Health is wealth Healthy lifestyles are inhibited by high produce prices Nyah Simpson According to research from the Harvard School of Public Health, the difference in cost between an unhealthy diet and a healthy one is $1.50 a day. That may not seem like a lot, but that adds up to $547.5 a year and $42,157.50 over a lifetime. Many people strive to live a healthy lifestyle, which may prove difficult for many in the Bay Area since living costs are high. The World Health Organization says that having a healthy diet protects you against chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. However, what is considered a healthy diet varies based on what someone’s body needs and what is best for them. “That’s why those healthy diets that you see online usually don’t work for everyone. Because everyone needs something different,” Nicole Borshchenko, a junior, said. Like many other people her age, Borshchenko wants to live a sustainable and good lifestyle for her health. “I don’t exactly know why living a healthy lifestyle costs more, but I understand why less healthy foods cost less because they are mass-produced and producers don’t really care what they’re putting in the food,” Borshchenko said. One of the main reasons natural foods are considered more healthy is because they require more labor to produce. One example of this would be fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods need to be grown, harvested, and transported by manual labor as quickly as possible. The produce we see in the stores arrives in the best and freshest
condition. The higher cost is also because the farmers who grow the food need to profit from what they sell. Farmers must add more chemicals to keep the food from expiring during the journey in places where fresh produce needs to be transported long distances. So the crop will generally arrive at stores less fresh, making them less desirable. According to a study done in 2017 by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institution of Public Health, the cost of healthy food in neighborhoods in large cities costs about $2.00 more than in more rural communities. Each neighborhood’s available income plays a role in how much processed food is purchased. In lowincome areas, people are more likely to buy cheaper processed foods than expensive fresh foods, especially since processed foods are generally more readily available. “The idea that if you can’t afford organic foods, does that mean that you are less healthy? And the answer is no. The nutritional content is the same,” said Matt Arnone, a dietitian based out of Redwood City. Arnone thinks that the idea of preservatives being harmful and that the only way to be healthy is by eating organic foods is a wrong assumption prevalent on social media. Social media glorifies
healthy lifestyles that seem so simple that everyone could have them. In reality, the lifestyle they see is not something they could realistically afford. “I think a lot of people really have the sense that you have to shop at certain places in order to be healthy. But you can find nutritious foods at any grocery store,” Arnone said. It is not bad for people to want to live a healthy lifestyle that costs more, just as it is not bad for people to live a lifestyle that saves money. What matters is what makes them happy and, most importantly, healthy. “I think a healthy diet consists of what is balanced and right for the individual person, and each person requires different foods to keep them healthy,” Borshchenko said.
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