Britons 'healthier in medieval times'

People in medieval times were healthier than modern Britons because they did not suffer from cholesterol related diseases, it was claimed yesterday.

While those living in the Roman and Tudor periods faced hazards such as the "pox and plague", it seems that their daily diet lacked foods which could lead to heart disease.

Excessive levels of cholesterol were non-existent in Roman and medieval times. It is a current phenomenon and a direct result of modern excess and a lack of exercise.

Research by Lloydspharmacy, the chemist chain, found that the daily diet consumed by Britons in the Roman period of fruit, fish, whole grains, vegetables and olive oil washed down with red wine amounted to approximately 120g of fat, 80g of protein and 600g of carbohydrates.

Two thousand years later the average British diet is higher in fat, lower in fruit and vegetables and higher in refined sugar, all of which have contributed to the rise in obesity-related disease and cholesterol.

Roger Henderson, a GP who carried out the research, said his findings suggested the medieval diet was by far the healthiest for the average man - low in saturated fats and transfats, high in vegetables and a moderate amount of weak alcohol daily.

Combined with a highly active workload this meant their risk of heart disease, diabetes and diseases linked to obesity were much less than in 2007.

But the average lifespan in medieval times was about half of what it is now because many died in childbirth or from infections. Dr Henderson said: "The Roman diet was healthy provided you were wealthy enough to afford the fresh fruit and vegetables and fish so common in the Mediterranean diet. It was probably higher in fat overall than the medieval diet but far healthier than today."

The research also claimed that daily exercise has decreased by at least an average of 96 per cent since Roman and medieval times from eight hours a day to less than 20 minutes due to increasingly sedentary lives.

From: Telegraph.co.uk