It's Too Expensive

Everyone knows health food = expensive

"University of Washington researchers found when they compared the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area. Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation."

When you can eat more calories for less money, especially when you are strapped for cash, why would you buy healthier foods? Possibly because of the way that a healthy lifestyle saves you in the long run, as your risk for obesity decreases and along with that your risk for chronic diseases drop as well.

This is a comforting fact considering chronic disease facts such as:

• The medical care costs of people with chronic diseases account for more than 75% of the nation’s $2 trillion medical care costs.
• The direct and indirect costs of diabetes is $174 billion a year.
• Each year, arthritis results in estimated medical care costs of nearly $81 billion, and estimated total costs (medical care and lost productivity) of $128 billion.
• The estimated direct and indirect costs associated with smoking exceed $193 billion annually.
• In 2008, the cost of heart disease and stroke in the U.S. is projected to be $448 billion.
• The estimated total costs of obesity was nearly $117 billion in 2000.
• Cancer costs the nation an estimated $89 billion annually in direct medical costs.
• Nearly $98.6 billion is spent on dental services each year.

So how is it done?

There are lots of great ideas to help you reduce food costs without losing nutrition. Divine Caroline provides her list of 20 healthy food items for under $1, a deal you can't beat and with some items that aren't typical of the American diet, you can get creative with your cooking.

Rebecca Pratt also details some ways you can eat healthy on a budget, such as:

• Drink lots of water (at least 8 cups a day)
• Limit salty and sugary foods
• Avoid eating many foods that are high in saturated fats
• Make “variety” the watchword of your eating
• Set aside a regular block of time to plan your meals (include snacks)
• Stock up on healthy, but cheaper items-- such as beans, lentils, pastas, rice
• You can cook large quantities and then freeze extras
  
• Buy in bulk, but only things that make sense, vegetables or fruits that will go bad quickly are not the best bulk item
  

Now it's your turn, what are ways that you find to decrease the cost of your groceries without decreasing your health?

No Time

One of the most common reasons in our technology driven world that people don't cook healthy is that they don't have any time. Between school, family, social life, and everything else that fills our agendas, how is it possible to find time to prepare a healthy meal?

Another issue to address is: Are fast food restaurants really that bad for me?

If you have ever seen "Super Size Me" I'm sure your first knee-jerk reaction to this question would be an automatic "YES!" Consider the facts:

• most fast food restaurants fry a majority of their food and you can bet on almost anything from a fast food joint to have at least twice as many calories as something made at home
  
• serving sizes in fast food restaurants do not match up with suggested serving sizes from
  
• "Some scientists are starting to believe that binging on foods that are excessively high in fat and sugar can cause changes to your brain and body that make it hard to say no. A few even believe that the foods can trigger changes that are similar to full-blown addiction."(Martindale 2003)

However, with one out of four Americans eating out every day, it would be near impossible to try and tell everyone the solution is just to not eat out. Instead we need to realize that it is still possible to make wise, healthy decisions when you eat out.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

References:
Martindale, Diane. "Burgers on the Brain." New Scientist. Vol 177, issue 2380. Feb. 1 2003.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nutrition

I've thought of a few nutrition questions that I sometimes get from people and some that I was interested in myself and listed them below. I will be working on answering these in this post.

What is a healthy amount of calories? How do I know if I am receiving this?

One of my favorite websites for finding information on finding out how to balance out your meals is actually mypyramid.gov. It's wonderfully interactive and you can even use the "My Pyramid Plan" in order to customize it for your height, weight, age, gender, and physical activity levels.

For example, for me I need 2200 calories and it even tells me how much of each food category I need.



Do I really lose that many nutrients if I eat canned fruits and vegetables?

According to medline plus:

"Many people wonder if frozen and canned vegetables are as nutritious as fresh vegetables. The answer to this question depends on both the time between the harvesting of the vegetable and the canning and freezing process. Generally, vegetables are canned or frozen immediately upon harvest when their nutrient content is at its peak.

The way vegetables are prepared at home can also affect the nutrient content. Vegetables of any type (fresh, frozen, or canned) that are boiled in large amounts of water for long periods of time lose much of their nutritional content compared with vegetables that are lightly steamed.

Vegetables fresh from the farm or just picked are more nutritious than their frozen or canned counterparts, but frozen and canned vegetables are an acceptable nutritional alternative. Just be mindful of the amount of salt added to canned vegetables; try to buy those without added salt. And, don't overcook any vegetables.

Is microwaving bad for you?

I found the most informative/comprehensive website concerning the benefits/cautions for microwaves is actually the FDA. Here they address a few concerns, namely the facts:

"they do not have the same risks as x-rays or other types of ionizing radiation.... To ensure that microwave ovens are safe, manufacturers are required to certify that their microwave oven products meet the strict radiation safety standard created and enforced by the FDA. Microwave energy will not leak from a microwave in good condition."

It also gives tips for good microwaving results and links of other research/perspectives.

Why does it matter if I eat healthy?

Have you ever felt like you just weren't on your A-game? With all the stresses from life pressing in on you, it can be hard to get the nutrition you need to keep your body ready for what life has to throw at you.

Results from healthy eating are not always immediate, but are evident after years of either good nutrition or bad treatment. One of my favorite examples of bad nutrition in a developed country is shown in Supersize me:




About.com offer some ideas of basic reasons we should eat healthy, including the facts that good nutrition:

• provides energy so you can do the things you want to do
  
• provides raw materials-- i.e. amino acids for creating
  
• provides the vitamins you need

What are some great reasons you find for eating well? Tell us how it makes you feel?