If Bill Briggs didn’t have medical records to back up his story, it would be just anecdotal evidence and I wouldn’t mention it. But he does and the bottom line is eating on the cheap — eating the wrong inexpensive foods — raised his cholesterol dramatically. So says his doctor.
Add in a new study that finds losing one’s job increases the odds of a heart attack or stroke and we have millions at risk, even before cheap eats.
Back to Briggs. That’s him in the photo. Forty-five and with parents on cholesterol-lowering drugs, so he and his doctor have kept track of his cholesterol. He’s a freelance writer and was affected by the shrinking magazine market before the September crash; he began eating on the cheap in early 2008. “I sliced my grocery bill in half by dining on a tasty array of hot dogs, grilled-cheese sandwiches, chicken wings, fish sticks and the occasional $2.89 fast food monster meal.”
He calls it “boy food” and says the effects weren’t obvious because he still went to the gym and his weight didn’t change a bit. Only when his serum cholesterol shot up by 46 points in a year, putting him in the borderline high category, did he and his doctor connect the dots. He translates it this way: “Put another way — for roughly every 95 points the Dow dropped since early 2008, my cholesterol gained one point.”
I’ve been thinking about his story since I read it Friday on MSNBC and I urge anyone who’s tightening the belt to read it because, in addition to being well-written, he offers solid information, even specific foods, for eating on the cheap without raising cholesterol. And he’s honest about his changes:
In truth, the first weeks of the healthy diet were rough. But in time, I actually started to enjoy cannellini beans drizzled with olive oil and fresh lemon or brown rice sprinkled with shaved parmesan.
And my grocery bill hasn’t jumped any higher.
Briggs still misses some of the things he ate when he had what he calls “Dollar Menu Disease” but that’s trumped by the fact that now he’s looking forward to his next cholesterol count. I hope he updates us.
For a tasty, budget-friendly recipe using cannellini beans and olive oil, please see Herbed Cannellini Dip.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Eating healthy on the cheap may not be as easy, but it’s better than a bypass.
Nate’s last blog post..Pavlova Recipe
Well said, Nate. Perfect, akshuly.
This scares me to death! My darling is wonderful in EVERY WAY~*except* his eating. He LOVES hot dogs and gets around using my wheat bread by buying white hamburger buns. I LOVE beans, but he and the kids won’t touch ‘em. Being responsible for the eating habits of a family and correlating it to their health really puts this all into perspective!!!! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
(((((HUGS))))) sandi’s last blog post..Prayer Monday
I feel for you, sandi. We can’t force other adults to change their eating habits and nobody likes to be nagged. At least with kids we can set an example that might stick. {{{hugs back at ya!}}}
I’ve been looking without success for an entry I read about struggling to continue eating organic foods in an “iffy” economic situation. It certainly is related to this interesting and significant post.
One thing I’m learning is that quality can trump quantity in food, too. I’m still buying Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, and good olive oil, and grating fresh parmesan, and getting meat from a real butcher – because the food tastes so good, it gets eaten, not left to moulder in the back of the fridge until it looks like a kid’s science experiement. That saves money, too.
Unfortunately, what Mr. Briggs experienced is the part of the reason our kids are blowing up like fat little balloons. School districts trying to feed kids “on the cheap” aren’t doing anyone any favors – especially the children whose health they are affecting.
shoreacres’s last blog post..Claude Monet ~ Alive & Well in Mississippi
Is it this one, Organic and Affordable? If so, I searched on the word organic and it was on the second page.
You’re so right about quality. Not only do we eat them till they’re gone, in some ways I believe they satiate us faster or with less food. It took longer than it should have for me to learn, down to my bones, that a bargain’s not a bargain if most of it goes to waste.
I’m glad you enjoyed Briggs’s story. It grabbed me and didn’t let go.