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| Today's Tips for a Healthy and Sustainable Diet |
1. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Fruit and vegetables are good for our health, and most of them have a small impact on the environment. There are exceptions, as others need a lot of travel energy to keep new, so the longevity of our diets can be improved by consuming these less often.
2. Eat Locally, When in Season
If we select those that are in season where we live, locally grown foods can be a sustainable choice. Beyond their natural growing seasons, the cost of producing or storing local foods could be greater than shipping foods that are somewhere else in season.
3. Avoid Eating More than Needed, Especially Treats
By reducing excess production, consuming only what we need lowers demands on our food supply. It also helps to keep us healthy and to prevent excessive gain in weight. All useful ways to avoid unnecessary over consumption are to limit snacking on energy-dense, low-nutrient foods and to pay attention to portion sizes.
4. Swap Animal Proteins for Plant-based Ones
In general, compared with plant-based proteins, more resources are needed to produce animal-based proteins (especially beef) (such as beans, pulses and some grains). It also brings health benefits to eating a more plant-based diet: plant-based foods provide more fibre and have a lower saturated fat content, both of which can contribute to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
5. Choose Whole Grains
As they require fewer processing steps, non-refined cereals are generally less resource intensive to produce than refined ones. They are also good for health, reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and being overweight.
6. Choose Sustainably Sourced Seafood
A good source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids that contribute to normal vision, brain function and heart health is fish. Over fishing, however, is causing wild fish stocks to be depleted. To benefit from the necessary nutrients and to reduce the pressure on the stocks of wild fish.
7. Eat Dairy Products in Moderation
While there is a significant environmental impact on milk and milk production, milk products are an important source of protein, calcium and essential amino acids and have been associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, including metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, stroke, intestinal cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
8. Avoid Unnecessary Packaging
Food packaging can have a huge impact on the environment, particularly when made from non-recyclable materials. We can all reduce the quantity of packaged products we buy (think bulk apples versus wrapped cling-film) or opt for materials that are biodegradable, fully recyclable or made from recycled materials.
9. Drink Tap Water
In Europe, water quality and safety standards are high. We can re-fill a reusable water bottle at the tap as many times as we want instead of buying bottled water. Tap water costs a fraction of bottled water's price and lowers our ecological footprint.
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| Today's Tips for a Healthy and Sustainable Diet |