Not long ago, the food pyramid became a plate. A study shows that this newer, healthier, diet, is more expensive than what most American’s can afford to eat. People like me, who have to stay on a gluten-free diet, quickly learn that these foods are pricey. It has been said that eating the foods that keep your body healthy has become a “privilege”.
The United States has created new nutritional guidelines. What used to be called the food pyramid has recently been transformed into a plate. The idea was to make it easier, by giving a visual example, of how consumers can eat healthier. The new guidelines call for more potassium, more dietary fiber, more vitamin D, and more calcium than the previous guidelines did.
A study shows that the attempt to follow the new “food plate” guidelines would add hundreds of dollars to a person’s grocery bills each year. We all know that fresh fruits and vegetables tend to cost more money than junk foods do.
The study, which was done by researchers at the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington found that getting the right amount of potassium is going to be expensive. Doing so will add about $380 per year to a person’s food costs. Potassium is just one of the things that the new guidelines want people to get more of.
The study was conducted by doing a random telephone survey. It included 2,000 adults, all of whom came from King County, Washington. They were asked questions about the kinds of foods they were eating. Later, the participants had to fill out a questionnaire with similar types of questions. Only 1,300 people filled one in and returned it.
Overall, the study found that almost 15% of Americans do not have the money to eat the way that they want to. 49% of Americans are basing their food choices on cost, rather than nutritional factors. These people are not eating fast food because it tastes good to them. They are eating it because that is all they can afford.
It seems that the ability to eat healthy foods, that help people’s bodies grow and function has become the privilege of those whose income is high enough to be able to afford to do so. Where does this leave people like me who are allergic to gluten, (or who have other food allergies)?
Gluten-free foods tend to cost more than their gluten filled counterparts do. My husband and I are not rich. How will we afford to continually buy the foods that will not make me sick?
I also find it interesting that the new “food plate” is simply not going to work for people who have food allergies. The plate is split into four parts. One of the largest parts is marked “grains”. It is unrealistic to expect that people who have gluten allergies, or who have celiac disease, to be able to safely fill their plates with that much “grains” at every meal.
Image by Martin Cathrae on Flickr