Retro Report-January, 1996:Britons Live On a Diet of Half-Truths

Summary

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Britons have become a nation of self-styled nutrition experts, but most of us are living on a diet of half-truths and old wives tales in pursuit of a healthy eating regime, a survey claims today. Many consumers have drawn up their own hit list of foods to axe from their diet, sacrificing traditional staples such as milk, sugar and butter. But few had blacklisted alcohol, tea or coffee, which are said to be three of the most toxic substances around. The NOP survey, commissioned by Readers Digest to launch Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal, a new book on safe and healthy eating, shows that a quarter of consumers have cut sugar, butter and beef from their diets. One in five avoid full-fat milk and chocolate, but only four per cent have cut back on alcohol. The most common reason given for cutting out certain foods is that they are thought to be fattening, although half the survey's respondents cited fears of aggravating blood pressure, and 20 per cent said they avoided dairy foods because they thought there was a risk of illness such as mad cow disease or salmonella.

The research also found that the media have more influence over the national diet than doctors and that mother's advice is heeded less than that of food manufacturers.

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Retro Report-January, 1996:Britons Live On a Diet of Half-Truths

The books editor, Alas...

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