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.