A better diet even helps the environment!

It has long been known that what we eat affects not only our health, but also the environment. Despite this, almost no national dietary recommendations have been designed taking the environment into account. Of the thirty-seven countries examined, only 4 nationally recommended diets (NRD) mention environmental impacts.

More about the study

A new study published in the journal PNAS shows that national dietary recommendations on reducing animal products can** reduce environmental impacts in most nations.** Researchers at Leiden University have gathered details of the NRD for 37 nations around the world. They have investigated its impacts on carbon emissions, water quality and land use. They compared these impacts to the impacts of the average diets consumed in each of the nations involved. To determine whether following a nationally recommended diet** would have a lower environmental impact than the current average national diet.** The study shows that choosing an NRD would have the largest positive environmental effects. Most of this is due to the reduction of meat in the diet. It also shows that there would be many improvements in most EU nations with Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands reaping the greatest benefits. In low-income nations, following an NRD above the average national diet could result in slightly higher environmental impacts. Generally, this is because guidelines in these countries emphasize greater consumption of animal products. This to combat low protein levels in the diet. Since most NRDs do not address environmental sustainability, greater discussion of the issues, food supply, methods to reduce waste, and highlighting the importance of environmental health would tremendously improve the overall guidelines. So we must help our patients to take this into account. And offer nutritious alternatives for them and good for all of us.