Legumes at least four times a week to go to a pattern of daily consumption, which replaces many of the weekly portions of meat that are usually eaten. This is one of the new dietary recommendations of the Ministry of Consumption, directed by Alberto Garzón.
The scientific committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), dependent on Consumption, has presented a report that updates the recommendations for a healthy diet, in addition to including the impact of food on the environmentas indicated by the ministry in a note.
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Experts point out that increasing the weekly intake of legumes (beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils, broad beans, soybeans, peanuts…) and reducing that of meat, especially red meat (beef, adult pig…) reduces the environmental impact. And nutritionally, legumes come to provide the proteins that came largely from meat in the diet.
For this reason, it is advisable to go from 2-4 weekly servings of legumes to at least 4 (and more progressively up to one daily). And, at the same time, it should go from the 2-4 weekly servings of meat recommended until now to 0-3. Among the meats, it is recommended to “prioritize poultry and rabbit, against red and processed meat.”
This change has already been made in recent years in many educational centers and will be ratified by a regulation of school canteens that prepares Consumption.
Reduce dairy
Another change that AESAN proposes in the diet is to reduce the consumption of dairy products, going from the most usual 2-4 servings a day to 0-3. And, they must be without added sugars or high salt content (cheese).
The AESAN proposes not to take more than three servings of dairy products a day
Regarding fish and shellfish, at least 3 servings a week are recommended, especially blue fish. And the AESAN also advises the consumption of up to 4 eggs a week.
cereal yes
In the same way, it proposes between 3 and 6 servings a day of cereals, primarily whole grains and whole grains as opposed to refined ones. According to Consumption, their environmental impact, in general, is low and the combination of cereals with other foods rich in complex carbohydrates such as legumes, fruits and vegetables, “are the basis of a healthy diet.”
Because the guideline is maintained that every day you should consume at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 or 3 of fruit. The AESAN reminds that the juice should not replace the whole fruit and that, of the vegetables, the consumption of potatoes should be moderate.
more nuts
The consumption of nuts can also be increased progressively until reaching an intake of one daily serving. That yes, that they are natural, without salt, fats or added sugars. Likewise, the recommendation to use olive oil for cooking and dressing is maintained. And that water should be the main drink that is ingested.
Following the guidelines of organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), it is also recommended to reduce salt as much as possible when cooking and ultra-processed foods rich in salt, fats and sugars.
The AESAN recommends more physical activity, be it moderate or vigorous
Physical activity
Children: one hour a day of exercise, plus three days a week of vigorous activity
AESAN experts also recommend maintain physical activities, incorporate them as healthy habits at work, in what is done in leisure time and in daily tasks. The adult population should perform between 150 and 300 minutes (between two and a half and five hours) of moderate aerobic activity per week (such as fast walking, cycling, light dancing…) or the equivalent in vigorous activity between 75 and 150 minutes (hour and a quarter and two and a half hours): climb stairs fast, run at a fast pace, swim…, indicate the AESAN experts.
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For children and adolescents, a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity per day is recommended, as well as vigorous physical activity (playing sports) at least three days a week. Also, three other days a week, “activities that stimulate bone growth (those that include jumping, carrying your own body weight in whole or in part…)”
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The minister points out in the note that the guidelines “are not only a useful tool for professionals and families in achieving better life habits”, but they will also allow “a transition towards more sustainable food systems” and help to achieve a good health that allows “reducing the risk of chronic diseases”.
Garzón defends “cultural eating patterns that have demonstrated their beneficial effects on health and the environment” and defends the Mediterranean diet because “it could reduce the environmental impact of food, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the use of natural resources”.
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