There is a perception sometime that high quality foods are expensive. Often individuals claim that they cannot afford to eat well. This is generally not the case and many high quality health providing foods can be purchased cheaply. In fact, the highest quality most health giving foods are often by far the most cheaply available of all foods. The confusion about the cost of eating well may arise because certain organic foods can be more expensive than their conventionally grown counterparts. However, it is not necessary to eat organic foods, although they may provide some health benefits through reductions in the exposure levels of certain pesticides and chemicals. Organic and grass fed meat may be superior to conventionally reared meat, largely because the former is lower in drug residues and other chemicals that can have detrimental health effects. Free range eggs also appear to have higher levels of essential fats compared to battery eggs. Targeting specific food such as meat and eggs, and eating the highest quality products you can buy, can go a long way to providing significant health benefits.
The trick to healthy and cheap eating is to learn to prepare food yourself. A premium is always paid for food that comes pre-prepared as the cost of labelling, packaging and preparation are added to the cost of the food. Another advantage of learning basic food preparation is that you can decide exactly what to put in the dishes. Pre-prepared food often contains preservative, additives and other ingredients that may not be conductive to good health.
It is not therefore necessary to eat a diet solely of organic produce. Instead targeting those foods with the highest contamination, can significantly reduce total food costs. High quality conventionally grown produce can still provide a good solid foundation of health to most individuals. Basic foods such as oats, vegetables and fruit are very cheap and consuming high amounts of these can provide the basis for a high plant based diet. Potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and onions are three foods that can be used in a large number of dishes and diets based around such food can provide significant amounts of both energy and phytonutrients. Garlic too is very cheap, and can be used to flavour many dishes, providing significant and evidenced health effects from regular consumption. Herbs and spices provide significant amounts of antioxidants and are also very cheap to buy. Generally avoiding foods that have been pre-prepared and learning food preparation techniques will go a long way to significantly lowering the cost of healthy eating.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
