lieu of eating out. (Cha-ching....saving loads of money). In doing do, we watch our portions, and in turn watch our calories ( a plate of food at home is less than a plate at a restaurant). We also increased our activity levels and lost a lot of weight. (All without without a gym membership. (Cha-ching....another savings....cancelling our unused gym memberships.)
Eating better over the past several months, we noticed my health improved. Not only am I stronger, and most likely live longer. Allergy season was not severe (cha-ching....reduction in over the counter meds, allergy, alleve, etc.). We haven't been sick, where in the past someone was sick every other month. Speaking of being healthier, I have eliminated the need for blood pressure medicine and doctor visits (cha-ching.....huge savings)

awesome point!!

pippyrlz23

I know it's not an option for everyone and it's not a "year round" option...but this year my family planted our first garden! Growing some of your own produce can help with the costs of some food and it's lots of fun! And I definitely agree with the people who posted about coupons and sales...I check all of the ads and see what I have coupons for and what is going to be on sale...it takes a little extra time but you can get some great deals that will help with the grocery bill. Just make sure you aren't going to far out of your way to catch a deal or else you'll eat up all your saving in gas costs! Good luck!