A recipe for long life

December 17, 2004

[Always nice to see an article about food as good medicine receiving media

attention. You'll see quite a few variants of this one in your Saturday paper]

AFP

December 18, 2004

00.html

PARIS: A diet rich in fish, fruit, vegetables and a daily glass of red wine

could help people in wealthy countries extend their life span by five years

or more, according to a new study.

Doctors projected the potential impact of the so-called Polymeal, inspired

by the famous Mediterranean diet, on US health.

Using a computer model of the American adult population, they calculated

the risk of heart disease would fall by 76 per cent, women would live five

years longer on average and the life expectancy for men would rise by 6.6

years compared to those who did not follow the diet.

Their projections are based on previous research which identifies the

success of specific foods in lowering blood pressure.

The Polymeal diet proposed in the study comprises fish, eaten four times a

week; wine, amounting to 15 centilitres a day; dark chocolate (100g a day);

fruit and vegetables (400g a day); garlic (2.7g a day) and almonds (68g a day).

The new research, published in the British Medical Journal today, puts

forward the Polymeal diet as a tastier and safer alternative to the

proposed Polypill.

This was a concept put forward last year that would include, in a single

pill, specific components known to combat cholerestol and other potential

causes of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Western populations

and rates are also on the rise in fast-growing developing countries.

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