Nutrition has been one of the central topics of the first day of Alimentaria
Emphasis has also been placed on nutrition in several presentations, where we have discussed how to ensure that the menus in schools and nursing homes are healthy or what eating habits can promote longevity. This last issue was discussed in the talk by Marius Robles, CEO of Youngr – Exponential Life, which began with the following question: “Does eating a steak take away 30 minutes of your life?”
Spectators had to wait until the end of the meeting to find out the answer. Previously, Robles has explained that interest in delaying aging is increasing, even among people 40 years old or younger, and that in 2040 the longevity industry will be one of the most important. Likewise, he has referred to the fact that, although the length of time we live also depends 15-20% on genetics, prevention is key.
In this sense, the expert has recommended sleeping eight hours, reducing stress or socializing, in addition to following a balanced diet. This means prioritizing whole foods, ensuring good hydration, incorporating plant-based proteins, limiting sugar, choosing healthy fats, planning meals and taking care of portion sizes. Also ensure the presence of certain foods in the diet, such as cereals, nuts, eggs, olive oil, eggs or legumes. “The Mediterranean diet works,” he added.
Robles, however, has insisted on the importance of food generating happiness and pleasure, emotions that positively influence health. For this reason, he has decided that eating steak – in moderation and taking into account the rest of the advice mentioned – “can also lengthen your life.”
Different agents who collaborate in the creation of school menus have also debated in Alimentaria about how to make these meals healthy as well as sustainable. And, in a month in which the protests of farm workers have had a great role, much emphasis has been placed on using local products.
The sustainable hospitality consultant, Isabel Coderch, attended this meeting; the dietician-nutritionist from the Public Health Agency of Catalonia, Gemma Salvador; the chef specialized in sustainable communities, Nani Moré; and the director of Loyalty and CSR of Serunion, Tatiana Pérez. All of them have pointed out that the dining room should be an unregulated educational space, in which the effects that their diet can have on the environment are explained to children. But this teaching must also come from families and teachers, it has been insisted, a teamwork that is not always easy to occur.
And although children are insisted that they should eat healthy, if they never eat fruits and vegetables at home, it will be difficult for them to do so in the dining room, the speakers have given as an example. In this debate it has also been pointed out that children should not be forced to eat, and that investment in the kitchens of the dining halls is key so that those who work in them can offer healthy and appetizing dishes. Finally, warnings have been drawn about the growing supply of unhealthy products in secondary school canteens, which make it difficult for adolescents to follow a healthy diet the rest of the day.
And the menus of the residences, of which public opinion is usually very critical, have also been a topic of debate. In a conversation featuring Anna Pons, from the Department of Social Rights of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Mercè Saltor, commercial manager of Central Borne; Marta Galindo, nurse at the Landus group, and Antoni Vidal, director of operations at ACRA, have assured that “the food can say a lot about the quality of these centers.”
Here, the solution that has been given so that the elderly eat better and do not leave food on their plate is personalization. “You have to talk to people, see what they like, listen to them,” Pons said. And it must be all the center’s workers who work to know the tastes of the users and so that they reach the kitchen. Although it has also been insisted that it is difficult to bet on quality and such careful treatment in an underfinanced sector.
