Do you have a diet filled with all of the essentials?
Fussy eaters are worrying themselves with their eating habits as more than 30% think that their avoidance of certain foods is leaving htem deficient of important nutrients.
The study of 2,000 people, commissioned by Seven Seas to launch the “Scale of Confusion” Omega-3 report, found smell was the biggest put-off for people when considering trying new foods and looking to increase variety in their diet. This was closely followed by taste, texture and appearance.
With such a large percent of the population struggling for variety in their diet, many Brits are missing out on essential nutrients such as Omega-3, which is found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines.
Omega-3 cannot be produce by the body so it’s important to obtain its benefits via Omega-3 rich foods, such as oily fish. The potential benefits of consuming Omega-3 are widely respected and include coronary vascular disease, immune function and rheumatoid arthritis.
The UK government advises that a healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, one of them being oily. However, most people in the UK are not achieving this requirement.
A Seven Seas spokesperson commented: “It’s surprising to see that many staple foods are regularly avoided or haven’t been tried.
“It’s hard to keep track and manage our diets day to day to ensure we’re setting ourselves up well, but there is clearly a worrying trend of people avoiding many of the foods that can be of great benefit to health and wellbeing.”
The Seven Seas report reveals the scale of the confusion that a quarter of people in the UK have no idea what Omega-3 is. Amongst those who are aware, a fifth don’t know what the health benefits are and 67% of people don’t know how much Omega-3 they need.
Several oily fish varieties are among the least popular types of fish in the UK. Anchovies, herring and halibut are among the best sources of Omega-3 but are regularly eaten by less than 5% of the population.
Despite this comprehensive evidence of a nationwide Omega-3 deficiency only one in ten people have been advised by a healthcare professional to increase their intake of Omega-3 via diet or supplementation.
The Seven Seas spokesperson continued: "The average Western diet does not provide the levels of Omega-3 recommended for health because many people, including those in the UK, do not eat enough oily fish on a regular basis. Because of this, food supplements can be used to ‘top up’ Omega 3 levels."
Tagged in Nutrition Diet Healthy eating