Being Cheap

Being Cheap Can Cost You Your Health!

There is an obvious need in our country for us, as individuals, to be conservative with our money. With credit card debts racking up to record high rates, we need to watch what we spend our money on and to get the best value for our money. Now with that being said, sometimes when we are careful with our money, we tend to get “cheap” in the wrong areas.

Take those of us who can’t stand to see food go to waste, or those of us whose parents made us eat every last morsel on our plates before we were allowed to be excused. I fit into both categories so I know that some people gorge themselves until they can hardly move if there is still food on the table. What about the times you go to an all-you-can-eat buffet? Since you want to get the best value for your money do you find yourself eating until the buttons pop off your pants?

Then there are the times that you have a craving for something and you go to the store to get whatever it is that you are craving, but you find you need to buy the whole package. Let’s use cookies in this example. You bring the $1.99 cookies home and instead of eating one and getting rid of the rest, you eat 2-3 every night for the next week.

Now, how is this costing you your health? There are two things occurring in the above examples that are bad for your health and can cause future problems: overeating and sugar consumption. Just these two things done on a consistent basis can contribute to a plethora of health problems: obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney damage, tooth decay, digestive disorders, atherosclerosis, (I can go on and on).  Is the final cost of unhealthiness worth saving a few pennies in the end?

Ø In the last 20 years, sugar consumption in the U. S. increased from 26 lbs per person per year to 135 lbs per person per year.

Ø In the late 1800s sugar consumption in the U.S. was 5 lbs per person per year.

Ø Each can of cola has 39 grams of sugar which is about 10, yes 10, teaspoons of sugar! Try eating that in one sitting!

Ø Don’t even think of substituting the sugar with artificial sweeteners because there is a whole mess of other health problems that goes along with that. But that’s for another Did You Know?!