Cost of healthy eating 10 times higher

BobbyDaniel

It costs an average of 10 times as much to choose healthy food over "junk food"...WOW!

http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/slide/2-nutritious-food-costs-10-times-much-junk-food?slideshow=186413#sharetagsfocus

Aleciajones

Some will argue it's not true but I think it is. Only thing you can do is grow as much of your veggies as you can and if your able to, can or freeze them.

drog2323

I didn't read the article, but I would debate that one. Also, whats the cost to be unhealthy? meds, doc visits...even worse. hospital time etc. yes...I think overall it is a bit more $ to eat healthy, but Ive learned that I would rather spend the $ on that and cut back in other areas to save $.

dayzeerock

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

statia152

My friend and I have this discussion all the time. She says its cheaper in the long run. Why? Because you eat more junk, and are hungry sooner, thus eating more. It makes some sense, but I don't know.

ckmama

They didn't give much data on how they proved it was 10 times higher.

I do agree it can be higher, but they could have picked a really expensive low cal food and come up with that number. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

Extra Lean ground beef is more expensive than 80/20, but I also can get Low fat chicken breast for the same price as teh 80/20...So I guess it just depends on what they compared.

It would have been nice if they would have included the name of the study.

bethdris

It costs more food wise on the front end, but much cheaper in the long run health wise. Im all for the long haul!

vim_n_vigor

I think when they make that statement they are saying calorie for calorie. But when we eat junk food we eat a lot more calories than we need. I am finding that we are saving on our budget by buying in bulk and getting fresh produce.

miadvh

Hmm..our grocery bill has only gone up slightly since we've started trying to eat healthier foods. And really when you get down to it, we're probably spending less because we're not hitting up the fast food joints all the time. That, and the healthy food tends to fill us up better, so we're not just sitting around devouring all the junk in the house!

pixlamarque

I totally believe that. My grocery bil has gone up exponentially since I started on this site. It helps to stick to "whole" foods, meat/fruit/veg and not a lot of processed or pre-made "healthy" food. That said I still buy lots of Kashi frozen meals because it is so much more convenient to take to work. But they usually cost about $2 more per meal than lean cuisine or those disgusting healthy choice "all natural" steamer meals. Oh, well, it's worth it.

SpaceMarkus

I'll argue that it isn't true. Eating NORMAL costs more than eating CRAP. Yes, you can get food from burger kind for like, $3. You're not getting any nutritional value, though. On the flip side my daily health shake costs me about $3.50 and has everything in need.

When you're at the grocery store, compare prices of regular food vs "organic" food. If you shop around you can often find much healthier foods for barely pennies more. Also, go to your local farmer's market or fruit stand and you'll find out that eating healthy is actually about HALF the cost of what you'd spend in the grocery store.

bethdris

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

How many people are you feeding?? My bill is about 400.00 a month give or take for a family of 2 adults and 3 young kids.

usmcmp

I have to disagree. I can buy 2 pizzas for $12 and my kids and I will eat maybe 4 meals from it. I can buy $10 worth of chicken and $2 worth of veggies and it lasts us easily 6+ meals. If you know how to buy smart and portion then it can cost less. Our grocery bill went from $500 per month to $300 per month when I switch to healthier eating.

RMinVA

While I usually like most of the info from Men's/Women's Health, I hate it when they throw information like that out with no disclosure about the parameters that were used in the study. I can certainly get a lot more than 2000 "healthy" calories out of $36.

enid71571

I think that's the key "calorie for calorie" I actually spend less overall because my whole family eats a lot fewer calories that we never needed in the first place.

byHISstrength

I literally almost cried when I was planning to buy the kind of meat that is the healthier choice (grass-fed, no hormones, etc etc yada yada yada). One pack of chicken, like a pound worth was like $8...I have a husband and 3 boys (ages 19, 17, and 14) at home. I would need to buy at least two packs of chicken just to feed them. It was then that I realized we just can't afford it.

It really is sad that it costs so much. Very discouraging.

ASPhantom

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

How many people are you feeding?? My bill is about 400.00 a month give or take for a family of 2 adults and 3 young kids.

No, kidding, my family of four is $150 a WEEK.

Valechka

not really sure about it, maybe little bit, but not 10%.... plus all those meds, doctors visits once you have problems after eating years of junk

byHISstrength

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

That's fantastic. But how many people are you feeding?

dayzeerock

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

How many people are you feeding?? My bill is about 400.00 a month give or take for a family of 2 adults and 3 young kids.

No, kidding, my family of four is $150 a WEEK.

2 people, 1 cat (his food is all homemade, too), and 2 lizards.

shesblossoming

I think it is a bit more expensive, but it certainly isn't 10 times higher. I've had this argument with my boyfriend many times. Invest in your health now, and you won't have to pay for it in the future with frequent doctor visits and medication. I'm paying for it already with my poor health. I'm saving more money now that I'm actually living healthier. Junk food, regardless of how cheap it is, is truly expensive. You're paying top dollar for things that cost nothing, provide no health benefits. So think about it this way. What do you earn back from eating healthy? And what do you earn back from not eating healthy?

I feel richer just thinking about it.

LoveHoodies

It also depends a lot on where you live. I'm lucky enough that I have half a dozen grocery stores with competitive prices all in a couple miles so I can buy fresh produce, meat and all the rest at a good price. However, I remember when I lived in the city, and it gets worse for people in the poorer areas. Grocery stores are not that prevailant. Often times the produce sections are over priced and spoiled. Sometimes, the only options that a family has is to go to the local convience store to buy food, they don't have the means to travel the distance to a grocery store. They don't have the money to save up for one big grocery store trip and shop the sales, they can only buy what they need right then. For some people, you can shop around and find fruit for $1 a pound, when you are stuck shopping at the gas station where one banana is $1, or you can buy a couple old hotdogs for the same price and feed more people, what are you going to choose?

I think most people that say that it isn't true are lucky and have never experienced living in or even shopping in an impoverished area.

earthsember

I eat only whole, unproccessed, organic and local foods. My grocery bills are under $150/month. I still don't get how people can argue that healthy eating is expensive...just shop smart!

How many people are you feeding?? My bill is about 400.00 a month give or take for a family of 2 adults and 3 young kids.

My family of three budgets $70ish a week for unprocessed/local/organic or pesticide free. Not a bad price at all, our main expense is raw milk and pastured eggs. If I wanted to eat similarly but go for convenience stuff it would cost a lot more. But, for bulk items like a huge bag of steel cut oats or bulk brown rice, it's very inexpensive. Farm direct stuff cuts out a lot of the cost, for example we buy a whole 3-4lb chicken for about $18 (free range, no soy in feed). That sounds expensive, but, we make bone broth to cook rice in, and using the scraps to make things like spaghetti sauce, curry, or soups helps that one chicken stretch into 8 or so servings (not including the benefits from the broth). And while it sounds like a lot of work, it really isn't. I stick it in a pot to roast on Sunday, that takes about an hour and a half. After we eat dinner on Sunday I stick the bones in the slow cooker with some water, and it's done Monday evening. Most of the time is spent on it cooking, and then I have all of that meat available and cooked for meals throughout the week

So yeah, it's easy to balk at the initial cost, but it's all in how you use it.

MinnesotaManimal

Our bill has gone down. My wife and I are both using the site to track our goals, we don't buy allot of organic or specialty foods, we just eat less quantity, enough to meet our caloric goals. What use to feed just the two of us one meal ( years ago) now feeds both of us, 2 children and often has left overs. So for us since it was a quantity of food consumed more than the quality, our bill has dropped. I do all the cooking at home, always have; so I have a good handle on the numbers.

well I say our bill has gone down, I speak as far as quantity of groceries purchased, we all know that the cost of living is going nuts and staple food items such as meat and vegetables are going through the roof. At least where we live.

Q9S7

I have found this to be the case also (at least w/my eating habits). It may be that if you are ill, and your illness stems from lack of proper diet/+ exercise, it is on average more expensive to 'eat unhealthy'. However, examing an average as compared to a single variable won't result in a very conclusive result.

That being said, buying healthy foods in bulk such as beans, rice, oats, is on a whole cheaper if you're willing to take the time to prepare them. I find that what raises my cost of food (proportionally) is the vegetables and lean proteins.

I would also like to mention that my overall goal is to gain lean body mass. This requires I eat more than if my goal were to lose fat mass. Some may find that their cost of eating decreases due to less total food consumed and in what manner it is consumed (eating out a lot vs. preparing all your foods at home).

Lots of factors and variables to discuss..

Interesting thread! Thanks guys.

ShellyMacchi

Hmm..our grocery bill has only gone up slightly since we've started trying to eat healthier foods. And really when you get down to it, we're probably spending less because we're not hitting up the fast food joints all the time. That, and the healthy food tends to fill us up better, so we're not just sitting around devouring all the junk in the house!

THIS!

we are definitely spending less overall for food as we eat out in restaurants far less.. and by preparing most of our meals from scratch, there are always leftovers (already portioned out) for lunches or quick meals, eliminating 'last minute' junk food splurges.

Plus, frozen veg are picked and frozen at peek of ripeness, and so often on sale, it's easy to stock up then. Same with whole wheat pastas etc. i DO love sales *LOL* i presently have a whole years supply of low sodium tuna in my pantry as a few weeks ago walmart had them on a crazy low sale so i stocked up *L*

vim_n_vigor

I totally believe that. My grocery bil has gone up exponentially since I started on this site. It helps to stick to "whole" foods, meat/fruit/veg and not a lot of processed or pre-made "healthy" food. That said I still buy lots of Kashi frozen meals because it is so much more convenient to take to work. But they usually cost about $2 more per meal than lean cuisine or those disgusting healthy choice "all natural" steamer meals. Oh, well, it's worth it.

You can make your own frozen meals at home for a fraction of the cost. Save on preservatives and other unknowns in the frozen foods.

chellabella26

I have that problem now. I have a family to feed so I have to try and balance budget and health; unfortunately it's not a choice, especially in this economy and especially when the choice is fresh veggies or the power bill, rent etc. I get around this dilema by buying frozen veggies and fresh when it is on sale. Fruit has been great recently .25/lb for peaches, plumbs, and nectarines and $1 a pint for blueberries, so I am stocking up now and freezing what I can. I wish I could buy more fresh fish, but I can buy canned tuna and imitation crab. Also bananas, lettuce, carrots and cucumbers are usually pretty cheap most of the year so that is always a good choice. It's tough, but as long as you can stay away from heavily processed items (that are usually on the aisles) it is a step in the right direction. There was actually some solid advice from the Atkins diet book that the healthiest choices are on the perimeter of the grocery store.

gianna42

They gave no specifics to back that up.
You can buy frozen vegetables (often more nutritious than fresh, if not picked locally), bulk grains, legumes, and meat/fish on sale, large instead of single serving yogurt, etc, - and if you actually cook instead of relying on packaged/partially cooked foods, it can be less expensive, A lot would depends upon your choices and if you consider frozen vegetables healthy as opposed to organic and fresh.

iysys

Fruit has been great recently .25/lb for peaches, plumbs, and nectarines and $1 a pint for blueberries,

wowzers!! i consider it a huge deal when i can get peaches, plums or nectarines for $1.25 a pound! blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are usually $3 a pint when they are on big sale.

fteale

I just don't believe that at all. My weekly shopping is very comparable to everyone else I know, and I only buy fresh ingredients. Meat is the biggest expense, and being veggie, I don't have that.


Anyone complaining about food prices - go vegetarian, you'll find it much cheaper!