The Guardian

Fruit, veg and family life – why Spaniards are living longer

Spain is on course to become home to the world’s longest-lived people, with researchers crediting diet and lifestyle
According to a study, people in Spain will have an average lifespan of 85.8 years by 2040. Photograph: Godong/UIG/Rex/Shutterstock

The Mercado de Maravillas lives up to its name. Should you ever find yourself in Madrid and desperate to buy half a kilo of pigs’ ears, a pair of fluffy slippers, a whole beef heart, a poncho, a jar of Peruvian chilli sauce and a bottle of good, strong bleach all under one roof, the stallholders of the Market of Wonders will be happy to oblige.

Its most life-enhancing marvels, however, may lie in the piles of neatly stacked fruit and vegetables, the bags of nuts and in the treasuries of fish reclining, dead-eyed but odourless, on beds of ice.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Guardian

The Guardian4 min read
The Golden Bachelor’s Older Singletons Have Saved A Franchise
Strange as it may sound, one of the hottest shows on TV this fall has been … an old dating series now catering, for once, to senior citizens. That would be The Golden Bachelor, a new spin-off of America’s pre-eminent dating series in which a 72-year-
The Guardian6 min read
From Kurt To Elvis, JFK And More, What Movies Did Stars See Just Before They Died?
Clad in black and wearing a cheeky-chappie grin, the artist and author Stanley Schtinter resembles Damon Albarn dressed as an undertaker. That suits his new book, Last Movies, which refracts cultural history through the prism of films watched by nota
The Guardian4 min read
Michael Bishop obituary
Michael Bishop, who has died aged 78, wrote many stories that inhabit the borderlands between science fiction and mainstream, drawing on influences as diverse as Ray Bradbury and Jorge Luis Borges, Thomas M Disch and Philip K Dick, Dylan Thomas and T

Related Books & Audiobooks