Foods can be good for both your body your wallet
Contrary to popular belief, many healthful foods are no more expensive than junk food, a large new government analysis shows.
In fact, carrots, onions, pinto beans, lettuce, mashed potatoes, bananas and orange juice are all less expensive per portion than soft drinks, ice cream, chocolate candy, french fries, sweet rolls and deep-fat fried chicken patties, the report says.
"We have all heard that eating a healthy diet is expensive, and people have used that as an excuse for not eating a healthy diet, but healthy foods do not necessarily cost more," says Andrea Carlson, an economist and co-author of the report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.
Carlson and her colleague Elizabeth Frazo gathered national pricing data on more than 4,000 foods and then ranked the foods by price based on calories, weight and portion size. Among findings:
Grains, such as bread, oatmeal and rice, are the cheapest foods no matter how you measure -- by portion, weight or calories.
Protein, such as meat, chicken and fish, is the most expensive food by portion size, but there are low-cost proteins such as beans and eggs.
Based on portions, fruits and vegetables are lower in price than unhealthy foods. "Like every food group, there are cheap veggies and fruits, and pricey ones," Carlson says. "Cheap unhealthy foods and more expensive ones."
Previous research has looked just at price per calories and found healthy foods more expensive, but Carlson says that's not a fair measure. For example, non-fat milk has a higher price per calorie than 2% milk, but most health experts recommend drinking non-fat or 1% milk, she says.
A half-cup of broccoli has 27 calories, while a 1-ounce bag of potato chips has 154 calories. To consume 100 calories of broccoli, you'd have to eat almost two cups, and that's more than what most people usually eat in one sitting, she says.
Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago, says the latest report helps "bust the myth that it costs too much to eat healthy."
Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian in New York City, says giving up just soda to drink fresh-brewed hot or iced tea, or water with a wedge of in-season fruit, can be a huge cost savings. "And many of the healthiest superfoods in the market are inexpensive, such as beans and brown rice."
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