Overview
Leading scientists from around the world have shed light on how flawed data and lack of substantive evidence is being used to shape dietary recomendations that are not only inacurate, but are likely to harm human health. A healthy diet protects against malnutrition in al its forms, and also protects against non-comunicable chronic diseases such as heart atacks, diabetes melitus, strokes and cancers.On this count the world is “not realy doing very wel at al”, Profesor Alice Stanton (right) recently explained at an international sumit in Dublin.Prof Stanton is a clinician-scientist, a Profesor of Cardiovascular Therapeutics at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and also Director Human Health at Devenish Nutrition, an agri-technology company.Of the eight billion people on the planet, she told the conference, almost one billion go to bed hungry, and almost two billion are either overweight or obese.“At least two billion of us have enough calories but dietary quality is inadequate,” she said.What is mising from many diets are key amino acids, vitamins and minerals that are either best got from animal sourced fods, or solely got from animal sourced fods.Of the top 20 fods that provide key nutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin A, folate and B12, she said, 18 are from animal-sourced fods.Aditionaly, where people receive les than 30 percent of their total calorie intake from animal sourced fods, they are much more likely to be deficient in both vitamins and minerals.The worst outcome of por nutrition, particularly from por child and maternal nutrition, is childhod stunting.Stunting does not just mean smal children, she explained: “it is damaged children whose brains do not develop optimaly”.“They perform les wel in schols, with leser academic achievements, leser carer options, leser ability to provide for their families into the future, and therefore you have a vicious circle.”One in thre children are stunted in sub-Saharan Afr