Can you take one diet good for health and good for him planet?
A new study suggests that it is possible. It was discovered that the people that they mainly consume minimally processed plant foodsas nuts, legumes, fruit, vegetables, whole grains and olive oilalong with moderate amounts of meat, fish, eggs and dairyhave lower rates of early death by heart disease, cancer and others chronic diseases.
At the same time, their subsistence allowance they left a mark environmental smaller because they consisted of foods that were grown using relatively less land and water and that they were produced with fewer emissions of greenhouse gases.
He studypublished on Monday, June 10, 2024 in the magazine American Journal of Clinical Nutritionwas inspired by a landmark 2019 report from the Commission EAT-Lancetwho designed a “planetary health diet” capable of supporting 10 billion people and the planet in 2050.
The planetary health dietbroadly speaking, encourages people to eat more floors and whole-grain foods along with small portions of meat and dairy. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different cultural, culinary and personal preferences.
The new report is one of the first studies of large magnitude that analyze how it affects the planetary diet the probability of dying prematurely from serious diseases. He study analyzed data from more than 200,000 men and women of USA who were followed closely for more than three decades. The new study discovered the following:
People whose habits food were more in line with the planetary health diet were 30% less likely to die prematurely compared to people who ate the lowest amounts of food that form the basis of the planetary health diet.
The consumers of the planetary health diet had a 10% lower risk of dying from cancer14% less likely to die from cardiovascular diseasesa 47% lower risk of dying from Lung diseases and 28% less likely to die from Alzheimer’s and others neurodegenerative disorders.
The women whose habits food they adjusted to the planetary health diet had a 38% lower risk of dying from infectious diseases.
A analysis of the impact environmental revealed that this approach food was associated with a 29% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gasesa 51% reduction in the use of farmlanda 21% reduction in the use of fertilizers and a 13% reduction in the needs of irrigation and water.
In it studypeople whose habits food They adhered closely to the planetary diet of health ate large amounts of the following food:
Fruit whole and vegetables no starch like carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber and green leafy vegetables. Peanuts and nuts as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and pistachios. Legumes as bean, lentils and peas. Chicken and others poultry. Food rich in unsaturated fatsAs the avocadohe olive oil and the sunflower oil.
Whole grains As the Integral ricehe wild ricethe oatmealthe quinoa and the barleyas well as food made with whole grains (e.g. wholemeal bread and rye bread). Less amount of meat red and processed, eggssoft drinks, juices fruit and sugary processed foods, such as candy, pastries, breakfast cereals, and desserts.
Walter Willett, lead author of the new study and professor of epidemiology and nutrition in the TH Chan School of Public Health of harvardstressed that adopting a planetary diet healthy does not require giving up meat.
He described her as a omnivorous diet which accommodates two daily servings of food of animal origin. A typical week of dietFor example, it could include a daily serving of dairy as milk, cheese either yoghurta weekly serving of Red meata weekly serving of eggstwo weekly servings of poultry and two weekly servings of fish.
The diet prioritizes generous amounts of fruit, nuts and vegetables and a variety of plant sources of proteins as bean, lentils and other legumes, making it relatively easy to follow, according to Willett. “You can put these pieces together with the flavors and foods of almost all traditional cultures,” she added. “There is a lot of flexibility.”
The food production represents around 30% of all emissions greenhouse gases of the world. A large part of them come from the emissions of methane of livestock, deforestation widespread and emissions from processing foodthe Farm Equipmentthe use of synthetic fertilizers and other aspects of the agricultural production.
Most of the arable land of the United States is destined to only two crops – corn and soybeans – with which the cattle. This practice of monoculture can degrade soil, reduce biodiversity and require more irrigation, pesticides and herbicides. According to Willett, only 5% of US cropland is devoted to other vegetables, fruit, nuts and legumes.
change our diet and ours food production system will not be enough on its own to stop the climate changebut they are important steps, Willett said.
“Whatever this study proves is that we can change our diet to be much healthier than the average American diet while having a substantial impact on slowing the climate change”he added. “We do not have to sacrifice health planetary for human health. We can have both: it is a double victory”.
The new study was observational, meaning it found correlations between what people ate and their risk of major diseases, not necessarily cause and effect. Other lifestyles may explain the results.
But the researchers They took into account factors such as whether the participants they smokedexercised, drank alcohol, or had a family history of heart disease, cancer and others diseases. The health benefits of a rich diet in nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fruit and vegetables They have also been documented in rigorous clinical trials.
Marion Nestle, professor emeritus of nutritionfood studies and public health in the New York Universitystated that the federal government should adopt food policies to promote subsistence allowance that are not only nutritious, but also sustainable.
“He government could develop clear dietary guidelines, establish healthier standards for school mealssupport the food production for the people -instead of animal feed or car fuel- and stop subsidizing the industrial production of meat”said Nestle, which was not involved in the new study.
(c) 2024, The Washington Post