I Have A Theory As To Why People Don't Eat As Healthily As They Should

hi janey I think you have hit thenail on the head. we here at Gold Crest a retirement center get fed three times a day and a snack in the evening b ut it is not always what I call healthy food and I sense they are always trying to cut costs as the cost of groceries here in the USA has risen a lot along with rents here in Southern California. that is one reason why most of us buy veggies and fruits to eat in our rooms from whats left over after rent and board is taking out of our monthly social security and SSI checks.,

Interesting topic, which I wanted to address as well, since I noticed last week how expensive fresh fruit has become. I didn't pay any attention to food prices for some time because I gotten breakfast and lunch for free at my last job. I didn't know how lucky I really was. Now having to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner I'm spending far more money on groceries then before hence I start to look at the prices. Maybe one of the reason why fresh healthy food is more expensive because the seller has the same problem as the buyer. It doesn't stay fresh for long and if the product isn't sold the seller is at a loss, therefore the price is marked up to factor in the risk. I know some of the smaller baker shops in the country you have to place your order of daily break this way the baker knows exactly how much fresh bread needs to be baked and by 4 -5 o'clock everything is sold out. I share your problem, I'm a sucker for flowers as well. This year I'm putting watermelons and sunflowers in the same bed. The watermelons grow on and ground and the sunflowers grow between 6-12 feet. Lets hope the watermelons get enough sun.

I know some of it is cost, but some of it is habit as well. We do often find the unhealthy choices at lower prices, and especially if we are feeling down about it, we buy ourselves a "treat". We need to think of the fresh stuff as a treat. Maybe there is a way to make our healthy things go further. I do not know for sure. I like to think I am healthy, but sometimes it just seems like I am not. You would think that fresh, unprocessed items, like fish or even fresh fruit, would be less than the breaded and flavored kind, but no, the processing and breading and adding things for some reason makes everything cheaper. It is a puzzlement.

that is absolutely true! carbs cost less than veggies, go further and make you feel full - but unless you are exercising all the time, they also can make you fat - try to eat noodles without some kind of sauce on them... even tomato sauce, unless you make the tomato sauce yourself, will probably have some oil added

Cost is one good reason, but taste is another. Face it, most people prefer the taste of pizza to brussels sprouts...

Exactly. My partner and I noticed that. We want to start dieting and exercising and getting overall healthy. We went grocery shopping for organic and healthy foods and noticed it cost twice as much to fill our fridge! Also time-wise we don't always have time to cook a good healthy meal at home so we settle for the cheap dollar menu fast food junk at a drive thru! Argh we feel so bad after. And we're trying to save money so I feel bad paying twice as much for say free range skinless chicken when I could buy processed frozen chicken strips for less. It definitely makes it hard to healthy doesn't it?

Eating healhy foods here where I am is actually cheaper than eating non-healthy foods. Vegetables here are abundant and you can even grow some in your garden. There are lots of stalls here that sell cheap vegetables and we have numerous ways to cook those vegetables. Fish is also abundant and therefore is cheap.

I think, on the whole, most people do have a good diet (hate that word) a balance of an varity of foods, we, should, remember, that, a little of what you like does you good, not, to deprieve ourselves of foods, we enjoy eating. I would rather see a person slightly over weight, happy, than someone, who, is underweight, unhappy, this is coming from someone, who is only a size 6, yes, I am happy with my size. I understand, about prices, the way we are often attracted to certain foods, I personally, would rather eat a chocolate bar than have an apple, its about enjoyment of the food you are eating, also, about your life style, the exercise you are getting, that, must come into it.

You are correct, it is all over the world, even here in the United States, the price of fruits and fresh vegetables is a lot higher than the price of say canned fruit or vegetables. They aren't as healthy as fresh but you can stretch your money a lot further. Same with the price of fish and other fresh meats, it is amazing how much higher the prices are versus those that have been frozen or breaded already. Of course not being able to eat healthier is now driving up the costs on health care and more people end up spending more time in the doctor's offices. Just curious, do you have a small patio? If so, I could teach you about container gardening. You can grow cucumbers, tomatoes, even some root veggies all in containers. You could also check to see if there is a community garden in your area, many are free to use.

Hi Janey Because health is so very important to me and I do believe that what we put in out bodies untimately determines how healthy we are or arn't, I choose to buy the good food over the cheaper. The problem with this is that my money does not go to far anymore and I have to learn to be very creative with what I buy. I can honestly say that I have never bought frozen food. I don't find it to be cheaper anyway. I buy half the amount of meat I used to because of the cost and now my carriage is full fruit and vegetables and we are eating more like vegetarians than carnavores. I have spend a lot of time reading recipes and trying new things with vegetables and find that a vegetarian diet can be just as satisfying as meat. Roasting vegetables is wonderful and I have come up with all kinds of roasted veggie sauces for pasta etc that go a long way. We love pestos of all sorts and I have created some interesting ones. We grill peaches and pineapple, apples and plums, just about everything and add them to recipes or eat as is. I make a lot of soups and bake bread and although my baking skills leave something to be desired, I'm learning. I know that I feel a lot better eating this way and if i could just get the good food to stretch a little further than I do now, all would be good. It really pisses me off when I get to the register in the store and the checkout person gives me my total..I always say the same thing, "For what??" Groceries come out to close to 20.00 per bag, a far cry from the 10.00 it was not that long ago. It costs me about 150.00 a week to feed two of us, sometimes more and we are eating meat only once a week. If things go any higher, I don't know what we'll do...

Yes you are right - COST would be the main factor; another fact is that even though one may not have money problem it is the taste buds creating tastes - I mean just look around and at yourself too- unless one is a die-hard health freak, most people tend to eat something yummy and by a funny ( Murphy's )law or whatever you call most of the food items which are very very tasty lack in health factors - for example- fries, sweets, gravies, or even the tastier breads,etc are loaded with cholesterol and everything not recommended, Yes and by the way we also grow some vegetables- since living in a flat(apartment) we have to resort to growing plants /vegetables in boxes and keep them outside our windows or on the balconies- they may not grow to great heights but yes they do give results and in fact taste better than market ones. But the quantities are limited!!

hell0 there! yes, i know why people don't eat as healthier as they really should and the answer is very simple- just because they like to eat some tasty food from time to time, because not all the food that is really healthy is tasty, or at least so tasty as the non-healthy one. that's why people like to eat chocolate, meat, cakes, sugar and many others that are actually not that healthy or even not healthy at all. but as I have always said- we all live this life only once, and we can't refuse many things all the time, just because we will live longer, because why are we actaully live, if we won't taste all the things that we could, and why we think that it is better to eat only something that is healthy and never eat something that is non-healthy!?

Yes, healthy food can be expensive, but think about it... your healthy body can save you money in the end! Haha, I don't follow that advice myslef, though. I've found that you can make some small changes in what you buy without spending a whole lot more money - such as buying brown rice instead of white, or whole wheat bread instead of white. Thankfully, we have a garden where we can grow fresh (and organic) vegetables for practically free and we also have apple trees where we can pick our own fresh (and organic) apples.

Hi,Janey!I think i am luckier than you.I am from China.In my country,fresh veg and fruits and meat are cheaper than that in canes.And sweet is more expensive than vegetables.What's more,we have a pitch of arable land in front of my home,we grow a lot of vegetables there.So there is no need for my family to buy veg all the year round.

That is an interesting theory! Really worth investigating. :) Let me see Out here - pastry piece would cost about half a dollar, and apple would almost cost the same. :) We know which one saves more time, dont we? :) Ok - here is another example - small ice cream cup would cost around slightly more than half a dollar - may be 60 cents. Apple? 10 cents cheaper. Of course, ice cream lasts longer. I have a different theory. People are lazy. So things that requires effort to make is the one that they would pick first. We dont make apples, it is readymade. But we do make those pastries, which is a time consuming process. So once we go out, we teach our children look for those, because we dont want to make them at home. :)