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By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Researchers recently examined how much food cost when people with type 2 diabetes ate their usual diet, when they ate a plant-based but non-vegan diet called a DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and when they ate a whole food vegan diet (1).

What is the study?

Twelve adult subjects completed all parts of the study. They all had type 2 diabetes and were using insulin. For the first week of the study, subjects were told to eat the way they were used to eating and to keep a record of everything they ate or drank. During the second and the fourth weeks of the study, subjects were provided with a DASH diet. This is a diet which focuses on whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. It limits use of high sodium foods, added sugar, and saturated fat. During the third week of the study, subjects were provided with a whole foods vegan diet which consisted of whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Added oils and solid fats were excluded. During the second, third, and fourth weeks of the study, prepared foods were delivered to the subjects twice weekly. They could eat additional food of their own choosing as long as it was in keeping with the diet they were assigned to at that time. They kept records of the food they ate.

The researchers used the subjects’ food records to calculate how much their food cost. They also adjusted the cost of food eaten away from home (at restaurants for example) to only reflect the cost of ingredients and not the cost of labor and other non-food costs.

What did this study find?

As reported in another article, both the whole foods vegan diet and the DASH diet resulted in significant reductions in blood glucose and in insulin dosages (2). These positive changes were not necessarily associated with a higher food cost. On average, food cost the least when participants ate a whole foods vegan diet. The cost of this diet was $9.78 per day ($8.83 per day when costs were adjusted for food eaten away from home). The DASH diet cost $12.74 per day ($11.81 when costs were adjusted for food eaten away from home). The subjects’ usual diet cost $15.72 per day ($11.01 when costs were adjusted for food eaten away from home.

What are the study’s limitations?

This was a small study and subjects were only on each diet for a short period. It did not assess the time costs associated with meal preparation. Researchers purchased the food for the DASH diet and whole foods vegan diet periods. Costs could have been different if study subjects had purchased their own food.

The researchers state that “In the US, it is estimated that 10.2% of the population is food insecure and 5.6% of the population lives in food deserts. The inferences from our study are distinct from the issues of food insecurity and food deserts, and we certainly do not intend to minimize the serious barriers to achieving health presented by food deserts and food insecurity” (1).

Are there practical implications?

A healthy diet does not have to be expensive. Whole foods vegan diets which do not include highly processed foods can be a way to eat healthfully while keeping food costs down. Additional, non-food, cost savings may be seen if insulin needs are reduced as was seen in this study.

To read more about low-cost vegan diets see:

Low-Cost Vegan Menus Based on USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Budget

Low-Cost Vegan Meal Plans

Quick and Easy Low-Cost Vegan Menus

Vegan at the Dollar Tree

Favorite Inexpensive Vegan Foods of Summer 2021 Interns

References

1. Campbell EK, Taillie L, Blanchard LM, et al. Post hoc analysis of food costs associated with Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, whole food, plant-based diet, and typical baseline diet of individuals with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus in a nonrandomized crossover trial with meals provided. Am J Clin Nutr. Published online December 30, 2023.
2. Campbell TM, Campbell EK, Attia J, et al. The acute effects of a DASH diet and whole food, plant-based diet on insulin requirements and related cardiometabolic markers in individuals with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2023;202:110814.

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