Overview:
Reports have come out about the percentages of processed foods that Americans consume, and they are high. These types of items are convenient and affordable. However, due to their negative effect on people’s health, it’s essential to understand how you can eat healthy without spending a lot of money.
Processed foods like potato chips, cookies, and sugary sodas have been rapidly disappearing from store shelves for years. These types of items have become a part of daily life for many.
A recent CDC report has a study that between August 2021 and August 2023, “the overall mean percentage of total calories consumed from ultra-processed foods among those age 1 year and older was 55.0%.” Such consumption is not a beneficial thing. Not only are potato chips manufactured, but they also have a lot of salt and bad fats in them. Eating too much of these things can cause several health problems.
What makes processed foods so popular? There are a number of causes behind this. You should look at them.
Convenience:
Potato chips, bags of cookies, ice cream, and soda are purchased daily because they are very convenient for consumers. Unfortunately, many healthier options often require individuals to spend time cooking or preparing meals. According to an online article published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health titled “Processed Food and Health,” “Frozen, pre-chopped, and canned ingredients can be time-savers in the kitchen.” We live in a busy world. Many individuals have numerous daily responsibilities to manage. This includes everything from job duties to, for some individuals, responsibilities like taking care of a family and maintaining a house. It’s a daunting task to tackle these simultaneously. Often, when people feel rushed, having to go from one spot to the next, they think they don’t have adequate time to cook. Therefore, they turn to the convenience of purchasing ready-to-eat processed foods.
Marketing:
For years, unhealthy foods have been heavily marketed to the public. You can go back to the early days of television and see some of the first commercials showcasing candy bars and other assortments. When cable television became prevalent and there were dozens of channels, these types of ads continued. The internet and smartphones certainly intensified their relevance, too. It’s a hard thing for people to ignore because they are constantly being bombarded with messaging that is trying to influence them to regularly consume these things. Commercials have consistently promoted the idea that eating potato chips and candy can improve one’s mood.
Rewarding Yourself:
The high levels of sugar, salt, and fat that comprise many processed foods have been shown to trigger the brain’s reward system and lead to cravings and overconsumption. As a human being, it’s natural to want to reward yourself. However, it’s not beneficial to reward yourself too much. You could make the case that when people eat junk food, it feels like they can never consume enough of it.
Stress Relief:
People have resorted to processed foods to not only reward themselves but also to relieve stress. As was said, a lot of people have busy lives. People often get stressed since they must complete so many daily tasks. Many people like to eat salty and sweet meals to relieve this stress. You might feel fantastic when you consume junk food at first, but it usually makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable later. This is a bad cycle.
Addiction:
The act of rewarding oneself and treating stress with unhealthy items arguably contributes to the ‘addiction’ factor of processed food. Addiction is a powerful term. When people hear it, they often associate it with alcohol and recreational drugs. However, it is usually forgotten that addiction can also apply to junk food. Many of the ingredients in potato chips and candy have addictive properties. It makes people want to come back for more.
Affordability:
An often-overlooked aspect of the popularity of processed items is their affordability. Many healthy foods that are readily available in stores tend to cost more than unhealthy ones. Most people are aware that the economy in the United States has experienced fluctuations over the past few years. Regardless of what a person thinks are the causes of the economic distress, you can’t argue with the fact that many people have been forced to purchase the cheapest items available. Unfortunately, this applies to the foods they eat.
Since the over-consumption of processed items is so widespread, many people have developed associated health problems. A recent study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that there was a link between eating processed foods and decreased life expectancy. The question is, given the high cost of healthy foods, how can people regularly purchase unprocessed items on a budget?
Saving Money While Staying Healthy:
Different Shopping Methods:
There are ways to eat healthy and save money. One of the methods of doing so is to adjust your shopping habits. Look out for all discounts on various fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods that don’t come in a can. Also, periodically check your smartphone for digital promos and coupons.
Planning of Meals:
Meal planning might not seem like a strategy to save money, but it really is. In Mayo Clinic Health System’s article, “Eating healthy on a budget,” Anne Harguth, a dietitian in Nutritional Counseling and Education in Waseca, Minnesota, states, “Menu planning is a great way to make sure you’re eating a balanced diet and meeting your nutritional needs.” Also, it’s not an inconvenience. If you choose one specific day on which you don’t have many responsibilities, you can create a particular meal plan. You can create a shopping list based on those foods as part of this plan to help you avoid making impulsive charges.
Leftovers:
Using leftovers is quite helpful. If the food is still good, don’t throw it out. You may save time and money, not to mention improve your health, by keeping it in the fridge.
Future of Eating Habits
Since the consumption of junk food has been such an ongoing trend, it’s difficult to say where the future lies in terms of the eating habits of the general populace. Some predict that manufacturers will transition to producing foods with healthier ingredients for convenience. Others think that the abundance of processed items will endure. I feel that people can affect the future of eating habits for the better if they just take a small amount of time to consider how they can save their money while eating healthily at the same time. We only have one body, so we must care for it as best as possible.
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