Russia Touts 'Crisis Diet' for Cash-Strapped Citizens

Government urges return to traditional foods, for thrift and nutrition
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 11, 2009 12:30 PM CDT
Russia Touts 'Crisis Diet' for Cash-Strapped Citizens
Chinese farmers pick cabbage, 150 km East of Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, September 4, 2000.   (Getty Images)

Russia enjoyed the recent boom as much as any other country, as high gas prices funded quick economic expansion and citizens took a liking to Western foods such as burgers, pizza, and potato chips, Time reports. But with commodities cheap, credit crunched, and unemployment rising, Moscow is recommending a new diet, heavy on traditional Russian foods, to boost nutrition and save money.

Spartan and nationalistic, the diet calls for foods like cabbage, sour milk, fish, borscht, and whole-grain bread. Not only is it a potential remedy for spreading waistlines, but it costs just $77 a month. That’s important, because the price of food is continuing to rise, and unemployment hit 10% this month.
(More Russia stories.)

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