Simple and Inexpensive Ways to Eat Clean!
Do you ever wonder why we constantly see information to eat healthy whole foods, but then go to the store and can’t imagine doing that because of the cost?! I am right there with you! Another reason we may look to unhealthy foods is because of the in-store placement of the unhealthy foods versus healthy foods (Sirgudsson, Larsen, & Gunnarsson, 2013). When we already don’t know what type of healthy foods to buy, and then we have difficulty locating them, it makes it easy to purchase what is most convenient. I’m here to provide a few tips to help navigate the shopping aisles as well as planning ahead to stay within a budget!
Tips:
It may seem expensive, but you will feel better, be physically healthier, and prevent diseases such as cardiovascular and hypertension. Studies have shown that happiness can reduce inflammatory, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine problems. Often Negative emotions generate increased cardiovascular activity and redistribute blood flow to specific skeletal muscles (Diener & Tay, p. 93, 2017). When determining whether to spend the money on healthy food, complete a cost/benefit analysis. Does the cost of spending money on healthy food now out weight the cost of possible medications, doctor visits, and health issues in the future?
References:
Diener, E. & Tay, L. (2017). Happiness: Transforming the development landscape. The Centre for BhutanStudies and GNH.
Sigurdsson, V., Larsen, N.M., & Gunnarsson, D. (2014). Healthy food products at the point of purchase: an in-store experimental analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47(1), 151-154.https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.91
Shopping the grocery perimeter – Mayo Clinic Health System (2018).