Eat right and save $600: skip junk foods and you'll subtract more than calories. You'll also cut big money from your annual grocery bill - News and notes: latest research, interviews, product reviews, tips, & trends - Brief Article

Natural Health, May-June, 2003

IF YOU DON'T BUY HEALTHY FOODS because you think they're too expensive, think again. Switching to a diet of mostly low-sugar, low-fat foods can shave up to $600 per year off your family's grocery bill, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. But you must buy healthy foods instead of, not in addition to, junk food, explains lead researcher Leonard Epstein, Ph.D., a professor at the University at Buffalo in New York. That means your shopping cart should be filled with whole-grain products and fruits and vegetables. The tortilla chips and cookies will have to stay on the store shelves.

The 20 families in the study proved that you can buy healthy prepared foods at the market and eat out at healthy restaurants--and still save money. Nonetheless, the researchers suggest that you cook as many of your meals from scratch as you can; you're more likely to end up with nutritious meals. If you need to save time in the kitchen, buy pre-washed and pre-cut vegetables and fruits (either fresh or frozen), Epstein says. He also points out that if you shop in natural food stores, you might not save as much because the study results were based on food prices in conventional supermarkets, which sell fewer high-priced organic and specialty health foods than natural food stores.