A MEDITERRANEAN diet may be the simplest way to boost health and live longer but for many it costs too much.
Foods full of fat and sugar are tempting to many of us because they are cheaper, according to research.
Those specifically watching the pennies spent 57p less per 1,000 calories of food in their basket than the average shopper.
Mediterranean diet
But following a Western diet full of red meat, sweets and biscuits meant they tended to snack more, eating more in both quantity and calories than those who chose healthier foods.
The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, shows that by contrast, people who spend more tend to eat less.
Those who bought healthier foods like fresh fish, olive oil and fresh fruit and vegetables were found to spend up to 63p more on every 1,000 calories in their shopping basket. But the amount they consumed, both in quantity and calories, was far less than those who followed a typical Western diet.
- Similar posts
- Junk food 'harms brain health' (25.7%)
- Foods to eat (and avoid) to beat breast cancer (20.5%)
- Fizzy drink Aspire claims to burn calories off (17.2%)
- Vitamin packed sardines back in fashion (17.2%)
- Euro E. coli outbreak advice (12.1%)
Frozen fruit and vegetables can be equally as healthy as fresh produce, the latest government advice has noted.
While in the past consumers may have been pressured into thinking that using such frozen foods in the kitchen was ‘cheating’, and not as beneficial when it comes to a family’s health, secretary of state for health Andrew Lansley has stated that they are an effective way of hitting the five-a-day target.
Indeed, he revealed that the government is now looking into including frozen fruit and vegetables in the Health Start scheme, with this potentially meaning low-income families will be able to use their food vouchers for both frozen and fresh produce.
Supporting the plans, nutritionist Amanda Ursell said: ‘Families need easy access to healthier food, and a bag of frozen fruit or vegetables from the local corner shop when fresh produce isn’t available can be a healthy lifeline to go with any meal.’
At present, the Healthy Start vouchers can also be used by families on low incomes to buy milk as well as vitamins for women and children.
The NHS Choices website advises that tinned or canned fruit and vegetables also count as part of the five-a-day goal, though only if they are without added sugar or salt.
It has long been associated with rude health, fresh local produce and relaxed family gatherings.
But now the fabled Mediterranean diet could rank alongside the Great Pyramid of Giza and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex on the Unesco World Heritage list.
Officials at Unesco are considering placing the Mediterranean diet on its list of ‘intangible’ cultural heritage.
The request for recognition of the diet has been made by the Italian government and backed up by Spain, Greece and Morocco.
For decades doctors and nutritionists have praised the benefits of the Mediterranean diet which is rich in fibre and low in fat and has contributed to longevity in many southern European countries.
It is considered one of the best recipes against a variety of health problems, including arthritis, obesity, diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease.
Cereals, olive oil, certain fish such as anchovy and tuna and a high fruit and vegetable intake, including tomatoes, broccoli and blackberries, are thought to be among its important features.
Admission to the list is made after a submission to the 24 strong United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee and is more notable for its monuments and natural wonders.
Children who eat a Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of developing asthma, but eating three or more burgers a week is linked to a higher risk, research suggests.
Researchers looked at 50,000 children from 20 countries.
Writing in the journal Thorax, they said eating fruit, vegetables and fish appeared to protect against asthma.
But they said eating burgers could be linked to other unhealthy habits, which may be the real trigger factor.
The study looked at the habits of children in both wealthy and poorer countries between 1995 and 2005. Parents were asked about their children’s diets, and whether they had ever been diagnosed with asthma or had suffered wheezing.
The effects of their diet seemed to vary depending on where they lived.
Fruit and vegetables appeared to be more protective in less affluent parts of the world, while eating lots of fish was more helpful in richer countries.
Eating at least three burgers a week was linked to a greater risk of asthma and wheezing, but only in wealthier countries.
Making fruit look good holds the key to getting children to eat more of it, a study suggests.
In tests, when offered the same amount and types of fruit, children ate far more if it was made fun and attractive, the journal Appetite reports.
The researchers, who studied nearly 100 pupils in the Netherlands and Belgium, say parents and schools should follow this example.
However, they said food presentations needed to remain innovative.
In the study of children aged four to seven, apples, strawberries and seedless grapes were put on offer, but presented in different ways.
Three diets – Mediterranean, low-fat and low-carbohydrate – are equally effective in helping reverse blocked arteries, say Israeli researchers.
The study of 140 people, reported in the journal Circulation, found diet could reduce the fatty build up in arteries.
The Ben-Gurion University team found that by the end of the two-year study, the arterial wall had been cut by 5%.
Experts said the study was interesting, but diet was not a “magic bullet”.
Atherosclerosis is a progressive condition in which the arteries thicken with fatty deposits, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.