bacon and eggsEggs, bacon and marmalade have all fallen off the British breakfast menu in the past 40 years and the popularity of fish and chip takeaways has almost halved.

We're more likely to be eating olive oil and garlic now than ever before. That's the result of a look back at the past the 40 years of research carried out by consumer questioner Mintel.

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As the Queen's Diamond Jubilee approaches, Mintel is celebrating an anniversary of its own, having started asking consumers about their preferences and analysing shopping statisitics back in 1972. Its comparison of data collected then and now shows startling changes.

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Save you bacon

While eggs were a firm favourite with the nation back in 1972, as many as three in ten (29%) enjoying a cracking good start to the day, 40 years on, just one in ten (12%) Brits start the day on an egg.

Meanwhile, bacon has also suffered as a breakfast option. While back in 1972 as many as one in five (20%) enjoyed a rasher or two - this British favourite has had the chop. In 2012, fewer than one in ten (7%) wake up to the smell of bacon.

And it's been a short sharp shock for Paddington Bear's favourite, marmalade. In 1972 more than a third (36%) of Brits enjoyed a dollop of the orange stuff. Today, just 7% of Brits spread it on their toast.

Fruit juices

In this, the year of the Diamond Jubilee, as many as a fifth of Brits get fruity at breakfast with almost one in five (19%) drinking fruit juice, compared to just 11% in 1972. And we drink the stuff all day now. Just 6% of Brits only drink juices at breakfast, while back in the seventies more than twice as many (14%) did.

Mintel also compared the nation's top three takeaways. And it was bad news for fish and chips, whcih has come under attack from Chinese and Indian takeaways.

Top 3 takeaways:

1972
Fish and Chips (64%)
Chinese (17%)
Chicken (11%)

2012
Fish and Chips (39%)
Chinese (33%)
Indian (26%)

Olive oil and garlic

Mintel's 1972 research also reveals how many of today's store cupboard favourites were considered "exotic" just 40 years ago.

While olive oil was considered an "exotic food" back in 1972, just 16% of Brits having bought some in the past 3 months, today, more than half (53%) of Brits are regular purchasers.

Similarly, garlic (11%) and tomato puree (20%) were rarely seen in the British shopping basket, but now they are used by as many as 48% and 42% of households respectively.

Currying favour (and flavour)

And Jubilee parties may be without the classic Coronation Chicken, as one ingredient to have declined in popularity is curry powder. Curry powder was used by almost a quarter (24%) of the nation in 1972. Today however, fewer than one in five (19%) households use curry powder. We buy the individual spices these days.

Do it yourself

The nation has ceased to be DIY mad. DIY was one of the nation's favourite past times back in '72 with as many as three quarters (74%) of all Brits turning their hand to some kind of job around the home. However, in 2012 as few as 37% of Brits carried out DIY in the past 12 months.

The nation's willingness to wallpaper has dramatically declined and back in '72 Brits were almost twice as likely to set up the pasting table (44%) than they are today (23%). Painting, on the other hand, has become a more palatable task. Today, some 76% of Brits have painted the inside of their home in the past 12 months, compared to 61% 40 years ago.

Painting external walls has become slightly less popular - just 15% of Brits attempted this task in the past 12 months compared to 22% 40 years ago. One task that has grown in popularity is putting up shelves. Today Brits are almost twice as likely (30%) to try their hand at this task then they were back in '72 (16%).

Postcards from the edge

The humble postcard has it lost its stamp of approval with British consumers. In 1972 they were a must for almost 3 in 10 (27%) of British holidaymakers but, they have become a major casualty of social media; in 2012, just 3% of the population took the time to put pen to paper and send a postcard.

There has also been a huge decline in those buying writing sets, declining from almost one in five (18%) to just 5% of all Brits.

A tonic for the troops

The research also found that there has been a dramatic decline in the number of Brits who believe it is a good idea to take an "old fashioned tonic" when recovering from flu. Just a quarter of Brits (24%) believe this is the case compared to 68% back in 2012. What is more, the nation was twice as likely to believe vitamins help prevent colds (44%) in 1972 as they are in 2012 (23%).

The number of Brits who believe there is no need to take vitamins has dramatically declined from 58% in 1972 to 32% in 2012. Similarly, there has been a rise in the number of Brits who believe it is good to take vitamins regularly - up from one in three (29%) in 1972 to almost a third (32%) in 2012.

Today, just 10% of Brits believe that "old fashioned tonics" are better than modern vitamins, falling from 32% in 1972.

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