You know the sorts of questions they ask: Do you smoke? Have you ever been tempted to write 'only when I get hot'? How much alcohol do you drink? This is a trick question. They are asking you how much, not if you drink or not, because they now assume everybody does. If you try to be clever and reply that you only drink socially, or have the odd tipple every now and again, then you get labelled as a binge drinker!



They will ask about your exercise regime. Now everyone has a different idea of what constitutes moderate exercise. For some, it's a four mile hike before breakfast and for others it's getting up to change the channels on the TV as opposed to using the remote control.

The life insurance companies will want to know about previous medical history. This is something that will be picked apart with a fine tooth comb should any future claim be made so everything that is in your knowledge should be divulged. Funnily enough, they don't ask about your sex life or mood swings. Both affect health in quite a big way. It could also be suggested that an active sex life that releases endorphins for the upbeat mood would be better than to be a non-sexually active athlete.

Diet is one big thing that will keep private lifeinsurance premiums down if we can honestly say that we do what we can to stick to a healthy one. However, ideas on what is healthy and what isn't vary greatly with every newspaper or magazine that we open. What's good for us one day will carry government health warnings the next!

We have always been told that food should be as fresh as possible and if it's not, then it's pointless eating it for the vitamins and minerals. Ideas on this have now changed. Canned and frozen foods were put on the same inferior par when compared to fresh foods but ideas are a-changing. Techniques for freezing food have now changed to such a degree that it means the food is as good for us as completely fresh, particularly when it comes to fish.

Twenty or thirty years ago, food like fish fingers consisted of poor quality fish mush that had no real nutritional value. Today, fish is frozen within minutes of being caught out at sea, capturing all the goodness and suspending it in time until it is on our plates, thus providing all the goodness we need.

It is essential that the food is properly cleaned and wrapped to prevent ice crystals forming and spoiling the food but fisherman are quite adept at this method now.

The same method applies to fruit and vegetables which can now reach us complete with vitamin C as rich as the day it was picked. Minimal cooking is also recommended for us to obtain the most nutrition from our food. We can also be sure that this frozen food is as fresh as it comes because there is no real definition of 'fresh' so when we think we are getting fresh food because we pick it off the supermarket shelf in its raw state, there really is no telling just how old it is and there is likely to be less goodness in this than in the frozen food.

So, next time you're food shopping, spare a though for your life insurance premiums and head straight for the freezer.