Cook at home, live longer

Sydney: Tucking into a homecooked meal can make you live longer, new research says. 

    Researchers from Monash University, the National Defence Medical Centre and the National Health Research Institute, Taiwan, found that people who cooked at home at least five times a week were 47% more likely to still be alive after 10 years. 
    The study looked at the cooking habits of Taiwanese who were over 65 and lived independently. When researchers followed up a decade later, they found that among those who survived, frequent cooking was a significant factor in their health and long life, the journal Public Health Nutrition reported. Of the participants, 31% reportedly prepared meals at home at least five times per week, 17% cooked no more than twice a week, nine per cent cooked at home three to five times per week, while the remainder (43%) never cooked at home, according to a university statement. 
    Mark Wahlqvist, emeritus professor from Monash University's Asia PacificHealth and Nutrition Centre at the Monash Asia Institute, who led the study, said those who cooked more often had a better diet. 
    "Those who cooked more frequently had a better sense of nutritional knowledge than those who didn't. Cooking is an activity that requires both good mental and physical health," Wahlqvist said. "Those who cooked more frequently had a better diet and more favourable nutrient densities. It is therefore possible that cooking is related to longevity through food choice and quality," he added. IANS