In today’s society, it is difficult to make healthy choices compared to unhealthy ones. Choices like ordering French fries vs. salad, staying home vs. gym, or purchasing unhealthy snacks vs. healthy groceries, are quite difficult to make but you have to think about how this affects your body. Frankly, the reasons are quite simple but the solutions are quite complex.
Measuring The Food Cost
Here one of the major parts of the issue on why healthy and nutritious foods are expensive is because of the price definition. You need to measure the cost by comparing the price to the portion which is really one of the best methods. Basically, it means comparing the price to the calorie content.
Typically, a double Mac burger or soda will cost lesser compared to vegetables and fruits. By making the comparison of food’s cost with the price or calorie ratio will just ignore the options provided by healthy food in comparison to ones which lack nutrients and lesser in calories. Nutritious foods are abundant in calories and they will easily satisfy you for a longer time. So, one of the best methods to assess the food’s price is to check at the price per satiety ratio or the price per nutrient.
Relationship Between Supply And Demand
Do you there is a simple economics which is related to major reason on why healthy food is expensive? In most countries, there is a huge demand for unhealthy food items like sugar, red meat, high fructose corn syrup, etc compared to the healthy ones like whole grain, seafood and fresh and high nutrient food items. In addition, food manufacturers only provide what is in demand and this result in the huge volume of cheap, unhealthy junks.
The only way is to modify the equation of demand and supply; however, it cannot occur overnight. The only way is to change one’s attitude which can easily help in getting this process initiated.
Method To Save
The best part is that there are many ways of saving and consuming proper healthy food. Now the first step is to purchase vegetables and fruits in their proper season. Keep in mind that the supply of in-season fruits and vegetables are quite perishable and high. So, it means that the prices are quite low. Some of the few examples are – in spring try to purchase broccoli, apricots, and cabbages; in winter go for bananas, potatoes, and grapefruits; in fall try to purchase carrots, apples, and cranberries; and in summer go for corn, cherries, and blueberries.
In addition, there is another method of saving excess cash for vegetables and fruits by opting for frozen rather than fresh. Now it is true that canning will have a huge amount of preservatives, but freezing just avoids the use of additives. Through frozen food stuffs, you can purchase in or out of seasons foodstuffs at cheap prices.
Frankly, you might feel that purchasing healthy food might be an expensive option, but in a long run, it will save a lot of money and time. Most of the ingredients present in the popular junk food contain sodium, sugar and trans-fat. These simply increase your chances of getting various diseases like cancer, diabetes, and even heart-related ailments.
So, instead of thinking about the damage healthy food is going to do to your wallet, think about the damage unhealthy food does to the body. Think of it long term.