Buy Your Food With Cash (Not Credit) and You'll Be Healthier

By Lexi Petronis, Glamour magazine

File this research in the "Who Knew?" drawer: According to a new study, how you buy food influences what you buy. Here's why checking out with cash may keep you healthier...

The study from the Journal of Consumer Research found that people paying with cash buy healthier foods and fewer impulse items. People who pay with credit or debit cards load up on impulse buys and unhealthier food items.

Related: 21 Healthy Snacking Tips

Researchers say the "pain" of buying with cash causes people to be more mindful of what they put in their carts--putting in what they need and resisting unhealthy impulse items (like those way-too-tempting chocolate bars right next to the cashier). They also suggest that there could be a connection between the rise of obesity in the country and the fact that more people are using credit and debit cards in lieu of cash.

Do you use cash or credit at the grocery store? How do you keep from buying impulse items? What's your food-shopping strategy?

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