Affordable Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet, is no easy undertaking. Not least because of its high cost. A new study published on Thursday in the journal Health Affairs calculates that it would cost the average American an extra $380 in fruits and vegetables per year to meet the government's recommendation for potassium intake alone.
The study found that for each 1% increase in calories from saturated fat, food costs decline by 28¢; for each 1% increase in calories from added sugar, the savings equal 7¢
Based on data from the Seattle Obesity Study,
in which a regionally representative sample of 1,123 adults filled out a survey about their food-consumption patterns, expenses and caloric intake, Drewnowski and his team calculated what it would cost for people to improve their diets to meet government guidelines.
Specifically, the researchers looked at the cost of boosting the four main nutrients that are most lacking in the average American diet: dietary fiber, potassium, calcium and vitamin D. To determine food prices, researchers averaged costs from three large conventional grocery chains: Albertsons, Safeway and Quality Food Centers.