Likewise we are more health conscious than ever before but yet obesity rates are rising in most parts of the world faster than imaginable. We are all aware of the amount of exercise that we have to do on a weekly basis and how much fruit and vegetables we have to eat but yet the world is getting fatter. There are many reasons for this but the main reason has to be poor diet. Sugar and salt levels in most foods is vastly greater than the levels of twenty years ago, couple this with the fact that fast food is for many people a stable diet then you can begin to see where the problems lie.



One answer many lay in eating more Italian foods. Most people love pasta and are more than able to make a plate of pasta for themselves and their families but how many people actually make their own tomato sauce, free of added sugar and salt made with totally natural produce, free from additives and preservatives and ready to eat in less than 25 minutes

It's no coincidence that Italy, and particularly Sardinia have the longest life expectancy of anywhere in Europe. Coupled with a wonderful climate the diet Italy / Sardinia id based around tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, fresh meat, fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and pasta. Everything you need to have a healthy balanced diet.

Go to any supermarket in Italy and try to find a pre-made pasta sauce, you won't find one anywhere, why not? The answer is because although the Italians consume more tomatoes than anywhere else in the world they also know what is good for there bodies, and a ready made tomato sauce with all the additives that goes into it doesn't come in that healthy in the whole scheme of things.

I guarantee you that if you spend twenty minutes making your family a fresh healthy tomato sauce you will never go back to buying a ready made version. As well as this, coupled with the recommended amount of exercise each week you will soon find that you really can make a difference to your waist-line.

The beauty about Italian food is its simplicity; it really is a case of less is more. A basic tomato sauce consists of nothing more than tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. To make the sauce takes no more than twenty minutes from start to finish, cook the pasta (use wholemeal if you're really health conscious) while the sauce is cooking and you should be sitting down to a very healthy and nutritious meal within half an hour.

I can't guarantee that Italian food will solve the world of all of it's obesity problems but if we all started to take a leaf out of their cook books and start to eat a basic healthy diet consisting of the above ingredients we will be taking giant steps in the right direction.