SIR – We
are adjured to adopt the Mediterranean diet and eat as healthy Italians do. What
is perplexing about this is that Italians, though they do indeed have the
longest life expectancy in Europe, seldom embrace this diet
themselves.
The Mediterranean diet, we are told, is rich in fruit, vegetables and
fish, as well as nuts and pulses, wholemeal grains and olive oil. It also
eschews meat and dairy.
Yet an Italian’s typical breakfast comprises sticky pastries laden with
forbidden sugar. Pizza and pasta are national dishes, but neither is a healthy
option; the latter is made from the same ingredients as white supermarket bread.
Fish is not a prominent feature of Italian cuisine, and most of it is frozen or
farmed. Meat consumption includes a wide range of processed meats, such as
prosciutto and salami, that are high in salt and saturated fat. Dairy includes
many deservedly celebrated cheeses.
That leaves olive oil and tomatoes, consumed by most Italians. The former
is also a staple for much of the British middle class. So is it just the
tomatoes, eaten in a far great volume there than here, which give Italians
stronger hearts and a longer life?
Patrick Hickman-Robertson
Eastbury, Berkshire. Telegraph Letters.
Eastbury, Berkshire. Telegraph Letters.
