Hear
A balanced diet is essential for the body gets nutrients necessary to function correctly. Furthermore, the World Health Organization indicated that a healthy diet could protect you from chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Lately, a style of eating has become popular focused on reducing the impact of meat and dairy industries on the environment and promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables, It’s called a planetary diet.
This eating plan was developed in 2019, as part of the EAT-Lancet commission report. Dubbed the planetary health diet, was flexible and included a wide variety of food groups that contributed to their own well-being and environmental sustainability.
“It is a plant-based diet in which whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes They constitute a greater proportion of the food consumed. Meat and dairy constitute important parts of the diet, but in significantly smaller proportions,” the organization’s website explained.
Now, on June 10, 2024, Harvard University published the results of a scientific investigation which linked this type of healthy diets with a lower risk of premature death.
The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition(The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in Spanish) and outlined the health benefits of this style of eating and in the environment.
“Climate change is leading our planet towards an ecological disaster, and our food system plays an important role. Changing the way we eat can help slow the process of climate change. And what is healthier for the planet is also healthier for humans.“said the author of the research, Walter Willet for the university’s web portal.
The experts used data from more than 200,000 women and men from a health study. At the beginning of the process, none of the participants suffered of chronic diseases and completed questions about eating habits every four years for almost 34 years.
When analyzing the results, they found that the risk of premature death of those who had followed the planetary diet guidelines was 30 percent lower than the others. “All major causes of death, including cancer, heart and lung disease, were lower with greater adherence to this dietary pattern“, they indicated.
In addition to the great contribution to health, this eating plan has a lower environmental impact. Greenhouse gas emissions were 29 percent lower, fertilizer needs were 21 times lower and the use of cropland was reduced by 51 percent.
By Sofía Arias Martínez
TIME (GDA)
