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http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...t.html?cmp=rss
Is it really more expensive to eat healthy? A U.S. Agriculture Department study found that most fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods cost less than foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
That counters a common perception among some consumers that it's cheaper to eat junk food than a nutritionally balanced meal.
The U.S. government says it all depends on how you measure the price. If you compare the price per calorie — as some previous researchers have
done — then higher-calorie pastries and processed snacks might seem like a bargain compared with fruits and vegetables.
But comparing the cost of foods by weight or portion size shows that grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy foods are less expensive than most meats or
foods high in saturated fat, added sugars or salt.
That means bananas, carrots, lettuce and pinto beans are all less expensive per portion than french fries, soft drinks, ice cream or ground beef.
"Using price per calorie doesn't tell you how much food you're going to get or how full you are going to feel," said Andrea Carlson, scientist at the
USDA's Economic Research Service and an author of this week's study.
For example, eating a chocolate glazed donut with 240 calories might not satiate you but a banana with 105 calories just might.
In the comparisons, the USDA researchers used national average prices from Nielsen Homescan data, which surveyed a panel of households that
recorded all food purchases over a year from retail outlets.
Empty calories and hunger
The cost of eating healthy foods has been the subject of growing debate as experts warn Americans about the dangers of obesity. More than a third
of U.S. adults are obese, according to the government, and researchers expect that number to grow to 42 per cent by 2030.
"Cheap food that provides few nutrients may actually be `expensive' for the consumer from a nutritional economy perspective, whereas food with a
higher retail price that provides large amounts of nutrients may actually be quite cheap," the study said.
The USDA study criticizes a 2010 report from researchers at the University of Washington, which found that calorie-for-calorie junk food is more cost-
effective for low-income people than eating healthy.
Adam Drewnowski, director of the Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Washington and lead author of the prior study, said he stands by
his findings that a healthier diet generally costs more. He said there is no government recommendation for how many pounds of food an American
should eat each day, but there are federal guidelines that suggest a 2,000 calorie diet.
"Some of these calories are in fact empty calories, so from the standpoint of nutrition they are not terrific," Drewnowski said. "But the empty calories
keep you from being hungry, and this is why people buy them, especially lower-income people."
Earlier this week, UN special rapporteur for food Olivier De Schutter sparked a debate on whether Canadians have trouble affording to feed
themselves, with the government arguing De Schutter was wasting his time and advocates for the poor urging politicians to create a national food
strategy.
Margo Wootan, a nutrition advocate with the U.S. Center for Science in the Public Interest, said some people don't think they get as much value from
fruits and vegetables as they get from other foods.
"If they buy a bag of chips for $2, they think it's a good deal, but if they buy a bag of apples for $2, they think it's a lot," Wootan said. "We need to
do more to help people understand that fruits and vegetables are not as expensive as they think they are."
Wootan said shopping smart can make healthy eating more affordable. Consumers should be more flexible about choosing less expensive fruits and
vegetables that are in season and supplementing those with frozen or canned fruits and vegetables so they don't have to throw away as much.
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This always got me mad. "Oh eating healthy is so expensive so I have to feed my children McDonalds every day." Are you kidding me? McDonalds is so overpriced and expensive. I can make a fully organic extremely healthy meal of awesome tasting stuff for 25 cents per bowl. Compare that to $5 per Big Mac.
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Yeah at the grocery store I got buy one get one free on blackberries, and I've been making some mad smoothies non-stop. It's pretty cheap.
I only get fast food on long trips or certain occasions when I'm out of the house and have no dinner plans.
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Um, recipe please? I would love a 25 cent meal that's also healthy.
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Quinoa, lentils and rice. Buy them in bulk, if you can, thats how I do it. Pop that shit in a rice cooker, and you're good to go. So much protein and all that good stuff, I guarantee you could probably live on that combination alone (obv. plus water) for about a year, it's so packed with nutrition.
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My favorite is an arugula salad. All you need is arugula, balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, red onion and you're good to go!
You can add nuts too!
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do this and gain 0 muscle whatsoever, healthy doesn't mean go on a strict diet it means what normal human beings should be eating
"so much protein?" those are shitty proteins from grains, look into real sources of protein like chicken breast, tuna and salmon
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healthy =/= building muscle
we aren't all fat and/or looking to be buff dude
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skinny =/= in shape
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but i'm a vegetarian
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then use supplements fuck
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in shape == body fat
skinny == body fat
they're related in some ways, you can be skinny and in shape
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"Shitty grain protein"? Ahahaha. Chicken breast, tuna and salmon are all fine sources of protein, but so are grains. And anyway, it's not as if the sole purpose of eating well is to gain muscle HARDCORE ERRYDAY BE AWESOME
And when did I ever say a strict diet? When I said you could live on it for a year, I meant in the worst of circumstances. Obviously you should be getting things like fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds, stuff like that. You're really jumping to conclusions here.
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well yeah nobody is so poor that they need meals under a dollar
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Actually, for a lot of people it helps. It's excellent to have big stores of this stuff so you never run out of food, and my family sometimes has less than a dollar in the bank sometimes. Then we just eat QLR until we have money again, voila solution.
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Please tell me you're joking.
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You really don't need them if you know how to eat, even without meat in your diet.
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I can guarantee you I couldn't live on that alone, :P I need meat in my diet
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Um I would get great benefit from spending less than a dollar a day on food.
Edited:
That's why I asked, dude.
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Maybe you do, but what I mean is that it could sustain you for a year. What would polish you off in the end would probably be deficiencies in certain vitamins.
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If I ate that for a meal I would be hungry again before the dishes would even be washed.
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Quinoa actually has a ton of protein
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Stop posting.
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People throughout history have sustained themselves purely on rice or bread. Yea, they lived shitty, unhealthy lives, and died young because of it, but it still sustained them. Optimal =/= possible.
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Nobody SHOULD be that poor, if they are they are a lazy crackhead
(User was banned for this post ("Dumb or trolling" - Orkel))
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If you ate it with a glass of milk, or 8 oz of chicken breast, it would probably fill you right up.
Edited:
But those imply you're not vegan.
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I'm not, don't worry.
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Yeah the millions of people in the world who live on less than a dollar a day are all lazy crackheads.
There is a ton of starch in that meal, it would probably keep you full for a whileArdosos posted:
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Starch doesn't keep you full for very long. In fact starch can trigger hunger after a short period. Casein protein and nutrients will keep you full for longer.
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That's why I said drinking milk would probably be good to supplement the meal, since the protein content of milk is mostly casein.
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You'd make a good republican presidential candidate.
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I guarantee you'd live fine on that, I am willing to bet my left nut on it.
Edited:
Plus if you need protein from veggies just scran some chick peas, those things are mad good for you, poly unsaturated fats which are fucking stupid good for you, fibre all up in them bitches and protein all up inside them.
Pretty much a super food.Wikipedia posted:
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Well, look who has access to mommy's credit card.
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hahaha i can never tell if these dumb posts in SH are ironic or not because most people here suck at delivering sarcasm in a post but i really hope for your sake you're not being serious
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Nah man he's serious, I can tell from seeing quite a few trolls in my time and this guy ain't one of em.
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Oh boy look who's getting money from their parents.
Edited:
not everyone's looking to be a REAL MANLY MAN/WOMAN!
You'd think musclyness would look weird on a girl right? Not everyone's looking to gain muscle hahaha.
Edited:
muscly/gross =/= in shape
in shape = in shape
Edited:
Right. Whatever you say. Lets see you talk that way when you end up having to do that.
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A shame I can't stand it
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You are awful.
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Who the fuck mentioned muscle growth? Not everyone wants to be a body builder you know.
Informative x 20
Useful x 1
Agree x 62
Disagree x 1
Optimistic x 1
Zing x 1
x 27
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Dumb x 60
Artistic x 1
