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A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains not only has positive effects on health, but also reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the diet, according to the study ‘Greenhouse Gases emiss from the diet and risk of death and chronic diseases in the EPIC Spain cohort “, coordinated by researchers from the Nutrition and Cancer Unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), and recently published in the” European Journal ” of Public Health “scientific.
On the other hand, according to the data released by the work, reducing the consumption of red and processed meat would not only reduce this type of emissions, but it would improve “planetary health”, as this type of gas is responsible for so-called climate change. This fact would also have a direct impact on human health, as diet-derived GHG level affects the risk of mortality from coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The research was conducted through the EPIC cohort of Spain which follows 40,621 people from five different autonomous communities (Asturias, Murcia, Navarre, the Basque Country and the province of Granada) for nearly three decades. On the other hand, the GHG emission values of each of the foods were obtained from an international review that represents the most complete database existing to date.
Therefore, and based on these data, consumption of red and processed meat originates 41 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions of the diet in the Spanish cohort and only 11 percent comes from the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains. Emissions from eating red and processed meat in the diet were 4.7 times higher in heavy consumers of red meat (more than 140g / day) compared to low consumers (less than 70g / day).
On the other hand, the study reveals, for the first time, a direct association between the level of GHG emissions from the diet with the risk of mortality. Therefore, higher GHG levels increase the risk of coronary heart disease by 26% and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 24%.
These data indicate that we should reduce the consumption of red and processed meat and increase the consumption of plant-based products, not only to prevent these diseases, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect “planetary health”. “These data would demonstrate the profound interrelation between human health and ‘planter health’,” said the first author of this study and ICO-IDIBELL Nutrition and Cancer Unit researcher, Carlos A. González.
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