Eating Healthy on a Budget Ebook

There is incontrovertible evidence that a diet filled with ultra-processed foods (including fast food) causes poor health outcomes, such as poorer metabolic health, an increase in inflammation, and an increased risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

Areas that have a higher availability of fast food also have higher mortality rates, a higher risk of developing obesity, and more hospitalizations due to heart disease. If poorer quality foods are more available and affordable than fresh, whole foods, people are more likely to eat them.

Clearly, consuming real, whole foods is extremely important for our health. However, knowing that we should eat healthy foods is not enough to solve this extremely complex problem. There are many socioeconomic factors that influence a person’s ability to eat well, such as food availability and access, as well as having limited financial resources.

Furthermore, the government subsidizes corn, wheat, soy, and rice, which make up the majority of processed foods and make them cheaper to the consumer.

While eating a diet that’s higher in whole foods can in fact be more expensive than a processed foods diet in the short-term, we need to take into account the long-term health consequences of consuming a processed foods diet. These include diseases and illnesses that lead to the accumulation of medical costs such as medication and surgery, as well as more suffering and a poorer quality of life.

There are many systemic factors that need to be addressed to remedy this immensely complex problem. It is not as simple as knowing what to eat and following through, or having more willpower. Many of us in this space come from a privileged place and have never had to navigate eating healthy on an extremely limited budget. However, we can’t wait around for systemic issues to be resolved before we take action.

With additional planning and preparation, it is possible for some to eat real food without having to spend substantially more money. In this guide, we explain the first steps you can take to start eating healthy on a budget.

-The Black Iron Nutrition Team