Category: Nosh

If there were ever a mascot for the entire holiday season, it would almost definitely be a giant sugar cube. We decorate gingerbread houses and dole out trays of cookies; there are Advent calendars and stockings both stuffed to the brim; and every other night is booked with yet another holiday party. It’s not Christmas that’s all around us, as Bill Nighy croons in Love Actually, but rather sugar that surrounds us all this season.

What a shame that sugar is also the root of all evil, according to the majority of recent health headlines.

No one (myself included) wants to hear that desserts are unhealthy, though. So the market has been flooded with sugar alternatives, sweeteners that claim to be just as tantalizing but without the calories or health concerns. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re everywhere, and new ones seem to hit the market every year.

But are they safe?

FIRST, SOME BACKGROUND

When I refer to non-sugar sweeteners or sugar alternatives, I generally mean “nonnutritive” sweeteners, or ones that don’t contribute significant calories. They could be “artificial” (Splenda/sucralose, Equal/aspartame, Sweet’N Low/saccharin, Sweet One/acesulfame-K) or “natural” (stevia, monk fruit extract). We’re going to talk about all of them in this article, because although they are indeed quite different from one another, they all fit under the same umbrella.

THE PROS

Nonnutritive sweeteners, whether natural or artificial, do not affect blood sugar levels appreciably, which is important for individuals with diabetes. Stevia, in particular, may lead to a more favorable insulin response. After conducting analyses of currently available research, both The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and The American Heart Association support their use as part of an overall healthy diet. Sucralose, in particular, has been the subject of much research, something that Splenda as a company reminds us in its FAQ section.

A quick note on saccharin (Sweet’N Low) specifically: Research shows that normal intake is below the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) level determined by international scientific expert committees of the United Nations. Saccharin did spark controversy in the 1970s for animal studies linking it to cancer, but we now know this link is not a concern for humans.

The short version of this side of the story? They’re safe in that they are not associated with cancer (important!), and they also don’t seem to have any negative impact on the environment (also important). As far as their effectiveness, well, that’s another story…

THE CONS

There is much more research that still needs to be done! Some of the research shows short-term weight loss associated with these sweeteners, but nothing conclusive in the long term (so the weight is often regained).

Perhaps even more troubling is the recent research on rats (not humans, admittedly) that made headlines and implicated nonnutritive sweeteners in glucose intolerance (which can develop into full-blown diabetes) and altered gut bacteria. With lackluster gut bacterial populations being linked to everything from obesity to mood, that’s kind of a big deal and warrants further investigation.

Oh, and a bunch of the organizations that cite these sweeteners’ safety happen to be quietly supported by some of the biggest names in the food industry (think Coca-Cola, Dannon, Monsanto, PepsiCo, and Nestle, to name a few). There’s nothing inherently wrong with companies funding research on their own products (who else is going to do it?), but the whole thing is still pretty sneaky and certainly raises questions of bias.

A quick note on stevia and monk fruit extract: These “newbies” on the market are not yet considered Generally Recognized as Safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of lack of research to date. That’s not to say they’re dangerous; they’re just not studied nearly as extensively as other sweeteners.

THE BOTTOM LINE: FIT OR FLOP?

I do not recommend nonnutritive sweeteners to my clients, artificial or natural, so I guess that means I’m calling this a flop. In general, we’re better off focusing on eating food instead of products, and these sweeteners are definitely products. I don’t like being a company’s guinea pig, and without more research, that’s really what’s going on. Still, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be used safely and effectively. Ultimately, that’s not really the point.

The solution to our sugar habit is not to find a loophole in the system; it’s to take that scary, uncomfortable road toward shifting our diet patterns overall. Swapping regular ice cream with sugar-free ice cream might make you thinner but it won’t make you healthier, and that’s the real issue.

We have come to rely on that sweet flavor so much. It’s time we start challenging those lazy taste buds of ours. There’s a big, complex world of flavors outside of sugar and it’s waiting for us. Go on, take a bite!

Your body is an amazingly efficient machine: able to filter out a variety of toxins, process junk food like nobody’s business, and keep going even when you feed it almost-fake food like Laffy Taffy. That being said, you don’t want to load your body up with foods that aren’t good for it, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Here is my list of ingredients I recommend people avoid when dieting. Not all of them are high in calories, but all of them are unnecessary and may even be harmful.

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners seem like a good idea when you are losing weight because they are basically calorie free, but trust me, they’re not. Not only are they completely unnatural, but they can slow down your metabolism and make you crave sweets. And both of those are the last things you want when losing weight.

Watch out for the following sweeteners on an ingredient list:

– Aspartame, often listed as NutraSweet

– Sugar alcohols

– Sorbitol

– Acesulfame potassium

– Glycerol

– Saccharin

– Sucralose

Trans Fats

Although the Food and Drug Administration has announced a complete phaseout of trans fats in foods, many bakery goods and restaurant foods still contain trans fats. You can also find trans fats in some processed foods.

Trans fats are dangerous for your health because they increase the levels of unhealthy cholesterol and decrease the levels of good cholesterol in your blood. In terms of weight loss, you should avoid unhealthy fats because they have the same calories as good fats but lack any health benefits. Look for words like partially hydrogenated fats on food labels and avoid those foods completely.

Refined Grains

Going on a diet doesn’t mean you have to give up grains completely, but you should avoid eating too many refined grains. Refined grains are highly processed and have little nutritional value. The foods they are in are not great for weight loss (think cookies, crackers, and desserts).

Skip the white bread, white rice, or cereals made with refined grains. Instead, choose all-natural grains such as whole wheat flour, popcorn, couscous, or quinoa.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup is a highly processed sweetener that is cheap to make and cheap for food manufacturers to put in foods. The problem with avoiding high fructose corn syrup is that it is in a plethora of products, from bread to condiments.

Some research–such as the 2005 study published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism–suggests that eating foods with high fructose corn syrup negatively affects your metabolic rate, which isn’t good for weight loss.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Monosodium glutamate, commonly referred to as MSG, is an additive in many processed foods. It’s used in some restaurant foods as a flavor enhancer and in salad dressings and sauces, soups, and some chips.

MSG can cause your appetite to increase, give you a headache, and if you are allergic to MSG, you may experience breathing and digestive problems. Read food labels carefully and avoid foods that contain MSG.

Although you can still lose weight if you eat these foods, I believe you should make weight loss as easy as possible. And if avoiding these foods makes your weight loss journey a little easier, why not skip these ingredients and focus on natural, wholesome foods?

There is nothing better than a quick snack and a cold beverage after a tough workout. After all, your body needs to begin replacing the nutrients that you used up while powering through your exercise routine. But be extra careful about what you put into your body after a long run or a tough session at the gym. Not all foods provide the fuel you need to kick-start your recovery, and some things can actually be detrimental to the process. Here are six foods you should avoid eating right after your workout.

Snacks That Are High In Sugar

After a long workout, it’s easy to grab a sugary snack such as a donut, candy bar, or pastry; they not only taste good but can be filling too. But sugar is high in calories, which negates everything you just burned off while exercising. On top of that, sugar can also slow down your metabolism, which defeats the purpose of your workout. If you’re working out to lose weight, these types of snacks will definitely be counterproductive. Go with a piece of toast or a bagel instead.

Avoid Salty Foods Too

There are some who believe that eating something salty after working out helps to replace sodium in your body. While that is true on some level, eating salty foods can also lower the level of potassium in your system, which is a far more important nutrient when it comes to post-workout recovery. Avoid potato chips, French fries, pretzels, or similar foods; grab a banana instead. Everyone knows that they are rich in potassium and can help you recover more efficiently.

Put Down The Soda

While it is certainly true that you’ll need to rehydrate after a workout, soda is simply not the right choice to do so. Sure, your body can use the liquid, but since most sodas contain high amounts of sugar, you’ll get the same results as the snacks listed above, including lots of calories and a slowing of the metabolism. On top of that, soda can make you feel bloated, particularly when you’re deprived of nutrients. Stick with water or a sports drink if you need to replace electrolytes too.

Skip The Fast Food

After a tough workout, it is incredibly tempting to just swing by a fast food restaurant on the way home and grab a burger and fries. After all, you’ve earned it, right? It’s okay to cheat on your diet from time to time by having some decadent meals, but eating fast food right after your workout isn’t the way to go. These types of foods are very high in fats, which can slow down digestion and cause your body to store more fat, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid in the first place. Skip the drive-thru and head home to make a more healthy and sensible meal instead.

Pass On The Raw Vegetables

I know this one sounds a bit counterintuitive, but it’s true. Raw vegetables are important to a healthy diet, but they simply don’t contain enough sustenance to help you regain all of the vitamins and nutrients that you’ve burned off while exercising. Additionally, vegetables provide very few calories, which means they won’t give you the energy you need to recover after a workout. As if that weren’t enough, they can also be tough to digest and can be rough on an empty stomach. A better choice is to eat some protein or fiber to help get your body back on track.

Say No To Energy Bars

While eating an energy bar before a workout can provide extra fuel, snacking on one after you’ve finished exercising is a bad idea. Most energy bars are high in sugar, which again will slow down your metabolism at a time when you want to allow your body to burn through its fat stores. Even after your workout is done, you’ll continue to burn calories for a time, but adding a dose of sugar will make that process less efficient.

A little common sense goes a long way in terms of knowing what you should–and shouldn’t–eat after you exercise. Stick to items that can help you replenish the vitamins, nutrients, and calories that you burned, and you’ll be fine. But mix in things that aren’t exactly healthy, and you’ll end up undermining your fitness routine. Why
would you want to work so hard at the gym only to offset those positive gains with poor eating habits?

I use a calorie- and fitness-tracking app. And while I love the mindless plug-and-chug, I was fiddling around with my app the other night to determine how exactly my goals were being calculated. When I realized how nuanced the numbers were, and how variable they might be from person to person, I had a lot of questions–specifically, if I may need to adjust my goals.

I’m all for tracking apps. They’re convenient. They keep you accountable. They’re legit on your phone, which you take with you everywhere. But I’m also all for knowing the process behind creating your health goals, so if something isn’t working for you, you can get to the source.

Let’s pretend for a moment that tracking apps don’t exist (poof!) If that were the case, here’s how we’d track your calorie consumption.

How many calories do you need per day?

There are so many ways to do this. If you look online, it’ll make your head spin. Basically, you need a calculation that takes into account basal metabolic rate (BMR) or the base number of calories your body burns per day just lying around and total energy expenditure when you add movement and exercise into the mix.

These are the basic calculations for men and women:

BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) – 5 * age(y) + 5 (man)

BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) – 5 * age(y) – 161 (woman)

Or you can simply check a calculator. From there, you need to add in your energy expenditure, which looks a little something like this and requires your best guess for average activity level:

– Sedentary (little or no exercise) = BMR x 1.2

– Lightly active (light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week) = BMR x 1.375

– Moderately active (moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week) = BMR x 1.55

– Very active (hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week) = BMR x 1.725

– Extra active (very hard exercise or sports + physical job or training twice a week) = BMR x 1.9

Or you can use a calculator to check yourself. Keep in mind, this is the nitty-gritty scientific way, and even then it’s not 100 percent accurate. Everybody is different, and each person’s metabolism works at a pace that’s very specific to them, based on factors like activity level, metabolism, and lean muscle mass.

With that in mind, a lot of experts and registered dietitians I know briefly put a pencil to paper when determining how many calories their patients need each day using a quick-and-dirty method. So I asked one–Natalie Stephens, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center–to share how she does it in her practice.

“I go with a starting point of 25 calories per kilogram,” she explained. “So if you’re 150 pounds, you’d divide by 2.2 to get 68 kilograms, and you’d need about 1,700 calories per day. You have to have the patient try this and check back in a month to see their progress.” Because, again, not everybody burns the same. So if you’re not getting the results you want, or you’re losing instead of maintaining your weight, you may need to make some slight adjustments.

How do you determine how many calories you should be eating to lose weight?

If you’re looking to maintain your weight, the above calculation is enough. You’re done! Just use that figure (BMR + total energy expended) as your calorie baseline. Yay.

But lots of people who are tracking intake are actually looking to lose weight. This means you’ve got to shave some calories.

One pound of weight loss per week is generally considered a safe and surmountable goal. To meet it, you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories per week, which is 500 calories daily. You can do that any way you’d like, but cutting a huge chunk of calories from your diet or becoming a gym rat is usually a quick way to fall off the weight loss wagon.

Stephens suggested this: “Ideally, the patient will cut dietary calories down by 250 calories and increase their exercise to burn 250 calories,” she said. “That way they’re not doing anything so drastic they can’t maintain that behavior in the long run.”

This is where a calorie-tracking app becomes huge. You can figure out exactly where you should cut your calories. If you can swap your soup and sandwich for a salad, nix cheese on your baked potato at dinner, and remove part of your morning snack to eliminate 250 calories? Cool. If that seems doable, then do it! Focus on what’s least important in your diet or what you can lose, while still keeping things relatively balanced (read: don’t cut a whole food group, because you’re #JustNotThatIntoGrains).

At the same time, you need to sweat out around 250 calories per day, too. Harvard Health has a pretty amazing chart for calories burned in 30 minutes during tons of different exercises based on three different body weights, which you can multiply if you need an extra exercise bump. So maybe 250 calories for you is 45 minutes of walking or 30 minutes of basketball. (You get the idea.)

That bit about 1,200 calories…

If you want to lose weight faster than that, you can feasibly lose one to two pounds per week. Simply adjust your calorie goals accordingly.

That said, you may have heard that you should never, ever consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day. For the average person, here’s why that warning exists: “If you’re eating less than 1,200 calories a day, it’s not possible to get the minimum recommendations from each food group,” said Stephens. “This means, in the long run, you’re bound to have deficiencies that will impact your long-term health.”

So, be smart. Losing weight is not worth sacrificing your long-term health or creating disordered eating habits.

I have a few friends who are very talented runners, capable of running a marathon in under three hours. While incredibly impressive, their speed and endurance aren’t mind boggling to me. What does blow my mind is that they are capable of doing this without eating on the run. I don’t know about the rest of you, but any time I’m out on a course for more than 90 minutes or so, I need to ingest some calories to ensure I make it to the finish line.

Perhaps it’s because it takes me almost twice as long to run the same race, but I digress.

Most of us mere running mortals need to maintain some sort of caloric balance to sustain our energy levels while running. Just like anything else in our consumer-driven society, there are a number of nutrition products geared toward runners and endurance athletes. And just like other specialized products, they often come at a price.

A high, expensive price.

So what’s a runner who doesn’t want to shell out a ton of money on race-day nutrition do?

Easy: Look in your cabinets. Chances are, you already have some food lying around that makes a perfect substitute for training and racing fuel.

Ideally, during a workout or race that lasts at least an hour, runners will consume carbohydrates at a ratio of approximately 30 to 60 grams per hour of exercise. This, of course, varies from person to person, but that gives you a general range to aim for.

Maple Syrup: As a proud Vermonter, I had to list this one first. (And as a proud Vermonter, I must remind you that we are talking about real, pure maple syrup here, none of that imitation stuff.) No longer just a sweet topping for your waffles, maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than other sugars, so it will continue to break down over a longer stretch of time, thus keeping you fueled longer. And at just under 30 grams of carbohydrates per ounce, maple syrup is a sweet alternative to artificial-tasting gels.

Honey: A close second to the ease and convenience of maple syrup is the all-natural alternative of honey. In addition to a slew of health benefits, two tablespoons of honey provide approximately 33 grams of carbohydrates.

Bananas: Bananas and running go hand in hand for good reason. One medium banana contains about 30 grams of fast-digesting carbohydrates. Added bonus: Bananas are rich in potassium, which may stave off muscle cramps. Research shows that bananas can hold their own against brand-name sports drinks, providing similar performance and physiological outcomes. At at a cost of mere cents per banana, they are certainly more affordable than expensive sports drinks.

Dried Fruit: This includes anything from raisins to dried apricots, dates, cherries, and even pineapple. The dried, condensed versions of these foods are typically high in carbohydrates but in a bite-sized serving. Most are also high in potassium, but be warned…they can also be high in fiber, which may cause some gastrointestinal distress (and an unplanned visit to the port-a-potty). As with any race-day fuel, be sure to practice eating them during training first!

Pretzels: One of my favorite race-day snack hacks is mini pretzels. Easy to carry in a plastic baggie and surprisingly durable in your waist or hydration pack, one ounce of pretzels contains about 100 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates. Plus, the salt on the pretzels may help replenish sodium and potassium lost while sweating. And they are a great change of pace when you near the end of a long race or run and are absolutely sick of eating all of the sweet foods listed above. A similar alternative is saltine crackers.

These are just a few examples of foods commonly found in kitchens. Of course, the possibilities for your training and race-day fueling are indeed endless. Just keep a few things in mind: remember to hydrate along the way. Drinking water will not only aid digestion but will help prevent dehydration. And, as mentioned above, remember the important rule of NEVER TRYING ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! Always practice nutrition plans before your race to ensure you are sprinting across the finish line to a personal best…and not sprinting to find a port-a-potty.

You exercise every day. You track your calories on a food app. You take your supplements religiously. But no matter what you do, it seems like you’re fighting an uphill battle on the treadmill and your weight won’t budge. If this is you, this story may interest you.
I was training a guy who worked the early morning shift in the media industry. He would get up at 2:30 a.m. to make it to his job by 4:30 a.m. By Friday, he was so sleep deprived that he would be falling asleep at the wheel on the way home during lunchtime. He was obese, more than 100 pounds overweight. No matter what tricks I would try with him, I couldn’t get his body to lose more than five pounds. Which is pretty surprising because my methods always work.
Then the station changed his schedule, and he was moved to afternoon segments. This meant that his work start time would change to 1:00 p.m. and he could “sleep like a normal person.” Want to know what happened? I didn’t change one thing. His diet was the same. His workouts were the same. The only thing he changed was his sleep schedule. He was getting seven or more hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. The change was incredible. In one month he lost 15 pounds; in two months he lost a total of 25 pounds!
It sounds counterintuitive that the more you rest the easier you can lose weight, but studies have shown that the less sleep you get, the more stressed your body is.
When your body is stressed, it produces a hormone called cortisol. When cortisol is released in the body, your blood sugar goes up, causing insulin to be released. When insulin is released, it signals your body to store fat. Interestingly, high cortisol levels have been associated with high amounts of visceral fat. This is the fat that surrounds your vital organs and can wreak havoc on your health. It’s basically belly fat. Studies have found that those who slept less were not only heavier, but their weight was concentrated in their stomachs. Visceral fat (more than adipose fat, or fat located in the hips) is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other problems.
Recent studies have uncovered even more interesting findings. Bruce Bailey, an exercise science professor at Brigham Young University, studied over 300 women and found that those with the healthiest sleep habits had the lowest body fat. But it wasn’t just the amount of time they slept. He found that those who slept between 6.5 and 8.5 hours (with the “sweet spot” being between 8 and 8.5 hours) per night were the trimmest, but timing and consistency also played big roles. A consistent bedtime and, more importantly, a consistent wake time were essential. Those with more than 90 minutes of variation in sleep time had higher body fat than those with less than 60 minutes. Wake time was linked to body fat as well. Those who woke up at the same time every morning had lower body fat. Bailey concluded that staying up late–and even sleeping in–can do more harm than good.
The quality of sleep ranked pretty high in importance also. Those who experienced consistent, uninterrupted sleep felt better and ate better the next day. Bailey’s prescription for a good night’s sleep? Make sure the room is dark and cool and that you don’t use your bed for anything other than sleeping (well, almost anything).

If you’ve bemoaned the fact you aren’t losing weight as fast as you feel you should be, you are likely eating more calories than you think. There are a lot of ways to track your food intake, from calorie counters to measuring cups. However, the most accurate way is the food scale. As the common phrase goes, “The scale doesn’t lie.”

I didn’t have a food scale for a long time. I thought I knew how much food I was eating and what a portion should be. After all, I had been dieting for years and was somewhat of an expert on food portions, at least I thought I was.

After losing weight successfully for a while, I decided it might be fun to get a scale. So I did. I bought a digital scale that measured in both grams and ounces. This turned out to be a good decision because even though I live in the United States, many food labels list food weights in grams only or have both grams and empirical measures.

Imagine my surprise when what I thought to be a portion actually turned out to be a portion and a half or even two portions. I still remember measuring rice and being surprised at how little rice 185 g or 1/2 cup really was. Even though I had used a measuring cup, I was eating more than I intended. I guess I smashed the rice down a little bit when putting it in the cup.

A digital scale makes that impossible. You can smash food into a cup or guesstimate how much is on your plate, but you can’t cheat the scale.

If you’ve never used a digital food scale, here’s a quick primer on how to use one:

Ÿ – Purchase a scale with a wide surface area to accommodate a variety of bowls and dishes.

– Always zero out the scale. In other words, don’t count the weight of the container when measuring your foods.

Ÿ – Add up all the ingredients and divide the number of servings into it. For example, if you are making a chicken stir-fry that has 450 g of chicken, 1/2 an onion, 1/2 a green pepper, and 4 cups of cooked rice, measure each ingredient and record the calories. If you split the dish into three servings, divide the total calories by three.

Ÿ – Make use of the recipe builders on websites like MyFitnessPal or SparkPeople to analyze total calories of your recipes and measure ingredients. If you log onto the sites, you can save your recipes for future use.

Ÿ- Use the zero out feature as a time-saving device for salads. Put your container on the scale and set it to zero. Then add each ingredient and zero out the scale after each addition. That way you are only measuring each new ingredient. After you’ve recorded it all in your journal, take the bowl off the scale and eat your perfectly measured salad.

The small amount of money you will spend on the scale is definitely worth it in the long run. It’s really easy to blame a lack of weight loss on everything but overeating. A food scale will hold you accountable and give you an objective way of determining exactly what you are eating and how many calories it has.

Eating Healthy: Is It Really More Expensive?

Recently, I went to the supermarket to purchase strawberries for a pie. The price was a little discouraging, but I ignored it. Then I saw a pile of avocados, which made me dream of guacamole. But when I looked at the price tag I had a mild panic attack. No way was I paying $2.50 for one avocado. I meandered over to the store-made guacamole. The fresh guac was $5…was this a joke? Then I saw the pre-packaged, pre-made, manufactured guacamole coming in at a manageable $3. Now that was something I could handle.

See what just happened? I passed up the healthier option of homemade guacamole for something that was most likely squeezed out of a tube and full of enough sodium for a whole country.

Which brings us to the crux of the problem: Is healthy food more expensive than unhealthy food, and if so, by how much? Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have delved into the numbers and concluded that healthy eating costs about $1.50 more per day than unhealthier diets. Although this may seem like a small amount, it quickly adds up, especially for families already struggling financially. On a larger scale, that’s approximately $550 a year, which obviously can be a huge burden.

Why are healthy foods so expensive? Is it because of the cost that farmers incur in harvesting crops? Not necessarily. The BMJ (British Medical Journal) did a little bit of investigating on their own and came to these conclusions. Essentially, current policies in place focus on producing large quantities of inexpensive foods (this adds up to $300 billion in government subsidies, to be precise). The way these foods are farmed, stored, and marketed is all aimed toward the consumer. Sales are favored for these highly processed foods for the greatest industry profit. There has been talk of raising taxes on these unhealthy foods to deter consumers from purchasing them, but that is still up for debate.

So, where is this $1.48 difference seen? For starters, unhealthy meats and proteins are considerably cheaper than their healthier counterparts, as discussed by The BMJ. There’s a 29-cent difference between the two, and that number is conservative. There is a much smaller gap (three cents) in the cost of healthier versus unhealthier grains; dairy is 0.004 cents cheaper, and the list continues. It’s not just your imagination. Unhealthy foods are cheaper.

Just Kidding, They’re Not

On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that cheap food is actually more expensive. When you eat unhealthy food, you’re not only polluting your body and setting yourself up for future health problems, you’re also hurting the economic security of our country.

Unhealthy foods are loaded with fats, sugars, and ingredients that I can’t even pronounce. While you’re purchasing that frozen, gooey lasagna, or eating a Big Mac and fries, you might not be thinking about what’s actually happening inside your body. Not to mention that the obesity rate has skyrocketed, as more and more pre-packaged foods are introduced in our stores. More than one-third of Americans suffer from obesity, which ends up costing them money. Obese individuals visit their physicians 40 percent more than average-sized patients, and they account for 7 percent of lost productivity at work because of an increased use of sick leave and disability programs.

Overall, on a day-to-day basis, healthy food is pricier. There’s no denying that. But when you look at the bigger picture, you’ll realize that the consequences vastly outweigh the money you’re saving now. It’s been established that our government has a hand in making unhealthy food so accessible, and advocates have been clamoring for change. But until this occurs, what can you do to ensure that you’re eating healthy on the cheap?

Frozen Versus Fresh

I typically have regarded frozen food as one of the unhealthier choices, and in some situations it is. Pre-made pot pies and enchiladas cannot be good for you. They’re laden with chemicals; you can taste this when you sink your teeth into them. However, there are benefits to buying frozen products. For example, frozen veggies and fruits are much cheaper than fresh produce.

Let me address a common concern: How well is nutritional value retained? Isn’t fresh produce preferable, better, and healthier? Here’s the thing: The fresh fruits and vegetables at your local grocer aren’t necessarily as nutritious as you’d hope. Within three days of when vegetables are removed from their vines or pulled from the ground, their nutritional value begins to diminish, with 80 percent of vitamin C being lost, for instance. With our current technology, freezing doesn’t damage food; it actually preserves the vitamins and minerals.

The caveat is that some foods freeze better than others. The Daily Mail has a list of the “do”s and “don’t”s for all your freezing questions. Red meat freezes better than white meat because it has a larger amount of fat. This fat means there’s less water content, thus the pesky ice crystals that cause freezer burn won’t be forming on your ground beef. Chicken, on the other hand, has high water content, so it’s recommended that you only freeze white meat for six months or less. Generally speaking, if you’re freezing food for a reasonable amount of time you should be good to go. Frozen produce may not be ideal when you want to eat your vegetables plain, but if they’re an ingredient in a stir-fry or casserole, they should be your number one choice.

Splurging Can Be Okay

Sometimes you have to splurge if you want to eat healthy. With careful budgeting, it can be done. Personally, I’ve reduced the amount of meat I consume so I can have healthier organic meat and produce options. A good guide is trying to avoid “The Dirty Dozen” at all costs. It’s a funny name but scary truth: The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables that test positive for high pesticide residue. Try to find organic versions of these items when you can:

The list for 2015:  

-Apples
-Strawberries
-Grapes
-Celery
-Cherry tomatoes
-Sweet bell peppers
-Peaches
-Spinach
-Cucumbers
-Imported snap peas
-Nectarines
-Potatoes

Cutting Costs

How exactly can we cut costs when it comes to buying healthy food? Prices of seasonal fresh produce are considerably lower during summer months. When winter arrives and prices creep up, it’s time to turn to frozen veggies. Frozen meats can be found year-round, but it’s best to find items that are organic or have minimal additives. This can present a significant challenge, but stay on the lookout for organic frozen food when you can.

Another cost-cutting option is a no-brainer, but does take some effort. Don’t forget about coupon clipping, menu planning, and sale shopping. Coupon clipping is pretty obvious, but most people don’t think about menu planning. Figuring out what you need for the week and writing it down is a fantastic way to keep from making impulse purchases. Also, it’s good to have a few recipes in your back pocket. If you go to the store and chicken breasts are full price but a pork tenderloin is on sale, go for the tenderloin. Another way to save money is by purcha
sing store brands; they’re typically less expensive than name-brand products.

It may take a bit before you get the hang of buying healthy food without destroying your budget. A great resource for purchasing cheap healthy food is your local grocers themselves. They’ll typically tell you when items are going on sale and what’s the best bang for your buck. If you build a rapport with your butchers, they may even give you discounted prices. If you take the time and make the effort to shop for deals, you’ll be healthier and happier before you know it.

Here’s a labeling system that you’ve likely never heard of before. You know those annoying stickers found on all your favorite fruit and vegetables? Maybe you’ve bitten into a sticker or chopped it up into a fruit salad. But those pesky stickers actually have a purpose. Let’s take a closer look at what they mean.

Know the Code

Produce stickers contain Price Look Up (PLU) codes that serve a larger purpose. They’ve been used since 1990 to help cashiers identify bulk produce. For example, a 4-digit code that starts with the numbers 3 or 4 mean that the fruit was cultivated on a factory farm that sprayed its crops with synthetic pesticides. A 5-digit code starting with the number 9 means that the fruit was grown in a traditional way and was either cultivated organically or without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. And a product with a 5-digit code starting with the number 8 means that the fruit is genetically modified.

It’s An Imperfect System

While it’s neat to know what these PLU codes actually mean, for savvy shoppers, PLUs should be your last line of defense. Here’s why: The PLU numbers are actually meant to tell the cashier whether an apple is a conventional Fuji or organic Honey Crisp, so they know what to charge you at the check out. The numbers are actually organized by the Produce Marketing Association and aren’t directed at consumers. Rather, it’s a voluntary system that allows retailers to have an idea what they should charge. For example, charging more for a piece of organic fruit and less for genetically modified fruit. And while theoretically, the number 8 is meant to signify genetically modified, you’ll rarely see it on PLUs because again, it’s voluntary and rarely used, if ever.

Look Beyond the PLU

If you want to ensure your produce is organic, look beyond the PLU for an organic certification. And don’t trust that PLUs will help you to avoid genetically modified foods because remember this system is voluntary and is not controlled by a governing body (and isn’t 100% transparent). Big seed and agriculture corporations like Monsanto have invested millions of dollars in campaigns to stop mandatory labeling of GMO products, even though surveys have showed the majority of Americans want GMOs labeled. The same companies even backed a federal law called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, nicknamed the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act, that blocks states from enacting labeling laws at all. So why would they be honest on a PLU code? Forget it.

Know Other Labeling Systems

In a pinch, looking at the PLU code can give you some idea of the fruit or vegetable’s origin. But it’s best to use other sources at your finger tips. Look for a separate organic label or sign before buying fruit, or ask for the produce manager where the produce came from, how it was grown and if it came from GMO seed. This is especially important when it comes to fruits that are laden with pesticides like apples, which year after year top the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of the most heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables. Other big offenders include peaches, nectarines, strawberries, and grapes.

If you want to avoid genetically modified fruit and vegetables, choose organic. To be certified organic, foods cannot be grown with genetically modified seeds. Still, most fruits and frozen fruits are not genetically modified except the Hawaiian papaya. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently approved a genetically modified non-browning apple, but it’s not yet widely available. If you’re dealing with high risk GMO produce like corn, edamame (soy beans), papaya, zucchini, or yellow summer squash, you’ll want to ensure that you choose organic or that it’s specifically labeled as non-GMO, which is common at health food stores like Whole Foods.

Produce PLUs are a cool trick to know, especially considering that so few people are familiar with this labeling system. But in the end, those sticky little labels aren’t actually directed at you. They’re there to help cashiers identify what type of produce you’ve chosen so they know how much to charge you. The fact that the labeling system is voluntary, means that producers could opt out of telling the whole truth. However, the smart consumer will see beyond PLU stickers to know how their food was grown. From choosing organic to non-GMO, know your food labeling system from top to bottom so you can enjoy the health benefits of that Fuji apple without a side of pesticides.