Food (nutrition) can be considered the heart of current challenges. Feeding the growing population while controlling the increased environmental degradation of our planet is a great challenge for today’s world.
Everyone on earth has the right to eat healthy and nutritious food. We must also make food consumption and production choices that use our limited natural resources to feed everyone. Everyone on earth needs sustainable nutrition.
Following are the critical nutrition trends for 2024
Trend 1: Sustainable nutrition
Sustainable nutrition is the ability of food systems to provide essential nutrients and sufficient energy to maintain the population’s excellent health without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their nutritional needs.
A sustainable diet means the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, is a dietary pattern that promotes all dimensions of health and well-being with a low environmental impact, can be accessed quickly, anyone can buy it easily, and is safe.
Trend 2: Shift Towards Quality Protein Intake
Proteins are a crucial macronutrients and a central part of human nutrition. They are chemically composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen in different proportions, with nitrogen as its vital component. Protein is necessary for nutrition and is found in animal foods, plant foods, unicellular organisms (e.g., algal, bacterial, mould, or yeast) and different quantities and amino acids. Recently, the protein quality concept primarily focused on “a protein’s ability to provide specific patterns of amino acids that fulfil body needs for protein synthesis as measured by animal growth or, in humans, nitrogen balance”.
Protein quality is based on the amino acid types and the digestibility of amino acids present in specific amino acids. The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO), is a defined method for determining protein quality. The PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) evaluates food protein quality based on human nutritional needs, measuring the protein’s amino acid composition to human amino acid requirements.
For example, Grain protein has a PDCAAS of about 0.4 to 0.5, limited in lysine but abundant in methionine. In contrast, white bean protein (as well as many other pulses) has a PDCAAS of 0.6 to 0.7, limited in methionine but rich in lysine. When both proteins are consumed almost equally, their combined PDCAAS is 1.0, compensating for each other’s amino acid deficiencies.
Mycoprotein, A Complete Protein
Mycoprotein is considered a “complete protein” because it comprises all nine essential amino acids and has a PDCAAS of 0.996 (Measured using gold-standard ileostomy methods).
Trend 3: Plant-based Diet
A plant-based diet prioritizes whole and plant foods, minimizing processed and animal foods. This eating pattern is environmentally friendly and is very good for health. Studies show that plant-based diets stimulate weight loss and promote health. This article covers everything you need to know about a plant-based diet, including its benefits, the food you need, and meal plans.
The basic principle of a plant-based diet is as follows.
- Take a whole diet, and minimize the consumption of processed food.
- Be away from animal food products.
- It focuses on plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts, which must make up a significant part of a person’s diet.
- Avoid refined foods like added sugar, processed flour and processed oils.
- Always take quality food, locally sourced and organic food whenever possible.
Benefits of Plant Based diet
Weight loss:
A study shows that plant-based diets are helpful for weight loss. The high fibre content of these diets, in combination with avoiding plant foods, is vital to weight loss.
Beneficial for many health conditions
A large study of over 200,000 people found that those who followed a healthy plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts had a significantly lower risk of developing cardinal diseases than those who used a non-plant-based diet, i.e. animal food. A 2022 Study concluded that plant-based diets could be the reason for a lower risk of digestive system cancers, including pancreatic, colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers.
According to some test-tube and animal studies, Plant-based diets contain more plant compounds and antioxidants, which may help slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease and reverse cognitive deficits. Plant-based diets can improve blood sugar balance, body weight, and cholesterol levels in people with diabetes.
Environmental benefits
Plant-based farming not only helps improve human health but also helps make the environment more friendly. Switching to sustainable eating habits can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land used for factory farming, all leading to global warming and environmental degradation.
The study shows that switching Western diet patterns to more sustainable, plant-based diet plans could result in a 70% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and land use and a 50% decrease in water use.
The plant-based diet we need to eat.
Here is the detailed list of plant-based diets we need to eat.
Vegetables:
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Peppers Kale
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
Fruits:
- Peaches
- Pineapple
- Bananas
- Berries
- Citrus fruits
- Pears
Whole Grains:
- Brown rice
- Brown rice pasta
- Barley
- Rolled oats
- Farro
- Quinoa
Starchy Vegetables:
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Butternut squash
Legumes:
Lentils
Peanuts
Black beans
Peas
Chickpeas
Healthy Fats:
Avocados
Olive oil
Unsweetened coconut
Unsweetened Plant-Based Milks:
Cashew milk
Coconut milk
Almond milk
Seeds, Nuts, and Nut Butters:
Sunflower seeds
Natural peanut butter
Tahini
Almonds
Cashews
Macadamia nuts
Pumpkin seeds
Spices, Herbs, and Seasonings:
Turmeric
Curry
Basil
Rosemary
Black pepper
Salt
Condiments:
Nutritional yeast
Soy sauce
Vinegar
Salsa
Mustard
Lemon juice
Plant-Based Protein:
Tofu
Tempeh
Beverages:
Tea
Coffee
Sparkling water
Trend 4: Proper Exercise with proper nutrition
Eating a well-balanced diet may give you the energy you need to perform your daily activities, including regular exercise. Having a healthy breakfast is more important when exercise is on the agenda. Not having breakfast can make you feel lazy or lethargic in the gym.
Consuming the correct quantity of carbohydrates and protein to gain energy before or after a workout is essential. Pre-workout snacks that combine carbohydrates with protein can energize you more than simple sugars and fat foods.
Conclusion
In today’s world, nutrition is at the heart of significant worldwide challenges, from feeding a growing population to easing environmental degradation. Ensuring everyone has access to healthy and nutritious food is important, and sustainable nutrition is essential to achieving this goal.