The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Food Prices

“Good” and “rising food costs” are terms not often used in tandem – the only good thing about price increases is learning how to avoid them!

Rising food prices are generally considered bad, of course. Increased costs place pressure on household finances and affects more than just the most vulnerable in society. What’s even uglier is the resulting impact of nutrition, when fruit and vegetables are more expensive than things like potato chips and soft drinks.

Humans thrive on a wholefood diet filled with a variety of fresh produce that’s packed with naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. When fruit and vegetable prices spike, it not only costs more, but is harder to meet our nutritional needs. This is one of the reasons why Nutrient Rescue was founded – to offer the benefits of locally grown organic wholefoods as a year-round accessible option.

Why is quality nutrition so important?

Local nutrition expert Dr. Julia Rucklidge runs courses at the University of Canterbury, which investigate the role of nutrition on health - mental health in particular.  A reoccurring theme is we’re not built to run on poor quality nutrients. Dozens of studies show that the more you eat whole, real foods, the better your mental and physical health. The flip side is that a diet consisting of ultra-processed foods has been found to be a major cause of several rising health issues. Dr. Rucklidge advocates for increasing your intake of micronutrients (key vitamins and minerals) because although ultra-processed foods may have enough carbohydrates, fats and proteins for our bodies, the type and mix is likely to be unhealthy. Plus the micronutrient content is woefully lacking compared to wholefoods. She says “Micronutrients are absolutely essential for everything that is going on in the whole body. Cut out the crap and start including real whole foods”.

Epidemiological and clinical evidence shows that food can impact our metabolism, our genes, and our microbiome. The more whole, plant foods your diet includes, the better your health. In an ideal world, healthcare professionals would be encouraged to use nutrition as a tool to help prevent ailments before they became an issue. It may sound dramatic, but nutrition has that much importance to our wellbeing.

To be able to get the best possible nutrient-dense foods into your daily diet, seasonal fruit and vegetables sourced locally is best. Under the current food inflationary pressures, options are often limited. This is the basis of why Nutrient Rescue designed their Shots - to help fill the nutrition gap. These are superfood Shots made from taking whole berries and leafy greens that are then prepared by processing as little as possible to retain high nutritional qualities. The Double Shot (which is the Green Shot and Red Shot combined) has eight different fruit and vegetables organically grown in New Zealand, and each chosen based upon their unique, nutritional profiles. All possible from about $2 a day!

To learn more about the impact of good nutrition on health, check out our other blogs or flick us an email at info@nutrientrescue.nz.

Written by Andrew Simcock, CEO