Women eating the Polymeal will also live significantly longer, nearly five years more than women not eating the meal. They will also put off the onset of heart disease for eight years longer.

each ingredient cuts heart disease, blood pressure or cholesterol levels by varying amounts, (150ml wine daily for instance reduces heart disease by 32%) and worked out the combined effect of the ingredients. They then calculated the potential effect across an ongoing study of American adults.

The findings follow research last year (2003) into a 'Polypill', a combination of drugs taken in one dose which was designed to reduce heart disease by more than 80%. The authors of the Polymeal study were searching for a non-pharmaceutical alternative.

In Western society we are all at risk from the causes of cardiovascular disease, say the authors, and the diseases that accompany it. Following the Polymeal promises to be an effective, non-pharmacological, safe and tasty means to increasing life expectancy and reducing heart disease across the population, they conclude.