What Israelis love to eat

The typical Israeli diet is not high in fat, according to a new government survey.

The international recommended daily requirement is that there should be less than 30 percent fats in one’s daily caloric intake. In Israel, according to the study, for women it is 32 percent and for men, 33 percent.

“With balanced nutrition, we can achieve the international standards within five years,” said Dr. Dorit Nitzan Klusky, Director of the Ministry’s Food Services Division. “Israel is much better off than other Mediterranean countries where fats are as much as 37 percent of their daily diet.”

The results came from a new Health Ministry Food Services study that assessed the country’s general health and nutrition. The study's authors compared the diets of Israeli Jews and Arabs, men and women in comparison to guidelines set by international organizations and the Health Ministry. The two-year survey was conducted among 3,242 people who filled out questionnaires regarding their food intake over the previous 24 hours.

“We were positively surprised in a few areas,” she said.

Too little calcium

Klusky said the study shows Israelis consume only about half the calcium required on a daily basis. She called for people to increase the amount of skim milk products in their diet, and said calcium levels are even lower  in the Israeli Arab sector.

Researchers were also surprised to discover that Israelis don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables.

“We thought we were a country of fresh produce but we were let down,” Klusky said. The daily requirement is five portions of fruits or vegetables a day. Israelis consume between three and six, and it’s even lower and in the Arab sector, according to the survey.

So what do we love? Carbs and sweets. The study showed that Arabs eat more whole grains (bread and pitas included) than Jews, and Jews eat more pastry than Arabs do. The study also showed that Israeli Jews eat more 1.6 times more sweets than Israeli Arabs.

“Our conclusion from the study is that people need to reduce the bread in their diet, and we urge the large bakeries to enrich the flours they use with vitamins from the B group,” Klusky said.

One unsurprising finding was that Jewish Israelis eat more on Thursdays, Fridays and Shabbatot.

Further, four-fifths percent of the people who took part in the survey said they eat breakfast, which bodes well for general health, Klusky said.

She also stressed the need for organized meals.

“We need a larger amount of calories and lunch time and fewer at dinner,” she said.

Klusky said the leading diseases in Israel are cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

"With proper nutrition education and the availability of healthier foods it is possible to improve the situation,” she said. “Israel has healthy food, which is sometimes expensive. The costs need to be lower so that the products are accessible to every citizen.”

Klusky recommended lowering consumption to 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day. The research showed that Israeli women consume 290 mgs and men 323 mgs of cholesterol a day.

Regarding saturated fats, the Health Ministry recommends they be 7 to 10 percent of the daily diet. Among Israelis fats represent between 9 and 10 percent of the daily diet.