Journal Name:
Public Health Nutr.
Article Title:
Towards health-promoting and environmentally friendly regional diets - a Nordic example
Date Written:
2009
Volume:
12
Number:
1
Page:
91
Author(s):
Bere, E.; Brug, J.
Article:
Since most of the top determinants of the burden of disease are diet-related, healthy diet promotion is important for population health across the world. Promoting healthy diets is therefore an important aspect of prevention policies in many countries, and the recommendations for healthful eating are very similar across countries. In the present paper a case has been made for a more regionally oriented approach to a health-promoting whole diet that may also contribute to environmental sustainability. Such regionally defined diets are similar to the approach of the traditional Mediterranean diet. This will promote population health as well as help preserve cultural diversity in eating habits and contribute to more environmentally friendly practices. A regional Nordic diet, mimicking the Mediterranean diet to some extent, is presented as an example and including six evidence-based ingredients: (i) native berries; (ii) cabbage; (iii) native fish and other seafood; (iv) wild (and pasture-fed) land-based animals; (v) canola/ rapeseed oil; and (vi) oat/barley/rye. With regard to canola oil (rapeseed in Nordic countries), there has been a recent increase in rapeseed oil production in the Nordic countries, both for production of edible rapeseed oil and for bio-fuel. Rapeseed oil is commonly used for cooking, in dressings and also in industrialized food products (from frozen pizzas to baby food). In rapeseed oil, the majority of the fatty acids are monounsaturated. In addition, rapeseed oil contains more PUFA and especially ALA, and it has a more favourable n-6:n-3 ratio. Rapeseed oil therefore possesses a better fatty acid profile than most edible oils and fats. The authors recommend that the chief oil in the Nordic eating plan be rapeseed/canola oil.
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