#177 Wealthy is healthy

"Health is wealth" - Jhooth bolte hain log

Yesterday, I was filing my taxes—one of those painfully mundane tasks that scream, You’re an adult now. No more skipping things because you don’t feel like it, no more passing it off to someone else. No more “Oops, I forgot” excuses that work when you’re a kid. You have to do it. Right after that, I stepped out for grocery shopping, and somewhere between the aisles of Ralphs, a thought struck me—one that led to this blog. Funny how ideas come to you at the most unexpected moments.

To give you some context, last year, I was in my final semester of grad school. Living in Los Angeles, juggling classes, and thinking about my financial future, I decided to open a Robinhood account. My goal? Simple. Make $30 in profit every week through trading. Why $30? Because that was my weekly grocery bill. It wasn’t about survival; I wasn’t struggling to afford food. It was about the satisfaction of making ends meet on my own terms. And honestly? It was fun. It felt like a game and I think I was somewhat pro at it.

Every week, I’d make small trades, carefully calculating my moves to hit that $30 mark. Sometimes it was a dollar or two per trade, but it all added up.

Bought Nvidia at $80 (WOAH), sold at $82.5 (WHY?), Profit = $1.75 (Taxes!) => Happy Me.

I loved the game. But now, as I sit here filing my taxes, I’m feeling the other side of it—having to report every single trade manually (something you have to do as an immigrant, no shortcuts). What once felt like a smart hustle now feels like a tedious chore.

But let’s get back to groceries.

Yesterday, as I walked through the aisles at Ralphs, I realized something. My grocery shopping habits have completely changed. Back then, I optimized for cost. The budget was $30 per week. Now, I optimize for quality. And that shift made me uncomfortable.

You know people love to say, Health is wealth. Jhooth bolte hain log. In reality? Wealth is health.

Take cooking oil. As a student, I picked the cheapest one on the shelf—$4 a bottle. It made perfect sense financially. Now? I grab the $16 one because I know the other one is bad for health. And I can afford the better one. But if it’s bad for health, why is it on the shelf? Why is the unhealthy option even an option?

The answer is frustratingly simple: because it’s cheap.

And why is it cheap? Because it’s in demand.

And why is it in demand? Because people don’t have a choice. They cannot afford better.

Market follows demand. It’s a cycle, a deadlock. The healthier option is expensive because fewer people buy it. But people won’t buy it unless it becomes affordable. And then of course - we are living in times where an Organic label makes a product expensive by default. Don’t ask why. Because nobody knows. And it’s not just cooking oil—it’s milk, produce, even something as basic as eggs.

Why does basic nutrition cost extra? Shouldn’t all milk have essential nutrients?

Bread? The cheap one is packed with preservatives and chemicals, but the whole grain, organic, non-GMO one is double the price.

Meat? The affordable option comes from factory farms where animals are pumped with antibiotics and hormones, while the “humanely raised, antibiotic-free” version is priced as a luxury.

Even water. Why does clean, filtered water come in a bottle for $2, while tap water—which millions rely on—is questionable in so many cities?

It all comes down to the same thing: unhealthy isn’t an “option”—it’s the default.

Why are the things that harm us are more accessible than the things that heal us?

It’s frustrating to realize that better health isn’t just a matter of choice—it’s a matter of privilege. The irony is, the people who need healthier food the most are the ones who can least afford it. The system isn’t broken—it works exactly as it’s designed to. And that’s the real problem.

Why is the unhealthy option even an option? Why does better health cost more? Why does the system make it so hard for people to choose the better option? Wealth decides health. And until that changes, “health is wealth” will remain just that—a phrase.

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