University of São Paulo Expert Proposes Shift in Food Foundation
The Nutrition and Food Guides Collection proposes inverting the base of the food pyramid from cereals to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, in the 4th edition of the book Food Pyramid: Basic Fundamentals of Nutrition . Sonia Tucunduva Philippi, professor at the Faculty of Public Health (FSP) at the University of São Paulo, author and coordinator of the collection, explains the reasons for this inversion in the hierarchy of food groups and its application in the population’s daily lives.
New Edition
According to the professor, the new edition was revised with the aim of informing and disseminating, from the perspective of the most modern knowledge, new elements about the connection between food and health. She says that the new proposals were designed with some of the current problems in the world and people’s daily lives in mind, so that consumption adapts to the population’s individual reality.
“These post-pandemic changes, such as world wars, environmental catastrophes, lifestyle changes, food availability and situations of extreme poverty, show the need for reflection on this content. But aspects of individual food security, social, demographic and cultural aspects were also considered, mainly changes in the eating patterns of the Brazilian population and the world”, he says.
Metaverse
According to the expert, the new edition presents the concept of the Food Pyramid Metaverse, which discusses each of the food groups and updated nutritional recommendations, in accordance with the new guidelines and guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) on fat and carbohydrate consumption. According to her, the highlight is the group of fruits and vegetables, which become the base of the food pyramid in place of cereals.
“It’s a way to awaken people’s curiosity so that this content can be read, absorbed and used, because we have hard work to change behavior. This change can only occur if the content is absorbed and the knowledge incorporated into eating behavior,” he explains.
Application in everyday life
According to Sonia, the new edition of the book brought together more than 30 collaborators, including professors, researchers and nutritionists, therefore, it features the most contemporary information in the world of healthy eating. She explains that the main purpose of the collection is to reflect nutritional information on people’s plates, that is, to transform scientific content into a didactic approach so that the population can apply the concepts learned in their daily diet.
“Two chapters were included on recipes with ways of including the foods we recommend in the pyramid within daily meals, in children’s lunch boxes, in workers’ lunch boxes, in teenagers’ snacks. All this in a simple way to understand, because the ingredients, method and preparation technologies are presented”, he explains.
Vegetarianism
For the professor, the vegetarian population is growing and the practice is a global trend, therefore, this niche needs cohesive and accurate information about the nutritional quality of food. She explains that, with the inclusion of vegetables in the first level of the pyramid, herbs, spices and Non-Conventional Food Plants (PANCs) were also included, which are vegetables commonly found in everyday life and that do not appear edible, but which can be applied in cooking and have great nutritional value.
“This type of vegetable is sometimes found in a low form in any home garden, in rural cities and sometimes even here in some neighborhoods of São Paulo. This consumption must be encouraged among our population”, he states.
Hierarchy
After vegetables and cereals, the next stage of the pyramid consists of foods of animal origin, which include meat, eggs, fish and dairy products. Sonia explains that this group needs to be observed more carefully, prioritizing consumption in smaller quantities and, mostly, lean meats, which do not have a very high caloric intake.
According to the expert, the last levels of the pyramid are made up of sugars, oils and fats, which need to be consumed in moderation. According to her, the inversion of these food groups aims to provide a new format for diets, but it needs to be accompanied by other healthy habits, such as physical activity, quality of sleep and meditation.
“These habits are part of the modern context of not looking at nutrition just as a list of prohibitions, a terrorist narrative in relation to food. We work in a different way, highlighting what is good about each food to encourage its consumption”, he explains.