The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has updated the dietary and physical activity guidelines to improve the health of Spaniards and, incidentally, reduce the environmental impact of our current dietary habits. The new Report on sustainable dietary and physical activity recommendations for the Spanish population that has just been presented by the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) emphasizes for the first time the effects that our type of diet has on the environment and explains how to have a more sustainable diet by increasing the weekly consumption of legumes and reducing meat.
Among the main measures proposed by the AESAN, the increase in the weekly intake of legumes and the reduction in meat consumption stand out because this not only favors health care, but also minimizes the environmental impact. According to the Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, the report is “a useful tool for professionals and families in achieving better life habits”, which will also facilitate “a transition towards more sustainable food systems” and help to achieve a good health that allows “reducing the risk of chronic diseases”.
Garzón has defended “the cultural patterns of eating that have demonstrated their beneficial effects on health and the environment” and has defended the Mediterranean diet as one of those that best “could reduce the environmental impact of food, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as the use of natural resources.
Legumes daily, 3 servings of meat per week, less salt and dairy
The effect of the food we eat does not depend solely on its nutritional content, but also influences the way in which it is consumed and the alterations it undergoes during its preparation, factors that the AESAN Scientific Committee has taken into account when evaluating available scientific data. For this reason, it is essential to reduce the addition of salt during cooking and eliminate the presence of ultra-processed foods rich in salt, fat and sugar from the diet as much as possible.
The AESAN recommends that every day we take a minimum of three servings of vegetables and two or three of fruit, they warn that fruit juices are not a substitute for whole fruit, and that potatoes should be consumed in moderation. They also consider it advisable to consume olive oil daily in all main meals, which can be used both when cooking food and when dressing it.
The Mediterranean diet is one of the best “could reduce the environmental impact of food, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the use of natural resources”
In addition, they indicate that you have to drink plenty of water, which should be the main drink in any healthy diet. Legumes are considered the main source of plant-based protein with a lower environmental impact, which is why the AESAN has increased the recommendations for the consumption of this food, which go from 2-4 servings a week to a minimum of four for that, progressively, they are consumed daily.
The goal is to reduce animal protein in the diet, especially red meat, because it is harmful to the environment. In fact, the Scientific Committee reduces from 2-4 weekly servings of meat to 0-3, prioritizing the consumption of poultry and rabbit meat and limiting red and processed meat to a minimum.
It also moderates the intake of dairy products, which would go from 2-4 servings a day to 0-3 without added sugars or high salt content.
The new AESAN dietary guidelines establish a minimum of three servings per week of fish and shellfish, especially oily fish, three to six servings of cereals – prioritizing whole grains and whole grains – and up to four eggs per week.
They advise combining cereals with other foods rich in complex carbohydrates such as legumes, fruits and vegetables because, in addition to being the basis of a healthy diet, they have a low environmental impact.
Regarding the consumption of nuts, it can be increased progressively until eating a daily ration, but they must be natural and contain no salt, fat, or added sugars.
Physical activity, the other key to good health
The report of the Scientific Committee of the AESAN is not limited to offering healthier and more sustainable dietary guidelines, but also proposes physical activities aimed at different population groups depending on their age so that we can all adopt healthy habits that are easy to integrate at work , sports and leisure activities, or on the go, and even when doing housework.
Specifically, the recommendation for all adults is to perform between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week (walking fast, riding a bicycle, light dancing…), or a shorter time – between 75 and 150 minutes – when it comes to vigorous physical activity (climbing stairs fast, running at a fast pace, swimming…).
For children and adolescents, it recommends a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity per day and at least three days of vigorous physical activity per week (playing sports, for example), as well as another minimum of three days per week of activities that stimulate bone development (those that have impact or jumps, games in which you have to carry your own total or partial body weight…).
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