The diet that allows us to lose weight and at the same time is good for the planet | The truth

On the other hand, there is the planet, which has suffered a progressive increase in temperatures for almost two centuries because of us. We emit too many gases that turn the atmosphere into a kind of greenhouse from which excess heat cannot escape. This means that each of the last four decades has been warmer than any other since 1850, that last year was the warmest since records began and that this year is expected to surpass it. Its effects are well known: intense droughts, water shortages, serious fires, rising sea levels, floods, catastrophic storms…

Is the Mediterranean diet the most respectful of the planet?

Would it be possible to combine taking care of our health and at the same time helping the planet to stop accumulating heat? The truth is that yes. The key is to combine a healthy diet that helps us reduce our weight – and with it, all the problems associated with the so-called metabolic syndrome: hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes… – and that at the same time is respectful of the environment. We don't even have to take out the calculator to do the math – there are already a few numbers. Gumersindo Feijoo Costa, professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Santiago de Compostela, has already taken care of this. “A traditional balanced diet is good for your health and for the planet,” he says.

This expert has analyzed some of the best-known dietary guidelines to create a ranking that combines their contribution to our health with the lowest possible environmental impact. They are the following: the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the paleo, the vegetarian, the vegan, the Nordic and the Andean. In the first, nutritional contributions are evaluated taking into account a dozen nutrients, nine positive ones – protein, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E – and three negative ones – sodium, saturated fats and total sugars-. In the second, the carbon footprint, which is the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that a product generates, including people.

The results indicate that the best diets are Mediterranean and Atlantic. Both emit between 3 and 3.5 kilos of carbon dioxide per person per day and among their nutritional characteristics they stand out for their variety and for using local products.

Paleo, a “terrible invention”

The Mediterranean, that of our country, Italy and Greece, is committed to vegetables, legumes, fruits, vegetables, cereals, fish and olive oil. The Atlantic, typical of England, Ireland, France, the Basque Country, Galicia and northern Portugal, includes, in addition to a good part of those mentioned above, milk, dairy derivatives and pork, among other foods. «They both take care of us. The proof is that the Japanese are the ones with the longest life expectancy. And one variable that influences is nutrition,” Feijoo insists.

They are followed in the classification, with less than 4 kilos of carbon dioxide, by the vegan diet, which only allows plant products, and the vegetarian diet, which is slightly behind by allowing dairy and eggs, which increases its carbon footprint. The Andean, with products from Peru – quinoa, cherimoya, shellfish and fish used in its famous ceviche – also presents a remarkable balance. “It is a very good option, but in our case, we would have to bring the quinoa from there and that implies a greater carbon footprint.”

Lagging behind due to its excessive consumption of meat are the Nordic ones – more than 4 kilos of CO2 –, characterized by the weight of foods typical of northern Europe, and the paleo, which supposedly consumes what our ancestors ate before development. of agriculture. It exceeds 5 kilos of CO2 «It is a terrible invention. “It's one of those diets that Hollywood actors make fashionable,” he emphasizes.