Jean-Christophe Novelli and Matt Tebbutt go Head to Head to Make Healthy & Tasty Family Meals

Jean-Christophe Novelli and Matt Tebbutt go Head to Head to Make Healthy & Tasty Family Meals

LONDON, May 17, 2010/PRNewswire/ -- A new primetime TV programme starting tomorrow aims to
encourage parents to take action to improve their families' health. `Family
Food Fight with Flora', airing for six weeks from Tuesday 18th May at 7.30pm
on Five, sees celebrity chefs Jean-Christophe Novelli and Matt Tebbutt go
head-to-head each episode to train two families to make healthy recipes, and
change their bad eating habits.

Following worrying new research showing that more than half (58%) [i] of
families in the UK have no idea how much saturated fat they consume daily, or
even what the Guideline Daily Allowance (GDA) for it is, the time for
changing the way families cook is evident.

The report into the nation's heart health, commissioned by
Flora Heart Age, highlights a lack of awareness of the difference between
good and bad fats - unsaturated and saturated, however a promising
three-quarters (71%) of UK parents want to understand more.

Saturated fats are particularly prevalent in processed foods,
takeaways and ready meals. With nearly two-thirds (59%) of UK families
consuming as many as three takeaways a week, the country's heart health is in
need of help. Parents surveyed admitted time (42%) and money (19%) were the
two biggest factors for not making fresh, homecooked meals more often.

In order for families at home to be able to create healthy,
homecooked meals for their families, Jean-Christophe and Matt have created a
series of recipes to show that heart healthy food can deliver on taste as
well as nutrition. The recipes contain Flora instead of butter - small
changes like this can make a big difference; for example, swapping just 20g
of butter for Flora when cooking can save the same amount of saturated fat
that is in five rashers of bacon (10.8g)[ii], and can be a great step towards
keeping hearts healthy.

Additionally, Flora has launched a special Heart Age
Calculator[iii] at http://www.floraheartage.com to help families to find out
what shape their heart is in. Better still, by making small lifestyle
changes, everyone can easily help lower their Heart Age. Over half a million
people in the UK have used the calculator to date, with their average Heart
Age being 3.78 years higher than their chronological age.[iv]

Flora Brand Manager Alastair McKerrow says, "Heart disease is
the leading cause of death in Europe, and ageing healthily depends on looking
after your heart, but our research shows many people are currently neglecting
this vital organ."

"We've developed the `Heart Age Calculator' to remind and
encourage people to find out what shape their heart is in. We're on a mission
to get as many people as possible to take the test!"

Jean-Christophe Novelli explains why he's supporting the Flora
campaign: "Most people know they need to eat more healthily, but don't have
time to re-invent their favourite recipes. The recipes we've created for the
TV show are easy to do and designed to be healthier, without compromising on
flavour. We hope they take the headache out of mealtimes and give mums peace
of mind that they're helping to look after their families' hearts."

For more information on the Flora `Heart Age' campaign, to download
healthy recipes and join the dedicated Facebook page, visit
http://www.floraheartage.com

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[i] Online interviews carried out by Redshift research with a randomly
selected, nationally representative, sample of male and female UK adult
panellists with children between the ages of 4 and 18 from the Crowdology
Research Community. 1000 interviews were conducted between 22nd April and
26th April 2010

[ii] vi Values based on McCance and Widdowson's the Composition of Foods:
Summary Edition (6th Edition) and average market portion sizes, April 2010

[iii] 'Heart Age' is based on a well-established tool called Framingham
risk score which provides a validated way of determining a person's risk of
developing cardiovascular disease over the next ten years. Heart Age is
calculated using information about factors that are influencing people's
heart health such as age, gender, blood pressure, total and HDL (good)
cholesterol, smoking and diabetic status.

The Flora 'Heart Age Calculator' does not provide diagnostic information,
does not evaluate an individual's medical condition and does not provide
medical advice. Always consult your Doctor for medical information and
advice.

[iv] Figures correct to end of March 2010.

Source: Flora Heart Age

Notes to Editors: For more information, images or to arrange interviews with Jean-Christophe Novelli or Matt Tebbutt, please contact: Tel: Flora Press Office: +44(0)207-908-6577, Email: florapressoffice@lexispr.com

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