The three key foods of a healthy diet, according to FAO

Meat, eggs and milk are essential sources of nutrientsespecially important during fundamental stages of life such as pregnancy and lactation, childhood, adolescence and the elderly, and which cannot be easily obtained from foods of plant origin, reveals a report by the UN Organization for Agriculture and Food (FAO) published today.

The results of the study “Contribution of food of terrestrial animal origin to a healthy diet to improve nutrition and health” come after the most comprehensive analysis to date on the benefits and risks of eating foods of animal origin, and is based on data and evidence from more than 500 scientific articles and 250 regulatory documents.

“Meat, eggs and milk provide a series of important macronutrients -such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates and micronutrients- that are not easily obtained from plant-based foods in the necessary quality and quantity.” well the “of terrestrial animal origin provide high-quality protein, various essential fatty acids, iron, calcium, zinc, selenium, vitamin B12, choline, and bioactive compounds such as carnitine, creatine, and taurine.”, the report highlights.

The study further points out thatlack of iron and vitamin A are two of the most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide, especially in children and pregnant women” and “globally, more than one in two preschool-age children (372 million) and 1.2 billion women of childbearing age lack at least one of these three micronutrients: iron, vitamin A or zinc”.

“When consumed as part of an adequate diet, foods of animal origin can help meet the nutrition targets endorsed by the World Health Assembly and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to reducing stunting, wasting in children under five, low birth weight, anemia in women of reproductive age, and obesity and noncommunicable diseases in adults..

Although, at the same time, as they maintain in the prologue Maria Helena SemedoDeputy Director General of FAO and the Maximo Torero Cullenchief economist of the agency, the livestock sector “should contribute to addressing a number of challenges” and “These include environmental issues”.

Source: EFE