healthy food

espite what some economists say, times still feel pretty tough, and few of us are ready to throw caution to the wind and start emptying our wallets on fancy clothes and gourmet food. A survey published in early 2009 even found that people were cutting their food budgets by spending less on healthy food and more on, of all things, hotdogs! But a new study shows that you don’t have to live on white bread and wieners to save money; eating healthy foods can be just as cost-efficient. The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating healthy foods on a budget is as easy as replacThe details: The authors used data collected from food frequency questionnaires submitted in 2002 as part of the long-running Nurse’s Health Study. In total, they had information from 78,191 adults, a majority of whom were white, in their late 60s, and living with a spouse. A good portion of the adults were also defined as overweight, based on body mass index (BMI). The amount each person spent on food was estimated based on prices in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food-cost database.

Each participant was ranked according to something called the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), which is basically a measure of how well each adhered to a diet of foods that have been associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases: fruits, vegetables, nuts, soy, beans, lean meats and fish, whole grains, alcohol, and healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The range of index scores in this study was 30 for people with unhealthy diets to 60 for people with the healthiest diets. People with low AHEI scores—those with less-healthy diets—spent an average of $3.72 per day on food, while people with the healthiest scores spent $4.62 per day, a difference of 24 percent. But the authors found that food spending wasn’t always dependent upon how healthy people’s diets were. For instance, some people with the healthiest diets managed to spend as little as E3.48 per day, while others with the lowest scores spent as much as $5.75.

 ing some red meat with less-expensive whole grains and beans.