Why are the Less Healthy Food Choices Typically Cheaper?

I remember being a kid and hearing adults talk about food prices and how hard it was to eat healthy because the less healthy food options were so much more affordable. Fast forward to 2022, in the midst of rapid inflation, the same sentiment reigns true almost 30 years later.
So why are less healthy food choices typically cheaper? Convenience foods and “fast foods” contain corn, as the main ingredient. Corn is a subsidized food meaning that it’s very cheap to grow.
The negative impact of corn on your body is that corn is considered a GMO food. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism.
Genetically Modified Organisms are considered unsafe for human consumption. Why? GMO foods have been engineered in a lab to keep the food from being eaten by their natural predators. How is this achieved? A small amount of toxins are injected into the seed of the crop, which yields a crop that has not been devasted by mother nature’s hungry critters.
So, what does this mean for you and me? This means that by consuming GMO foods you are ingesting small amounts of toxins/ poisons. As you can imagine, over time, this builds up, and some people react more severely to it than others. According to the Center for Food Safety, the unexpected effects and health risks from the exposure to GMO foods include:
- Toxicity
- Allergic Reactions
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Immuno-suppression
- Cancer
- Loss of Nutrition
As you can imagine, when you are buying convenience/fast foods, you aren’t thinking of the long-term effects. We normally are thinking in the moment.
But I’m sure if the food manufacturers were to put “This product may cause cancer”, the price of those foods would drop substantially because supply and demand tell us that when there is no demand the price is $0. I guarantee that no one could pay you to buy cancer-causing foods.
What is the cheapest healthy food?

Most people think that healthy foods must be expensive. They think of grocery shopping at expensive health food stores like Wholefoods, Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s. But the reality is that there are very reasonably priced healthy food options.
The cheapest healthy food option I love is beans. Yes, beans. As of April 26, 2022, a 15.25 oz can of Black Beans costs $.72. But just how nutritious are beans? According to Medical News Today, there are 9 main benefits of beans, which are:
- High in Protein
- High in Folate
- High in Antioxidants
- Improve Heart Health
- Reduced Risk of Cancer
- Diabetes and Glucose Metabolism
- Preventing Fatty Liver
- Controlling Appetite
- Improving Gut Health
With all of these amazing benefits, why wouldn’t you want to give them a try? Unfortunately, the typical American diet doesn’t appreciate this food group as it should, and therefore the price is quite cheap. With the abundance of various options, I’ve listed my top 10 favorite beans:
- Lima Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Black Beans
- Black-eyed Peas ( Don’t let the name fool you, they are beans)
- Garbanzo Beans
- Cannellini Beans
- Navy Beans
- Edamame
- Lentils
A simple, quick, and easy recipe you can make is hummus. Yes, hummus! My husband loves hummus, and we eat it on a regular basis. But before we start talking about favorite recipes, let’s address the elephant in the room regarding beans. Flatulence.
Do you remember the old grammar school chant, it goes like this, “ beans, beans, the more you eat them the more you toot, the better you feel”. Why is that? Why do beans cause flatulence, and what can you do so as not to find yourself in an uncomfortable position?
According to The Guardian, “Beans make us fart because they contain sugars and fiber that our bodies have a hard time digesting. When these sugars meet up with the bacteria in our large intestines, it produces gas and so we fart.”
So how could something nutritious be healthy if our bodies struggle to digest them? Well, if you do not regularly consume beans then your body will lose the ability to digest them. As we age, we no longer have the enzymes necessary to break down the sugars and fiber.
As a result, as a Certified Wellness Coach, I recommend to my clients that they include beans in their daily diet, especially if you are a vegan or vegetarian, as 1 cup of edamame contains 18.5 grams of protein.
In addition, I always recommend that my clients take enzymes with a meal. Enzymes help break down protein, carbs, and fats. With the high amount of protein in beans, you can clearly see how enzymes can help with the digestive process.
Note: The average adult should get 50-60 grams of protein per day, to maintain a healthy life.
How do you eat healthy on a low budget?
Eating healthy on a low budget means having fun and getting creative. But you must know the basics of proper nutrition to do so. Here is a list of some very important nutrition guidelines you should take into consideration:
- Consume at least 50-60 grams of protein per day
- Limit your sugar intake to 32 grams of sugar per day
- Consume green leafy vegetables daily
- Remove table salt from your diet, and consume Pink Himalayan Sea Salt with iodine
- Stay away from foods fried in oil
- Stay away from processed foods
To help you get started on your healthy eating journey, here are some of my favorite bean recipes:
Garbanzo Avocado Salad | 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained | Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 |
Black Bean Breakfast Bowl | 2 tablespoons butter | Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 |
Vegan Italian Vegetable Soup | 2 (14.5 ounce) cans vegetable broth | Step 1 Step 2 |
If you are looking for more incredible recipes go to, Easy Keto Breakfast Ideas.
Why healthier foods are more expensive?

Healthier foods tend to be more expensive primarily because they are perishable and therefore have a short shelf life. As a result, they require extra care during shipping and while in the grocery stores.
Healthier foods come from the ground, including various forms of meat, because the animals must eat the foods that come from the earth to grow and be eligible for consumption. No one wants to eat a burger from a sickly, dying cow.
Below are just a few of the reasons why healthier foods are more expensive:
- Seasonality
- Natural Disasters and Climate Change
- Price of Transportation
- Difficult Controlling Crop Yield
- Grocery Store Storage Costs
- Perishable
- No Governmental Subsidies
As you could imagine, if the government is subsidizing the growth of certain crops, such as wheat or corn, then unsubsidized (healthier) crops are at a disadvantage, because they’re automatically more expensive for farmers to produce, which doesn’t incentivize farmers to produce the more expensive crops.
I think it’s important to mention this, farmers are incentivized to plant low-quality, nutritionally inadequate crops. As a result, the easy-to-store, process, and mass-produce fast/convenience foods yield better margins for farmers, than a ripe watermelon, or spinach.
So, on your next grocery shopping trip, focus on purchasing fresh produce that is in season, and on sale. That will help keep your costs down, and you can enjoy much better-tasting produce.
Also, only purchase what you need for a week, so that you don’t over-purchase, and end up throwing, all that delicious, nutritious food in the trash. Did you know that the average family of four throws away $1,600 of produce per year!
That’s a lot of money, that’s not benefiting you, because it’s literally in the trash.
Don't throw good food away, try some of my fav recipes...

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