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Proponents: Healthful eating worth the cost
Published November 18, 2009
The decision between a snack of fresh strawberries or a bag of chips might be harder than it looks — strawberries are more healthful, but chips are cheaper.
But the costs of choosing the chips could turn out to be far more than what a person pays at the register, area health officials said.
Clute Police Officer Scott Morton is pretty health-conscious, co-workers said. But his healthful diet doesn’t come without a price.
“It’s really expensive,” Morton said.
Lean meat, fresh produce and vitamins all contribute to his large grocery bill, he said. Unfortunately, it seems as though healthful food has gotten even more expensive as more people have started buying more healthful fare, he said.
Vitamins also have increased dramatically in price over the past couple of years, Morton said.
“It’s most definitely worth it,” Morton said.
Eating right makes him feel better, gives him energy and makes him proud to look in the mirror, he said.
Christy Koury, director of nutrition at Brazosport ISD, said healthful food can sometimes be more expensive, but medical bills and the other costs associated with not eating healthfully are far higher, she said.
“Not eating healthy has a definite impact on your wallet,” Koury said.
For those who are interested both in healthful eating and keeping money in their pockets, there are some solutions, said Pam Lambert, owner of Curves in Lake Jackson.
Lambert’s advice includes buying regular meat, instead of lean, then draining and rinsing it before eating it; rinsing regular fruit instead of buying organic fruit; and creating a menu at the beginning of the week.
Though buying perishable items, such as fruit, can be scary because the items can spoil before use, that shouldn’t stop people from buying and eating the fresh items, Lambert said. Instead, people should be realistic about how much they eat in one week, she said.
Koury suggests people look for fruits and vegetables that are in season. When produce is in season, there is plenty of it and the price is much lower, she said.
Instead of buying canned soup, Lake Jackson resident Sharon Foreman makes her own and freezes it, Foreman said.
Healthful eating isn’t just about what people buy: It’s also about how they prepare food.
Choosing to bake or grill meat is no more difficult than frying, Morton said. It’s more of a hit on self-control than on the wallet, he said.
Of course, another way to decrease the impact on the wallet is to eat at home instead of going out to eat, Koury said.
Healthful eating also means people don’t eat as much, not just because of calories, but because healthful foods make people full faster, Foreman said.
“It’s definitely worth it,” she said. Foreman has lost 40 pounds since she began eating more healthful food and working out in January, she said.
The improved energy level alone makes more healthful food worth whatever price, Foreman said.
Katlynn Lanham is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at 979-237-0150.
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