Leading nutritionists and dietitians have conducted a study to find the world best diet. The league table was constructed on the rates of obesity; heart disease, diabetes and life expectancy. In addition the study also factored in diet-related cancers in relation to each country, and typical food items consumed in weekly shops.
The study revealed that if you want to live longer and have a healthier lifestyle then you should look to get yourself over to Iceland, or at the very least take notice of their diet. For clarity, that's Iceland the country and not the frozen retail giant!
The study revealed that Iceland were crowned champions due to their combination of fresh fish, high quality meat and dairy products.
In at second place were Italy and Greece with the Mediterranean diet, with Japan snapping at their heels in fourth place. The question is what do these counties have in common in terms of diet? The short answer is that these diets consist of quality fresh food items that are made into meals in their purest form. The Mediterranean diet is a fantastic example of the right balance between delicious food and fresh ingredients. Their food is rich in fruit and vegetables, and low in quantities of processed food. This combination provides a balanced diet which improves overall health.
Although Japan may be ranked just behind the Mediterranean diet, it should also be recognised that Japan has the highest life expectancy for women in the world. This is due to a diet full of fresh vegetables and fish. If it weren’t for the high levels of salt found in soy sauce which has been linked to causing strokes, then we could have expected to see this diet higher up the table.
However it is the men of Iceland who are living the longest in the world. The evidence concludes that the shift away from ready meals and processed foods is of central importance. The closer food is to its natural form, the better it is for you. A typical family’s weekly shop contains humble food items, which are cooked from scratch.
I’m not proposing that here in the UK, we renounce all ties to ready meals and say goodbye to those frozen pizza’s in our homes for good. Rather we should be more careful when reading the nutritional labels in our Supermarkets to try and have a more balanced and varied diet. There are still treat days after all!
It only takes a quick Google search to inform us that the UK has the highest level of obesity in Western Europe.
Cooking from scratch does ensures that you can control what’s going into your food and will prevent those nasty hidden additives and preservatives from ending up on your plate. It’s these additives and preservatives which are present in ready meals which are a major contributor to a poor diet.
Although we live in a fast paced world and fast food seems like the easy option, there are still small steps we can take towards a healthier lifestyle.
Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label that uses a colour-coding system of a mixture of red, amber and green. If you are choosing similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers if you want to make a healthier choices.
Moving away from processed foods is without doubt a move towards a healthier lifestyle. If all else fails you can always treat yourself to an Italian; Greek or a Japanese restaurant is you’re stuck for ideas!
