You Can Eat Healthier for $1.50 More a Day – Really!

You can do this, and it won’t break your budget. (Photo: Getty Images)

Eating healthy is often linked with higher grocery bills in our minds, but new research says the extra cost isn’t nearly as high as you’d think.

A new, 10-year study on more than 2,000 Spanish men and women from Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute found that slightly increasing the amount of money you spend on food is linked to a better quality diet.

How much of an increase are we talking about? Scientists found that people who spent just $1.50 more a day on food ate 74 more grams of vegetables and 52 extra grams of fruit a day.

Related: 32 Kitchen Hacks for Healthy Eating

But cutting back on food spending has a reverse effect: People who spent 65 cents less on food ended up eating 121 less grams of vegetables and 94 fewer grams of fruit a day. They also ate more unhealthy foods like fast food and baked goods.

While 74 extra grams of vegetables and 52 more grams of fruit a day isn’t a ton (it’s the equivalent of a carrot and half an apple), they can add up over time for your waistline and overall health — especially if you regularly choose those healthy options over junk food.

Related: 5 Ways To Eat Healthy When Your Family Doesn’t

“Any extra servings of fruits and vegetables in the diet is significant to a person’s health,” certified dietitian-nutritionist Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CEO of NY Nutrition Group, tells Yahoo Health. “It means they’re getting extra vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, which we know are all linked to better health, longer life, and disease prevention.”

Fast foods, processed snacks, and simple carbohydrates are known for being cheap, but New York City registered dietitian Jessica Cording tells Yahoo Health that she’s not shocked by the new findings.

“It is possible to eat lots of fruits and veggies without spending a ton of money,” she says.

But not all fruits and vegetables are created equal — especially when it comes to cost. To minimize the extra money you have to shell out to eat healthier, Cording recommends being flexible with the fruits and vegetables you buy. That means shopping what’s on sale and buying what’s in season (watermelons in the winter, for example, can cost up to $7 in some places).

Related: 10 Ways To Lose Weight When You’re Already a Healthy Eater

Farmer’s markets are also a great option, says Moskovitz: “Locally grown produce is will give you the most bang for your buck.”

Cording also suggests checking out the frozen food section. “Frozen fruits and vegetables are often picked at peak freshness and are still packed with vitamins and minerals,” she says. Just watch out for added sodium and sugar, which are in some frozen products.

If you know you’ll only eat out-of-season fruit or vegetables, Cording recommends cutting back in other areas of your grocery list to make room for more of the healthy stuff. Among her tips: Choose dried beans as an affordable shelf-stable protein source, and buy whole grains, nuts, and seeds from bulk bins, which gives you more control over how much you buy (and spend).

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