Scientists create a diet against premature death and respectful of the environment



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London – The ideal diet for human health and the environment is also based on two basic conditions: twice the consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes and the halving of meat and vegetable consumption. sugar.

The researchers said the world, if it was followed by a "global health" system, could save more than 11 million people a year from premature death, as well as reduce gas emissions at greenhouse effect and further protect the land, water and biodiversity.

"The food we eat and the way we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we take it seriously," said Tim Lang, a professor at the University of London, who co-sponsored the research.

According to a healthy and sustainable diet, it would be impossible to change dietary habits, improve food production and reduce waste, by feeding about 10 billion people by 2015.

"We need a major reform and an unprecedented global diet change," Lang said.

Many life-threatening chronic conditions are linked to poor nutrition, including obesity, diabetes, malnutrition and many types of cancer.

The researchers said that unhealthy diets now cause more deaths and morbidity in the world than many factors combined, unsafe bad and the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

The proposed planetary diet is the result of a three-year project commissioned by the Lancet health journal and attended by 37 specialists from 16 countries. These scientists are a mix of scientists from agriculture, climate change and nutrition.

According to the system, the average global consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar should be reduced by 50%, while the consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes should be doubled.

For some geographic regions, this system implies more significant changes. North Americans, for example, consume more than 6.5 times the amount of red meat recommended, while South Asians consume only half of what the global diet suggests.

According to the new system, the average global consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar should be reduced by 50%.

To achieve the system's proposed targets for starchy foods such as potatoes, significant changes will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa, where the population is on average 7.5 times higher than the proposed amount.

Researchers have recognized that the hope of getting everyone to adopt the diet is too ambitious, particularly because of the large global disparity in food distribution.

"More than 800 million people do not eat enough, while many of them consume unhealthy diets that contribute to premature death and disease," said Walter Willett of Harvard University in the United States. United.

"If we can not do that, we'd better get as close to him as possible."

To illustrate the characteristics of the "global" food system, the BBC has published a report on changes that could occur if followed.

Daily consumption of meat is one of the main obstacles and it is better to change it gradually. Eat a burger once a week or a big steak during the month. This is a maximum, but it is allowed to eat a range of "starchy vegetables" like potatoes or cbadava, which is widely consumed in Africa.

Professor Willett says that he ate three slices of meat a day and that after his childhood on a farm he is now largely in line with the planet's diet.

"This diet is extremely diverse.You can take these foods and mix them in thousands of different ways.We're not talking about starvation here.It's a healthy and delicious food."

"Before that, humanity had never tried to change its diet on this scale so quickly," says Lynne Gordon, director of the Stockholm Center for Adaptive Energy at Stockholm University.

"Whether fictional or not, fantasy is not necessarily bad – it's time to dream of a good world."

According to the researchers, taxing red meat may be necessary to persuade us to change our diet.

Researchers say the system will save the lives of about 11 million people, who die each year. This is due to the expected decline in the number of people suffering from diseases caused by unhealthy diets, such as heart disease, stroke and some cancers that are the leading causes of death in developed countries.

The Swiss site (Le Matin) presents a model of what can be treated, according to the planetary system, to protect the health and the environment. The daily program includes about 300 grams of vegetables, 200 grams of cereals, 200 grams of cereals and 250 grams of milk and dairy products, but only 14 grams of red meat.

The planetary diet does not completely prevent the consumption of meat, it aims above all to reduce the intake and, like other foods, provides a range of essential vitamins, if recommended.

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