January 28, 2018
Think eating healthy is expensive?
I recently read a 2013 Harvard School of Public Health literature review which concluded that replacing junk food with healthier (unprocessed) food would logistically increase the price an average person pays for food each day by $1.50…if you do the math, that works out to $6 a day for a family of four, or $2200 a year. Now to my way of thinking that isn’t too much but so many families are struggling financially these days (especially in certain neighborhoods but that’s a whole other SERIES of blogs, right?) that being able to cut $2200 out of an annual budget could make a huge difference in the average family's quality of life.
It’s true that organic produce can be twice as expensive as conventional (but that’s a whole other blog, too.) It’s also true that fresh vegetables and fruits cost a lot more in the winter. And it’s also true that “fast” and various types of processed (or junk) food is so easy to grab when you’re exhausted from a long day, as well as cheap, it often seems people who are really trying to adhere to a healthy lifestyle are simply fighting a losing battle.
But what’s the REAL cost of eating a diet composed of processed food rather than whole, unprocessed, healthy food?
Considering that processed food is the root cause of almost every deadly chronic disease most Americans are either at risk for or actively dealing with today, is paying an extra $1.50 a day too much to ask?
I suppose the real question ought to be “exactly who should pay for what?”
Yes, it may be an unrealistic expectation for individual families to simply increase their annual food budget. But what if public health policies suddenly began to shift by allocating more money to various aspects of disease prevention? (Sidebar note: I often get extremely angry when I see so many advertisements for disease cure fundraisers while press coverage and advertisements for disease prevention continues to lag WAAAAAAAY behind, but I digress.) And what if government subsidies suddenly started flowing to farmers committed to growing organic crops and healthy lifestyle education programs instead of (for instance) farmers growing corn and soy crops that are manufactured into junk food? And what if limits and taxes were suddenly levied on junk food marketing (especially to kids), and sugary or highly processed foods? Wouldn’t all these changes help people make healthier choices (if for no reason other than they could suddenly AFFORD healthier food?) For now, though, what I’m wondering about just isn't reality.
So how can someone who’s striving to make a healthy lifestyle his/her priority actually beat the odds as they exist today?
It’s actually simple: just think of your health as a long-term investment. Because every day that you make a poor choice in what to eat (or choose not to exercise, or choose to continue ignoring that mindblowing stress you’ve had on your plate for years), you’re increasing your chances of developing a really expensive disease in five, ten, or twenty years. And even if you have great insurance, the co-pays, time wasted on doctor visits and treatment, pain, and suffering will be much more costly than investing a few extra dollars or a little more time in your health on a daily basis.
(Let’s face it…what we’re really talking about here is A WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND of quality of life because what’s the use of living till a ripe old age if you’re sick, unable to do the things you love, and alone?)
So let's say you're suddenly very interested in making a few small, EASY, and sustainable healthy lifestyle changes ASAP but don't know where to start?
Then you're in luck because my new Whole 30 DONE RIGHT! class is coming up in just a couple of weeks. Boiled down, a "Whole 30" is nothing more than whole meals composed of whole food for a whole month…it's basically a simple yet powerful detox and is considered an important component of the Paleo diet. And ANYONE looking to improve their health (regardless of their weight) would benefit from this unprocessed and mostly plant-based 30-day plan.
In the last decade several million people have not only tried the Paleo diet on for size but have completely transformed their health. But here's the problem: in order for a really good idea to become really popular it has to morph into something slightly different and Big Food still wants a big piece of the less-processed-food Paleo pie. Remember…just because a food label says "Paleo" doesn't mean it’s so (in fact, these days, often the reverse is true) and just because your friends tell you they’ve done a Whole 30 doesn’t mean they can show you how to do it.
So if you’re ready to improve your entire relationship with food, plus your self-esteem, energy, sleep, and disease symptoms WHILE LOSING WEIGHT then you’re ready for this fun, innovative, and unique workshop taught by none other than me (the area’s top educator who, BTW, was trained by the Whole 30 innovators.)
Don't wait, open your new “health savings account” by enrolling in my Whole 30 DONE RIGHT! class today…it might just be the best long-term health investment you’ll ever make.
(And if Paleo nutrition simply isn’t your thing then stay tuned…my next Detox Smoothie class is right around the corner as well! Click here for more details.)
