Study: Healthy eating a privilege of the rich

AP

SEATTLE - A healthy diet is expensive and could make it difficult for Americans to meet new U.S. nutritional guidelines, according to a study published Thursday that says the government should do more to help consumers eat healthier.

A 2010 update of what used to be known as the food pyramid called on Americans to eat more foods containing potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. But if they did that, the journal Health Affairs said, they would add hundreds more dollars to their annual grocery bill.

Video: Food pyramid axed, replaced with "My Plate"

Inexpensive ways to add these nutrients to a person's diet include potatoes and beans for potassium and dietary fiber. But the study found introducing more potassium in a diet is likely to add $380 per year to the average consumer's food costs, said lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.

"We know more than ever about the science of nutrition, and yet we have not yet been able to move the needle on healthful eating," he said. The government should provide help for meeting the nutritional guidelines in an affordable way.

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He criticized some of the marketing for a healthy diet — for example, the image of a plate of salmon, leafy greens and maybe some rice pilaf — and said a meal like that is not affordable for many Americans.

Food-assistance programs are helping people make healthier choices by providing coupons to buy fruits and vegetables, Monsivais said, but some also put stumbling blocks in front of the poor.

He mentioned, as an example, a Washington state policy making it difficult to buy potatoes with food assistance coupons for women with children, even though potatoes are one of the least expensive ways to add potassium to a diet.

The study was based on a random telephone survey of about 2,000 adults in King County, Wash., followed by a printed questionnaire that was returned by about 1,300 people. They note what food they ate, which was analyzed for nutrient content and estimated cost.

9 Photos

Bye-bye, pyramid - hello, plate: Timeline of food guidelines

People who spend the most on food tend to get the closest to meeting the federal guidelines for potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, the study found. Those who spend the least have the lowest intakes of the four recommended nutrients and the highest consumption of saturated fat and added sugar.

Hilary Seligman, assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said Monsivais' research is an interesting addition to the debate about healthy eating and food insecurity, her area of expertise.

A lot of people assume the poor eat cheap food because it tastes good, but they would make better choices if they could afford to, said Seligman, who was not involved in the Health Affairs study.

"Almost 15 percent of households in America say they don't have enough money to eat the way they want to eat," Seligman said. Recent estimates show 49 million Americans make food decisions based on cost, she added.

"Right now, a huge chunk of America just isn't able to adhere to these guidelines," she said.

But Monsivais may have oversimplified the problem, according to another professor who does research in this area. Parke Wilde, associated professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said it's not expensive to get all the nutrients a body needs to meet the federal guidelines.

What is expensive, in Wilde's opinion, are the choices Americans while getting those nutrients.

He said diets get more and more expensive depending on how many rules a person applies to himself, such as eating organic or seeking local sources for food or eating vegetables out of season.

"The longer your list gets, the more expensive your list will be," he said.

Seligman said her list can get longer than Wilde's, but not everything is a choice. Adding to the cost of buying healthful food could be how far away from home a person needs to travel to get to a grocery store that sells a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The government also affects food prices through the subsidies offered to farmers growing certain crops, she added.

[vista8635]

The Mediterranean Diet used to be the diet of the poor; now only the wealthy can afford to eat it.

[vista8635]

The Mediterranean Diet used to be the diet of the poor; now only the wealthy can afford to it.

The principal aspects of the Mediterranean Diet include high olive oil consumption, high consumption of legumes, high consumption of unrefined cereals, high consumption of fruits, high consumption of vegetables, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), moderate to high consumption of fish, low consumption of meat and meat products, and moderate wine consumption.

[GRobLewis]

Here in the country with the world's most advanced agriculture, why do I have to go to a street market and pay $5/lb to get a tomato that's worth eating?

[1VNVet]

Its simple: You don't

[seenoland]

Shift a large portion of the farm subsidies away from "Big Ag" and start subsidizing and encouraging healthy/organic farming.

[Lmorganjames]

no subsidizing, period

[Jaylah54]

I can assure folks that people depending on food stamps to feed themselves are NOT worried about only eating "organic" or "local."

[taniamorse85]

When I saw the title of this article, I thought, "Well, of course! Did they really need to do a study to determine that?" My mom and I earn just a little more than the cut-off for food stamps, and we barely get by. After other necessary expenses, there is less than $150 for food for the month. We live in southern California, where food is absolutely outrageously priced. We don't go out to eat more than maybe once a month (fast food or otherwise), and those are the few times we are able to get a healthier meal because we have more choices. When we go grocery shopping, we can't afford fresh produce unless it is at the dollar store. We struggle to find affordable proteins that are not fat-laden. We do the best we can, but it is a struggle.

[1VNVet]

Just a tip: Find someone that is a field worker and get to know them. They often are able to purchase the produce that they pick at super low rates and will often be happy to sell you some of that produce at a slight markup as they don't make a lot of money picking.

I use to buy things like fresh shrimp right off of the shrimp boats when they came in at less than half of the cost in the stores.

Another tip, go to any large truck stop, get on a CB radio and ask if there are any truckers that has produce they would be willing to sell. You will often find truckers that will have "extra" cases of various foods and even hard goods that they will offer to sell as they may be stuck, can't get a load and need the money to live on or for Diesel.

There are bargains, everywhere.....just knowing where to look is the key.

[1VNVet]

Just as a follow up: I use to be able to buy bananas right off the boats in Gulfport Mississippi for $5.00 a box and we are talking a big box with probably 10 or so bunches in each box so I would buy a few extra boxes and give them to family and friends for what I paid for them on my way up to Winnipeg Canada with the main load.

I also use to pick up 100lb sacks of Great potatoes from North Dakota on my way back down for $5 - $8 a sack depending upon where I picked them up and I did the same with them.

Truckers usually will always have some great deals and they can use the money.....especially the independents.

[1VNVet]

If you want GOOD food at good prices then find a neighbor that has a garden and pay THEM for some of their homegrown vegetables instead of paying a store. I remember when in small towns people brought everything from their farm to sell including fresh chickens, fresh eggs, fresh vegetables and more but city ordinances and even government regulations have now prohibited those impromptu markets in some towns and cities.

To heck with the ordinances and government regs, find out who grows and if you have to pay them quietly for their products and produce.

If you live in a city, take a drive into the country and find a farmer that may have a little produce stand and make a deal with them. Sometimes you can even get a better deal if you buy quantity from them instead of one or two tomatoes and then read a book on how to CAN your produce and get back to the ways of our forefathers and put up jelly, jams, preserves and more for the winter months when there is no fresh produce.

If we all get back to the ways of helping each other and buying from each other instead of inadvertently being sheep and helping this government and buying from the food giants, we just might send a message and turn our country around and for sure we would all be healthier and feel much much better about ourselves and we just might all learn something about our friends and neighbors....

[slatep]

We all know who we have to thank for this.

I have a friend whose only income is Social Security and has recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

I went with her to her class on maintaining a healthy diet while undergoing treatment.

When we came out of the hospital we went grocery shopping.

She gets $4 too much each month to allow her to qualify for food stamps.

If she tries to buy all these "healthy foods" reccommended by the dietitian; something is going to have to go.

The government claims there is no inflation at present.

Guess they go blind when they go food shopping.

Obama and Congress have this country in such a deep hole it's going to take generations of Americans to get us out of it.

There is an article elsewhere on this page that tells us 29,000 children have starved to death in the Horn of Africa in the last three months.

It is a mistake to send money to these areas, because their governments are as corrupt as ours.

Food only should be sent.

al-Shabab is blocking access to these areas; so I suggest air drops to feed the starving.

[catmomtx]

It's interesting that you place blame on President Obama but have you read the comments calling the President the food stamp President? Republicans want to cut access to food stamps along with health care. President Obama is not the enemy. The enemy are those in our government who think that middle income and poor people don't matter. They seem to think if you can't take care of yourself, so be it, not their problem. They seem to think that people who can't afford housing, food or medical care are shiftless and lazy and minority or illegal. That is what they have convinced some people who are willing to vote against their own best interest. Think about that during the next election. Given a chance Republicans will do away with affordable health care, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and anything else that might help your friend and other hard working Americans who somehow don't meet the narrow minded standards of Republicans and tea party out.

[Jhihmoac]

Check the prices out in a "whole foods market", and then you can figure out why even some of the upscale do their food shopping @ places like Walmart Superstores or Aldi's...

[andacar]

"Whole foods" markets, "Trader Joes" and the like are insanely overpriced. People go there (way left liberals almost exclusively) mainly to be seen there and to feel good about themselves. As for all the people going on about how we all should grow our own food, what about all the folks who live in big cities? It was the enlightened new generation urban planners who poo poohed the suburbs so much who said everybody should move back to big cities because they concentrated ecological damage to small areas. Well guess what? Now we're being told we should go back to the burbs again to become mini farmers. Which is it guys? And what are we supposed to eat while all the food is growing? And do you honestly think I can feed a family all winter on what I can grow in my backyard? I don't think you guys have thought this one through.

[1VNVet]

"A lot of people assume the poor eat cheap food because it tastes good, but they would make better choices if they could afford to, said Seligman" ----- What an absolute CROCK............Like most have said, Food, just like drinking, smoking, exercise and many other things we do is a CHOICE. I had a grandfather that was a farmer his entire life, never had more than $50 in his pocket at one time (never had a bank account or a social sec number) was born in this country and yet grew his own food, both meat and veggies and lived to be 97 and was healthy as an ox and as strong.....the reason is because NONE of his food had preservatives in them and yet I remember my grandmother pouring off the grease from his steaks into a bowl for him because he liked to dip his steak bites into the grease before eating them.

All of this garbage about only the rich can afford to eat healthy is just that.....garbage. My grandfather did not have television to sit in front of for hours on end, did not have computers, did not smoke (but did chew tobacco), only drank a little homemade wine that he made, drank fresh well water from his own well, never drank a soft drink in his life, ate fresh veggies out of his own garden, chickens that he raised that ate whatever they could find and some grain that HE raised, ate fresh meat that he killed and put up in brine for the long winters and on and on and on. Even today just about anyone can raise their own tomatoes and most veggies in a very small plot of ground or even some things can be raised inside in a pot.

Too much preservatives, too much salt, too much sitting with no exercise, too many soft drinks, and too many bad choices is what is killing some of our people..........Not stupid comments like this coming from those that just want a headline.

[Bojax39]

Many things the old timers did were done with good reason but have been replaced for the sake of convenience, more's the pity.

It is still very possible to eat well and very inexpensively at the same time though.

It's possible to cut fat, sugar, salt and even a few carbs in favor of a bit more fiber and protein on a shoestring. Investing in good multiple vitamins can help fill in the nutritional corners in any diet as well.

In addition, cut back on the booze the soft drinks the snack foods and tobacco if you use them or else nothing you eat will maintain optimum health. Besides, the less money spent on these means more good food in the larder.

An inexpensive dehydrator, (or even the sun if you know how), used in conjunction with buying in bulk & buying in season and a good freezer goes a long way in lowering per meal cost.

If you have a few planters in a sunny spot indoors or even a few square feet of yard, (and are healthy enough to invest a little sweat), in these bad economic times the so called "victory garden is coming back in a big way. I'm not talking back to the land here, but even something as simple as growing a few veggies or fresh herbs can help cut grocery bills.

There are many websites to do with frugality and budgeting which can give you some great ideas on how to cut much expense so you can put saved funds towards higher quality food as well.

I'm assuming a person with a little bit of income here, who's not living on the street. In that case the so-called "federal guidelines" won't mean a hell of a lot anyway nor will any articles on the subject.