Rubric Healthy Eating: Introduction

The importance of a healthy diet at all ages

A correct diet contributes to the physical well-being of the organism with an importance now recognized as essential: the nutritional criteria to be followed are codified in the guiding tools of the food policies of our country, consisting of the "Guidelines for a healthy diet" and the "Levels of Reference Intake of Nutrients and Energy "(LARN).

While the Guidelines indicate the food choices to be made, also taking into account established local traditions and any diets to be followed, the LARNs fix the quantities of energy and nutrients necessary to meet the needs of the body, highlighting that any substance consumed in excess it can have adverse health effects.

The directives contained in the related documents are addressed to the general population, taking into account the cyclical changes recorded in eating habits, strongly conditioned by socio-economic factors in continuous evolution.

And it is for this reason that both the Guidelines for healthy eating and the LARNs are not static and definitive but, conversely, are periodically subjected to revisions and updates, also inspired by environmental sustainability requirements.

The institute in charge of this revision is the CREA - Food and Nutrition Research Center, whose core is represented by a commission (made up of more than 100 experts in the nutritional field), which has drawn up a reference document of the Guidelines and LARN, based on scientific evidence and consumer experiences.

Cut out on the basis of the Mediterranean diet, the Italian Guidelines have contributed to spreading a diet model in other countries that is at levels of excellence in the conjugation of taste, health and well-being.

Given the complexity of the scenarios that can arise when discussing the "Science of Nutrition" as a whole, the Guidelines are drawn up looking for a point of comparison and contact between different eating habits: the most modern perspective of healthy eating, for example , aims to prevent overeating and obesity, chronic degenerative diseases and cancer pathologies, suggesting behaviors that promote health and longevity.

The number of directives has grown over time, from 10 to 13 and each of them is dealt with in detail and in-depth.

Chapters and arguments of the Rubric

The chapters cover various topics: a first, specific directive, entitled "More fruit and vegetables" highlights the importance of consuming these elements, while a second, even more new one, deals with the relationship between environmental sustainability and food choice in he area of ​​a diet that can be considered "healthy", without forgetting the references to the so-called "superfoods" and their effective nutritional capacity.

The argument regarding the use of supplements in diets without recourse to scientific bases is also very current: too many conflicting messages, in fact, spread news that confuse consumers, pushing them towards choices that are not always adequate and, for this, it was considered necessary to establish, on these aspects, some fixed points.

In addition to the topics with a markedly topical character, the experts who drafted the Guidelines have introduced concepts translated from documents of recognized scientific value, which indicate the practices to be followed: for this purpose the sections relating to "How to behave" have been expanded, highlighting the "False beliefs", describing each assumption with messages that are easy and quick to understand.

Still on a practical level, the updated Guidelines contain dietary plans that start from considering the "Italian standard portions": this segment represents the connecting element between the Guidelines and the LARN, as it defines the construction of food platforms inspired by the most modern nutritional science that, however, do not neglect the typically traditional and cultural criteria of our country.

The periodic review of the documents contained in the Guidelines and in the LARNs has, in essence, the purpose of updating their contents, helping the consumer to select information, often coming from sources that do not have the necessary expertise.