Tip: Be like Thor and eat good foods

'Thor" is one of the blockbuster movies of the year. And, according to a new study, it might be a good idea to emulate the Norse god of thunder -- not in beating bad guys but in eating good foods.

The study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Nutrition, extols the health virtues of the Nordic diet. Researchers followed the eating habits of 57,053 Danes ages 50-64 when the study began. Over a 12-year follow-up period, those whose diet consisted mainly of what researchers termed "traditional Nordic food item" had far lower death rates.

And what are those traditional Norse foods? The study identified them as fish, cabbage, rye bread, oatmeal, apples, pears and root vegetables. Researchers noted that whole-grain rye bread "was the factor most consistently associated with lower mortality in men."