Eat Healthy to Avoid Medical Bills

The title of this article probably grabbed your attention because all you've been told is the opposite; that eating healthy costs more money. It is true that if you are used to buying dry soup from a package or eating from a fast food dollar menu that your first stroll through the produce department might seem a little scary. It is a change, a different lifestyle and it will require a shift in the way you purchase and prepare your food. You may have to shop at places you're not familiar with. You will have to set time apart in your week to prepare meals in bulk ahead of time.
Oops, I'm going to lose a few of you. Don't leave, hear me out. BECAUSE, the benefits of what I'm going to share with you far outweigh the inconvenience that occurs ONLY at the beginning of this new lifestyle.
I probably should have started this article off with: Save your family from cancer or diabetes. Or save hundreds of dollars by not visiting the pharmacy. That would have caught your attention!
First of all, we should talk about what kind of eating are we talking about. If you don't remember anything else, just remember natural. Clean, unprocessed foods will save you money! An even easier way to remember what to buy is to shop the perimeter aisles of your grocery store. Maybe you've heard this before but it's true and easy to follow. All of your vegetables, fruit, seafood, meat, eggs and whole grains and dairy, if you choose are found in these locations. Once you start drifting off into the inside aisles of the store you're only going to find food that is stored in cans and boxes and obviously has to have some type of preservatives in them to keep them edible over long periods of time.
Another shift in thinking about food that may help you is to think about the caveman days. Years and years ago, before there were grocery stores, what did people eat? They lived off the land and had to hunt and gather their food and they lived just fine. They ate fish, meat, berries, seeds, and whatever they found that was provided naturally. We can, and only need to eat this way today.
Start by visiting your local farmers market to purchase produce. If red peppers happen to be 4.99 a lb. or something ridiculous, don't buy them that week. Purchase produce that is in season and in abundance and it won't be that expensive. Even if you can't buy at a farmers market, start shopping the produce section of your grocery store and getting familiar with the veggies, cabbages, lettuces, fruits that are available. Remember, many items like squash or super, oversized sweet potatoes can serve more than one person and often times be used in casseroles or soups and used for multiple meals. Get our your crockpot or slow cooker and throw in some grass fed beef, carrots, celery and potatoes and you can eat multiple times off that meal.
Often times, consumers are unsure of what to do in the produce section because they don't know how to cook an eggplant or what to do with bok choy. Having been one of those people a few years ago, I get it. Again, enter the beauty of the internet. When in doubt, google it. The majority of my recipes come from the Internet. Evidently good cooks love to post their new recipes so take advantage of it.
Since we're talking about the internet, it's also a good place to research ingredients in your food. If you are used to eating soup from a can or potatoes from a box, take some time to look up any of the ingredients on the box that you are unfamiliar with. If the food you're eating contains ingredients that you can't pronounce or don't know what they are, find out. Once you start reading about how bad most of these ingredients are for your body, it will automatically start to shift you're thinking about food.
Example: Flavored creamer in coffee. Most people use this every day, maybe several times a day. I used to as well, until I realized most creamers have hydrogenated oil in them. When I researched what that was, I discovered it is a man made fat used to thicken creams, sauces, etc. and our bodies don't know how to process it. Two websites I went to said, eventually, with alot of use, it can kill you! It is harmful to your body. That is enough for me. I quit using it immediately. Now I know most people are saying, a teaspoon in my coffee in the morning is not enough to be harmful. How do you know? How do you know how much is good or bad? How do you know over 25 years of using it everyday that it won't be the "thing" that someday researchers discover causes a certain disease or illness? I don't know want to find out.
There is alot of information available on the web about how changing your food can PREVENT diseases like diabetes and certain cancers. I personally have friends who have cured cholesterol problems, gout, migraines, common colds and other health related issues by changing their food. If you could quit taking just one prescription medicine by changing your food, you are not only going to be healthy but you're going to save $$$$$.
Let's say you see your doctor once every 3 months for a condition and you have to buy a monthly prescription that costs $60.00. If you could avoid these things and just see the doctor once a year for an annual checkup you would save approximately $870. per year. (assuming a doctor visit is $50.per visit)This doesn't include the time and gas you save from not making the trips.
Alot of people could save even more if they spend more than that a month on prescriptions.
I encourage you to do the research. Ask the questions. I'm not advising anyone to just throw out their meds and buy new food. I'm suggesting that you make the necessary adjustments to your diet and see if you don't see improvements in your energy, pain, fatigue, overall feeling of wellness. Then talk to your doctor about trying a month or so without the medicine to see if you can eliminate it.
Do you like movies? Watch Supersize Me. This is a story about a guy who ate McDonalds for 30 days and shows how sick he was from doing so. Also rent Food, Inc. if you want to learn a little about how chickens and cattle are raised in some places and why it is important to find unprocessed, grass fed meats.
I write these articles because I want to raise awareness and get families working towards healthier living.
To your best health!