Key to adopting a diverse and balanced diet

Man in his History has experienced a nutritional transition.

First a hunter/gatherer and living in the wild, he evolved towards traditional nutrition to end up with industrial food.

This transition has not only transformed its contributions but also its tastes.

What are the consequences of these changes and how are they reflected?

Today, studies show that we consume less carbohydrates than we should, that we are also in the upper limit in lipids and especially in overconsumption of proteins.

If we look at the world map of human food, between 1994 and 1996, we realize that man consumes much more than he spends and what he needs, causing metabolic diseases and cancers.

Conversely, under-consumption is also harmful to health, producing deficiency diseases.

Our consumption of vitamin C, the only vitamin whose recommended daily intake is very high, was already largely in excess before the industrial era. Today its consumption is decreasing. As well as vitamin E (present in vegetable fats) and which has an antioxidant action.

Fatty acids have been on the increase in terms of consumption since the 1970s. An increase which particularly concerns saturated fatty acids, and therefore an impact on health (cardiovascular disease, overweight, type II diabetes, dyslipidemia). The essential fatty acids, Omega 3 and 6 are increasing, but we must remain vigilant as to respecting the 1/5 balance (1 Omega 3 fatty acid for 5 Omega 6 fatty acids) .

In France, 30% of the population is overweight with 15% obese. While Italy has fewer people suffering from obesity, despite a consumption very rich in starchy foods, but which favors olive oil over cheaper but more saturated oils.

As a general rule, and according to a study conducted in the United States, Trust for America's health, September 2012 report, the greater the consumption of plant products, the less risk of overweight.

In order to respond to this weight problem, and since the 2000s there has been a program set up by France, the PNNS: National Health Nutrition Program.

The objectives of this plan and therefore the others being:

• Increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables so that 45% of the population consumes them regularly: 5 fruits and 5 vegetables per day ideally.
• Increase calcium consumption in order to reduce by 25% the population with calcium intakes below the recommended nutritional intakes
• Reduce the average contribution of total lipid intake to less than 35% of daily energy intake, with a reduction in saturated fatty acids
• Increase the consumption of carbohydrates so that they contribute to more than 50% of daily energy intake by encouraging the consumption of foods that are sources of starch, by reducing the current consumption of added simple sugars by 25%, and by increasing the fiber consumption
• Reduce annual alcohol consumption per capita to drop below 8.5 l/year/capita
• Reduce average cholesterolemia (LDL-cholesterol) by 5% in the adult population
• Reduce average Systolic Blood Pressure in adults by 2 to 3 mmHg
• Reduce by 20% the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI > 25 kg/m²) in adults, and curb the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.
• Increase daily physical activity , to reach 75% of men and 50% of women doing 30 min of physical activity per day, 5 days per week, all ages combined.