Healthy Dining Is Healthy for the Planet, Too

Cara Murez wrote . . . . . . . . .

Plant-based diets can be better for the environment, but they’re not all created equally, new research shows.

The best type of plant-based diet for health and environmental benefits are those higher in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils and tea/coffee.

Meanwhile plant-based diets high in fruit juices, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes and sweets/desserts are associated with an increased risk of chronic disease and are less environmentally friendly, according to the study authors.

“The differences between plant-based diets was surprising, because they’re often portrayed as universally healthy and good for the environment, but it’s more nuanced than that,” said corresponding author Aviva Musicus. She is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s department of nutrition, in Boston.

“To be clear, we’re not asserting that less healthy plant-based diets are worse for the environment than animal-based diets. However, our findings show that plant-based diets can have different health and environmental impacts,” Musicus said in a school news release.

While previous research had documented that different types of plant-based diets have various health effects, little work had been done to determine the different environmental impacts, which can include greenhouse gas emissions, use of high-quality cropland, nitrogen from fertilizer, and irrigation water.

For the study, the researchers used data from the Nurses’ Health Study II to analyze the food intake of more than 65,000 people. The team analyzed the participants’ diets both for associations with health outcomes, such as heart disease, and for environmental impacts.

The diets were scored based on whether they were higher in unhealthy refined grains, for example, or healthier whole grains.

The research team found that participants who consumed healthy plant-based diets had lower heart disease risk. Those diets were also related to lower greenhouse gas emissions and use of cropland, irrigation water and nitrogenous fertilizer compared to the unhealthy plant-based diets and to animal-based diets.

These findings also reinforced earlier studies showing that diets higher in animal-based foods, especially red and processed meat, have greater adverse environmental impacts than plant-based diets, the study authors noted.

“Because human health ultimately depends upon planetary health, future U.S. dietary guidelines should include nuanced consideration of environmental sustainability and recognize that not all plant-based diets confer the same health and environmental benefits,” according to study co-author Daniel Wang, an assistant professor in Harvard’s department of nutrition.

The findings were published online in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

Source: HealthDay

 

 

 

 

Dairy Giants Around the Planet Launch Plant-Based Lines

Several new developments regarding the dairy industry’s interest in plantbased have taken place around the world: Yofix in Israel secures $2.5 million from dairy investors; Danone releases new plant-based lines in Netherlands; Nestle releases vegan Milo in Australia; Arla news saddens farmers; in Japan, Asahi to launch soybased Calpis.

In Australia and New Zealand, Nestle has launched a plant-based version of its popular Milo drink, which replaces the standard milk powders with soy proteins and corn fibre.

In Israel, clean-label dairy alternatives innovator Yofix Probiotics, Ltd., concluded an extended series-A funding round last month including dairy giants Müller and Bel Group, as well as and LionTree Partners LLC, based in the US, which brought the company’s total funding to $4.5 million.

In the Netherlands, Danone has said that first for Danone the first time the brand is focusing on 100 percent plant-based products, with new vegan lines of Activia and Danio. “At Danone, we are convinced that our health and that of the planet are inextricably linked,” says Dirk Holzapfel, Danone Netherlands Country Manager. “By marketing both dairy and vegetable varieties, we fully answer this philosophy. This also offers the consumer the choice between the two.”

As we reported last week, multinational dairy corporation Arla recently announced it would be entering the plantbased market as it launches three oat drinks under the new brand, JÖRĐ, an umbrella brand for a range of 100 per cent plant-based products. According to Plantbased News – this development has “saddened” one dairy farmer.

In other dairy news: It has just been announced that Japanese brewery Asahi Group Holdings which produces the carbonated milk drink Calpis, is to launch a soybased version called Green Calpis. Over in the US – it has been reported that ice cream producer Owowcow has reportedly gone vegan; we have contacted the company and will report further.

Source: Vegonomist

Chart of the Day: Nutritional Comparison of Cow’s Milk and Unflavoured Plant-based Beverages

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Read also at Today’s Dietitian:

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Parents Should be Cautious When Feeding Plant-based Beverages to Young Kids

Public health dietitians are concerned about a rise in parents feeding plant-based beverages (e.g. rice, coconut, almond, hemp, potato) to their infants and young children. Following reports of infants and young children becoming malnourished and one death after being fed plant-based drinks as a main beverage, Dietitians of Canada is joining with the Canadian Paediatric Society to urge parents to select beverages carefully for their children.

“The challenge for parents is conflicting messages. They read that these drinks are considered ‘healthier’ on social media or hear misinformation about cow milk or fortified soy beverage,” says Becky Blair, public health dietitian and spokesperson for Dietitians of Canada. “The reason children can become malnourished is that these beverages contain very little protein and are very low in fat and calories.”

Current recommendations for children two to eight years who are not breastfed are to give 2 cups of cow milk or fortified soy beverage each day to support protein, calcium and vitamin D requirements. In Canada, full fat homogenized (3.25% M.F.) cow milk is recommended until age two.

“What parents often don’t realize is that some plant-based beverages are not fortified with any minerals or vitamins; these drinks are low in all nutrients except carbohydrates, in fact sugar is often the second ingredient after water,” says Catherine Pound, paediatrician and spokesperson for the Canadian Paediatric Society. “In the case of allergies, or other concerns, I recommend parents speak with a dietitian to ensure all nutrient needs, including protein, fat and calories are being met with an age-appropriate diet.”

Fast Facts:

1. Breastfeeding – exclusively for the first six months, and continued for up to two years or longer with appropriate complementary feeding – is important for the nutrition, immunologic protection, growth, and development of infants and toddlers.

• Soy, rice, or other plant-based beverages, whether or not they are fortified, are inappropriate alternatives to cow milk in the first two years.
• For infants who cannot or should not be fed their mother’s breastmilk, pasteurized human milk from appropriately screened donors and commercial infant formula are suitable alternatives.
• Commercial infant formula may be the most feasible alternative if it is not possible for an infant to be exclusively fed their mother’s breastmilk.
• Cow milk is not recommended before nine to 12 months of age.

2.Young children (aged two to eight years) require 13 to 19 grams of protein per day.

• Two cups of cow milk (16 grams of protein) or two cups of fortified soy beverage (13 grams of protein) pretty well meet their protein needs.
• Almond, coconut or rice drinks contain little to no protein. To meet their protein needs, children consuming these beverages would need to eat two child-sized servings of meat (30-45 grams) or two servings of lentils (one half cup each).
• Almond drinks only contain about 4 almonds per cup.

3. Drinking too much low-nutrient beverage, other than water, can displace hunger and cause children to eat less food.

4. Other than soy-fortified beverages, plant-based drinks, whether available in the dairy section of the store refrigerator or in shelf-stable containers, are not appropriate choices for young children as their main beverage since they are not nutritionally adequate if the child has only small servings of high protein foods.

5.Parents wishing to feed their infants and children plant-based beverages as a main beverage should speak with a dietitian to ensure nutrient needs including protein and fat are being met with an age-appropriate diet.

Source: Dietitians of Canada