Are you too poor to eat healthy?

[Yeah right]

So I just read this.
Almost 4,000,000 children in the UK are too poor to have a healthy diet

How about you guys?

 

[Passerby]

Well eating healthy is more expensive when compared to unhealthy food.

 

[salamander uchiha]

You need to provide a definition of eating healthy.

 

[Yeah right]

You need to provide a definition of eating healthy.

I guess like a balanced meal. <2000 daily intake. No sweets and junk.

A salad = $6
McDonald’s burger =$1.17

Bottled water = $3
Faucet water = free

Whole Foods weekly bill = $100
Walmart monthly bill = $100

 

[salamander uchiha]

I guess like a balanced meal. <2000 daily intake. No sweets and junk.

A salad = $6
McDonald’s burger =$1.17

Bottled water = $3
Faucet water = free

Whole Foods weekly bill = $100
Walmart monthly bill = $100

Ok thanks for the clarity, I think the US standard would be a poor measure to judge the UK or the world by.

A large salad to buy would be around £2, to buy and prep your own salad would be around £3-4 although you could buy a week worth of ingredients. Overall it would work out cheaper and certainly cheaper than a McDonald's burger.

Bottled water prices vary from between 50p to £2 (depends on the water) however our tap water is healthy and uncontaminated like the US.

Whole foods weekly bill is quite cheap around £50-70 for a family at most. If we buy junk it would be around £35-50 a week. I don't know about the US but you can buy a KG of frozen mix veg(carrots, peas, green beans and corn/broccoli) for around £1.20. Fresh veg that you have to clean and prep are more expensive.

People generally buy junk and eat unhealthy because their brains(pleasure receptors) are accustomed to the sugar rush. They need the sugar rush from the sweets to stimulate them once they crash. They're like a crack addict looking for their next fix and most people don't realise it.

The UK is relatively okay when it comes to eating we don't have HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) to destroy us. Our standards for food hygiene and safety are above those of the US. We don't inject our cows with hormones and estrogens so our milk is okay. I myself drink raw milk it's on another level compared to that pasteurised crap people drink.

The answer to your question is no I'm not too poor to eat healthy, nobody save for the homeless(lack of money) or drug addicted(misuse of money) would be too poor to eat healthy. I suppose not possessing knowledge on foods would affect people's choices and lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. That's down to lack of education and not necessarily poverty.

 

[kimb]

Well eating healthy is more expensive when compared to unhealthy food.

I guess like a balanced meal. <2000 daily intake. No sweets and junk.

A salad = $6
McDonald’s burger =$1.17

Bottled water = $3
Faucet water = free

Whole Foods weekly bill = $100
Walmart monthly bill = $100

This is uninformed, and as a result, you could possibly be suffering from health issues. Eating healthy is easy, and cheaper.

Eating healthy is one of the most affordable and cost effective ways of living. What people don't want to acknowledge is that eating healthy isn't as pleasurable as eating disgusting processed and fast foods like McDonalds because it's not loaded with several hundred miligrams of sodium and cholesterol.

Lets take your example. A salad. A salad fastfood place like McDonalds will probably cost $6 or more because people don't go to McDonalds to eat healthy. Low demand = Higher Price. At most restaurants, bars, and grilles I go to, the cheapest thing on the menu compared to the hot wings, or ribs, or steak or 3 cheese pastas, is a basic caesar salad, or a garden salad with different fruits or vegetables. It might still cost around $5-$8, but that's simply the cost of eating out rather than eating at home. So the problem isn't the cost of food, it's the fact that you're going out to eat it.

Lets say you make your own salad. Lets keep it fairly basic:

Ingredients

1/2 to 1/4 of a head of Lettuce Shredded or unshredded (Iceberg, Romaine, bibb, etc.)

You must be registered for see images

COST: $1.05 - $2.04 USD

2-5 tlbspoons of whatever salad dressing you want (Italian, Thousand Island, etc.)

You must be registered for see images

COST: $1.20 - $2.50 USD

Several slices of Tomato

You must be registered for see images

COST: $1.24 USD per 1lb


TOTAL ≈ $4.64 USD
For one dollar you're getting a head of lettuce, which in my experience lasts me 4-5 salads or 1 1/2 weeks before perishing. On the more expensive end ($3), you're getting a big bag of pre-shredded lettuce that can already contain, different kinds of lettuce mixes, or carrots, and onions. In my experience that's nearly 2 weeks of eating. If you're taking it to the extremes and eating a salad 3x a day, that's 3 days of food with the single head, or if you're going with the big bag, 4 days. Add the sliced tomato, and a bit of whatever salad dressing you like, and you're looking at a week and a half worth of salad.


1 McDonald Cheeseburger

You must be registered for see images

COST: $1.00 - $1.39 USD
Compared to the McDouble or whatever unhealthy shite your grabbing at a fast food place, you're not only paying for the burger ($1.39), but the cost of driving up to McDonalds, to grab your death in burger form, meaning that you're paying for the constant cost of travel, which adds up. You would need to buy 11 (1 1/2 week, one per day) McDoubles to equate to the amount of meals you can eat with the homemade salad, meaning you're spending an upwards of ≈ $12 USD. And in all honestly, a single $1 cheeseburger is not filling anyone, where as a salad might.

In the long run, you're spending more with the Burger.


This is the case with all other foods. I'm finna make a thread to educate some of you all, because if you seriously think eating healthy is more expensive, you might be killing yourselves, thinking that eating McDonalds is the only way to live affordably. I mean, $3 for bottled water????? You can buy a whole case (24-28pck) at a supermarket for $2-6 USD. If this is seriously your world view, please, PLEASE, Let me talk to your parents over the phone, because they did you wrong.

I can seriously help you guys eat healthy, if you so choose to. It's really not hard.

 

[Belserion]

Adding dressing to your salad to reach the daily intake isn't healthy either. Btw

 

[kimb]

Adding dressing to your salad to reach the daily intake isn't healthy either. Btw

Which is true depending on the dressing. Certain dressings do contain loads of sodium, saturated fat, and sugar, which is why it's smart to read the nutrition label on the back before buying. I personally opt for vinaigrette. It's vegan as is, so I don't have to worry about egg/dairy contents with thousand island, french, or ranch dressing. It generally contains under 100mg of sodium per serving, and under 1g of sugar. In the bigger picture, you'll be doing less harm to yourself by adding 2 tlbspoons of whatever salad dressing than eating a Big Mac or Whopper, so the minuscule amount of fat that you'd be adding on to your salad doesn't compare.

Btw, fats are required in a balanced diet, so you're going to have to eat it somewhere along the road.You can opt for healthy fats like avocado or nuts, or you can do something moderate like salad dressing. I have my cheat days and have cake or oreos.

 

[Yeah right]

I wasn’t clear. 3 dollars for Walmart brand 24 pack of water.

Or for the fancy water, 3 dollars for a liter

 

[kimb]

I wasn’t clear. 3 dollars for Walmart brand 24 pack of water.

Or for the fancy water, 3 dollars for a liter

3 dollars for a pack at Walmart. Idk if it's the Walmart brand, but I'm pretty sure it's offbrand. I'm posting right now at the pharmacy I work at, and the offbrand water (24pack) here is $2.49USD

I personally get my water from Sam's Club. 24 pack of dasani for $4.50 USD, but I do make sure to drink tap water. You missed on minerals like phosphorus and magnesium when you only drink filtered/purified water.

 

[HowDidIGetPrem]

I agree with Ari that it's cheaper but I can't really eat healthy tbh. I'm an extremely picky eater that won't touch many vegetables.

 

[salamander uchiha]

I can seriously help you guys eat healthy, if you so choose to. It's really not hard.

Thanks for the offer but healthy depends on who's defining it. I guess you could help OP I think he needs it.

 

[kimb]

Thanks for the offer but healthy depends on who's defining it. I guess you could help OP I think he needs it.

Are you saying people can define health as anything, or are you saying there is no objective measure of health? Cause anyone can define anything as anything. Someone could define health as the amount you weigh, without factoring disease, or injury. Doesnt mean they're right, would you agree?

 

[salamander uchiha]

Are you saying people can define health as anything, or are you saying there is no objective measure of health? Cause anyone can define anything as anything. Someone could define health as the amount you weigh, without factoring disease, or injury. Doesnt mean they're right, would you agree?

I would agree but I would like to add some foods may be healthy for some and unhealthy for others, due to metabolic conditons, genetics, environmental factors and how the body reacts to them(food and environment). There's no general rule that can be applied to any group of people only some basic guidelines.

 

[ThelUchiha]

Unhealthy food is more expensive then healthy food. And i like healthy food but whats healthy today....

 

[Fountain]

Too poor to eat at all.

 

[kimb]

I would agree but I would like to add some foods may be healthy for some and unhealthy for others, due to metabolic conditons, genetics, environmental factors and how the body reacts to them(food and environment). There's no general rule that can be applied to any group of people only some basic guidelines.

I see what you're saying. So, what's required for someone to maintain their health is dependent on the individual. I wouldn't say that changes the definition of what's healthy, or at least what's generally healthy. Genetics, allergies, metabolic complications, etc. are in the minority of dietary considerations that determine what's healthy, so I believe you can make a general rule despite the exceptions.

If OP or anyone does have exceptional conditions that don't fall in the norm, I'm down to work around them.

 

[Eos]

Idk why people think eating healthy is super expensive.

Most veges are super cheap...
You pay ~5-8$ at McDonalds for a meal.
It's super unhealthy and there are things in it that actually make your stomach not recognize when it's full meaning you don't even feel full after eating or have to eat more of it to feel full.

Example:
Baked Tilapia, zucchini/squash salad, mashed potatoes

Frozen Tilapia : ~$11 for 8 (1 fills me up with rest of meal so that's about $1.37 per fillet, we'll say 3 per meal for bf and I)
Zucchini : ~$3 for I think 6 (use 2)
Squash : 99c a piece (use 2)
Small Red Potatoes : $3 for a 5lb bag (I use about 3-4 per meal to feed my bf and I.

Meal for 2 (typically with leftover vegetables)
Tilapia: ~$4
Squash: ~$2
Potatoes: We'll say $1.50 and that's stretching it.
$7.50

You pay once in a blue moon for seasoning.

And no...I don't go to Whole Foods to buy my produce. I don't even buy organic. You don't have to eat that to be healthy. Guys I buy my produce at Aldis...I save about 50$ on groceries per month just by shopping more carefully.

The reason people say it's more expensive to eat healthy is because you're EATING OUT.
Why pay 6$ for a salad when you can pay 3$ and have multiple of them at home...
You're paying for someone to cook or prep your food...of course you're going to pay more XD
Learn to cook and save. Easy.

People can't complain about a cheap home cooked meal when you go out and pay $2-3 for a bag of chips or cookies.

 

[MissingFUCKINGnin]

nah, people just dont know how to eat healthy for cheap.

Whole wheat pasta, ground turkey and spaghetti sauce in bulk can last you a long time and it is a complete meal by itself.

Canned Tuna is cheap, has healthy oils and can be versatile on toast with cheese or made into tunasalad...

Fresh Fruit is really easy to steal from the supermarket, so there is that too...


there are ways, you gotta get creative though & know your nutrition

 

[Fountain]

but the cost of driving up to McDonalds, to grab your death in burger form, meaning that you're paying for the constant cost of travel, which adds up.

Boi, you also gotta drive to the supermarket lol

The supermarket might be even farther away, depending on where you live. And a Salad like that i would eat it in a day.

And let's not forget that some supermarkets are generally more expensive than others, and that they may not always have the cheap brands.