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20 Feb 2023
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5 min read
Benefits for planet health

Improving dairy production for a sustainable future

cow dairy farming food system greenhouse gas emission sustainable food system
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People have been enjoying dairy foods for millennia but scientists are only just now discovering that cows can give more than a vital source of nutrition. They could also be “eco-warriors”, according to some scientists from the USA (1).

Cows produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. But this downside may be outweighed by the benefits we may gain from the bovine.

The authors have reviewed the links between people, dairy, and the environment. According to them, dairy production has come on in leaps and bounds in recent decades, increasing milk yield while shrinking its environmental footprint.

Continuing these improvements in dairy production has a key role to play in a sustainable future. That’s especially so as our planet will soon to be inhabited by over 9 billion people, putting growing pressure on the environment and the capacity to feed the world.

Step in the cows. Ruminants can digest certain plant foods that people can’t and this can partly explain why dairy products can be part of sustainable diets. The cow helpfully converts plant fibre into calories we can readily use, in a form that most of us enjoy.

‘The ability of the ruminant to digest plant fiber makes them one of the green energy innova­tions available to humanity. ’ – Nguyen BT, et al, 2022

Keeping dairy cows healthy

Much of the gain in dairy production efficiency has been down to the improvement in how we look after our animals, say the authors. In the United States, today’s dairy cows are healthy and in an overall state of well-being thanks to the efforts of farmers, including :

  • Providing cows with high-quality feed, water, air, light, rest, and space
  • Keeping cows spick and span – improved hygiene
  • Reducing use of antimicrobials in dairy farming, meaning better milk quality and food safety
  • Giving cows a clean home with comfortable stalls and bedding,

Disinfecting teats before and after milking, better milking equipment and improved treatment have helped to reduce the risk of cows suffering from mastitis – infection and inflammation of the udder that’s both painful and impacts on milk yield and quality. The past 20 years has seen a dramatic improvement in somatic cells counts, a marker of udder health.

‘Dairy has and continues to make continuous im­provements in animal care, environmental impact, and nutrition while contributing to strong commu­nities across the US and the globe.’ – Nguyen BT, et al, 2022

Dairy farming should become more “eco-friendly”

The dairy industry produces about 2% of all total US greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) (2). According to the authors, higher productivity – how efficiently the cow convert its food into milk – has meant that each serving of dairy that ends up on our plate has a smaller environmental footprint. More milk is being produced from fewer cows and fewer dairy farms, say the authors. And between 2007 and 2017 improved dairy efficiency in the USA has led to a:

  • 19% fall in GHGE (3)
  • 21% reduction in land footprint
  • 17% reduced requirements for feed
  • 30% less water used per gallon of milk

Cows also have a knack of being able to digest waste by-products from our own foods and commodities – including almonds, soy oil, sugar, and even cotton and to use them as energy to produce milk. If instead such by-products were put in landfill, they would cause a 50-fold increase in GHGE compared with ruminant digestion, the authors have calculated (1).

Dairy products are contributor to people’s health

Dairy is unmatched among food ingredients for its provision of nutrients and vitamins, say the authors. For example, today’s dairy industry in the USA provides enough milk to meet annual energy needs for 26%, protein requirements for 51%, and calcium requirements for 77% of the US population. It also provides 39% of the vitamin A, 47% of the riboflavin, 57% of the vitamin B12, and 29% of the choline available for human consumption in the USA.

Around the world, dairy is important for providing nutrition to the large swathes of the population who are undernourished, including children, the authors point out.

And dairy products are well known for playing a key role in healthy growth and development and preventing broken bones in young and old. Evidence also points to dairy having a protective effect against several common long-term diseases such as cardiovascular disease. More recently studies of obesity, eating habits, and satiety have suggested that full-fat milk can reduce cravings and help in weight management (4).

As well as an important source of nutrition, the dairy industry continues to provide a livelihood for millions of people. In the USA alone, dairy farms and associated industry employ more than double the number of Amazon employees in the world, the authors say (5,6).

Dairy have to continue to make improvements in animal care, environmental impact, and nutrition while contributing to communities across the US and the globe. It is important to consider the one-health impacts that the dairy sector has. This is especially true as global populations continue to rise and climate change becomes an increasingly high priority.

Find out more: read the original article.
Source: (1) Nguyen BT, Briggs KR, Nydam DV. Dairy production sustainability through a one-health lens. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2022 Nov 14;261(1):12-16. doi: 10.2460/javma.22.09.0429. PMID: 36374578..
Additional references:
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06 Feb 2023
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4 min read
Gut Health

Human gut microbiota: meet the bacteria

bacteria gut gut health gut microbiota microbiome
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The human gut microbiota is a huge topic of interest and research. But what are we really talking about?

About the human microbiota

“The human microbiota is the collection of micro-organisms situated in the various bodily districts that interact with the outside world”.

Bacteria take up residence in areas of the body that are in contact with the outside world, such as the digestive system (gut microbiota), the skin (hard to imagine any part of our bodies more exposed than that!), the urogenital system (for example in the vagina) or the respiratory system (the air that we breathe in and out is a means of communication with the outside world). The digestive system is where most of the body’s micro­organisms reside (about 80% of the total) in the gut microbiota.

Microbiota as dynamic entity

The microbiota is a dynamic entity: as we grow, it changes with us. Every human being’s gut microbiota is the result of their life experiences (birth mode, early feeding experience, dietary diversity, exposure to antibiotics…), leading to the formation of the core microbiota, which is stable over time and able to respond to external events. During the life of an individual, the microbiota is capable of self-modulation in response to external stressor events, in order to ensure bodily equilibrium. It’s worth repeating: the microbiota should be imagined as a dynamic entity, able to actively interact with us and in particular with our immune, endocrine and nervous systems.

Growing in symbiosis with our organism, the microbiota changes in relation to the different life stages of the individual, with two critical periods for the acquisition and modification of the gut microbiota:

  • the first three years of life, where the microbiota reaches its full development, is molded, and becomes similar to that of an adult.
  • the passage from adulthood to old age (over 65 -70 years approximately).

About 1000 different species

It is estimated that every human being can host over 1,000 different species in their gut and each of us has a unique microbiota, different from that of anyone else.

However, some scientists have proposed and shown the existence of “enterotypes” (similar to blood groups) and all of humankind can be divided into groups on the basis of the characteristics of their gut microbiota.

To date, three enterotypes have been identified, based mainly on the composition of the microbiota, specifically on the basis of genus to which the majority of the bacteria present in each individual belong. It seems that in each one of us, one of the following is a predominant type, and therefore enterotype:

  • Bacteroides
  • Prevotella
  • Ruminococcus

If those type are predominant, it does not mean sole. There are hundreds of micro-organisms, and they play an important role: all these groups become part of the microbiota in numbers such as to maintain a more or less constant numerical ratio with the genus characterizing the enterotype.

Keep the enterotype in mind, because it could be of great help in the future in revealing some unresolved aspects of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or cancer, serving as a basis for targeted preventive strategies.

A question of balance and diversity

In healthy conditions, the gut microbiota ecosystem is in a state of balance (homeostasis); where members of a limited number of species will be present in far greater numbers than those of other species, which may be more numerous, but are represented by fewer members.

The homeostasis in the bacterial composition of the gut microbiota is of utmost importance for maintaining the good health of this particular organ of our body and, as a consequence, of the entire human organism that hosts it.

This post is written on the basis of the book “Microbiota”.

“Microbiota” is published in english by the Danone Institute Italy and Danone Institute International. It gathers a mix of historical, anthropological and scientific concepts explaining why research on gut bacteria, from ancient texts to the most recent scientific evidence, is a sector of great interest for science. Thanks to a Q&A structure, 7 recognized experts explain several topics considering the different ages and conditions in life. The book is available in pdf and e-book format (on the Danone Institute International website)

Download the complete book in pdf 
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30 Jan 2023
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8 min read
Benefits for planet health

Tackling climate change: scientists seek to stop dairy cows burping

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It’s not just our own diet that we need to change to tackle climate change; it should also be interesting to think about what cows are eating, scientists say. In particular, what about putting them on a diet that makes them burp less?

Cows might look like innocent bystanders in the rural ecology. In fact, as they contentedly munch away, they’re constantly belching out one of the most damaging of greenhouse gases: methane.

So, the challenge is on to figure out how to make cows more environmentally-friendly. Cutting down on their methane emissions promises to combat global warming and slow climate change. In a review of the evidence so far, researchers have identified knowledge gaps to help governments, farmers, and industry to set goals for a sustainable future (1).

How do cows make methane?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that gases emitted by cows come out of their rear end. In fact cows release almost all of their methane by belching it out. That is because cows are ruminants – along with sheep, goats and giraffes, they have a specialised digestive system that allows them to break down grass and other vegetation that can’t be digested by people and other non-ruminant animals (2). Rather than having one stomach like humans, ruminants have four chambers in their stomach. The first of these is the rumen which acts as a fermentation chamber which ‘brews up’ the food after it’s swallowed by the cow. The cow later regurgitates the partially-digested food and chews on it for a while to help finish the job of digesting it – ‘chewing its cud’.

Fermentation is made possible because the rumen is host to a vast number of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa, all of which contribute to the harvesting of food energy and provision of nutrients to the cow. Some break down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars, while others break down the cellulose in plant cell walls.

As a by-product of the fermentation process, they produce gases: carbon dioxide and methane. Thea amount of methane cows release depends on their feed.  A cow can emit up to an incredible 500 litres of methane each day.

How do dairy cattle contribute to global warming?

Along with carbon dioxide, methane is the most important of the greenhouse gases (GHG), and since 1950, its concentration in the atmosphere has leapt by an alarming 70% (3). Although natural wetlands contribute to methane emissions, 60% come from human activities, including growing rice and keeping ruminant animals such as cattle.

Animal husbandry accounts for 14.5% of world GHG emissions – which is about the same as the transportation industry (4). The fermentation process in the rumen provides more than 90% of methane emissions from livestock and 40% of farm GHG emissions (5).

Enteric fermentation process in cows - YINI

How is methane from cows measured?

The first step in tackling the cows’ gassy problems is to work out the best way of measuring the methane they emit. A reliable method means that techniques to cut methane emissions can be evaluated and compared. These should be portable methods that don’t disrupt the cow’s routine.

Although there’s no way of sampling whole herds at a time, several technologies, such as a respiration chamber, are being developed to measure methane emissions by individual dairy cows. One that is showing great prospects is a ‘sniffer’ or breath-sampling technique.

Can we reduce greenhouse gas from cows?

What cows eat has a profound effect on how much methane they produce:

  • Digesting hay and grass, for example, produces more methane than grain.
  • The addition of grain to cows’ feed changes acidity in the rumen and decreases methane generation.

However, the use of high-grain diets must be weighed against the expense of feed production, fertiliser, and machinery use, all of which use fossil fuels.

That’s why scientists are studying alternatives and supplements to cow feed that may produce less methane without leaving a big carbon footprint.

Whichever are found to be the best, it seems that taking time over a leisurely meal makes for a happy cow. Longer rumination times boost milk output and are linked to reduced methane emission in dairy cows.

A salad of seaweed ?

It may not be the first thing that springs to mind when considering cow feed but seaweed is packed full of nutrients and some types contain bromoform – an agent that blocks methane generation. Research has found that methane emission can be more than halved when the bromoform-containing red seaweed Asparagopsis is added to the feed of dairy cows, with no residue found in milk (6).

Further studies on seaweed are needed to ensure that its addition to cow feed is safe for human health, say the authors.

A cup of tea for cows?

Maybe not in a cup, but tea, yucca, and gypsophilla are among the many plants that contain naturally occurring detergents called saponins. These compounds have been shown to decrease methane generation by reducing rumen protozoa, which play a key role in cows’ methane production.

Other plant extracts that are good candidates for boosting our cows’ feed include eucalyptus, garlic, and oregano and white thyme essential oils, and all have been studied for their anti-methane generating activities. Rapeseed oil is another option – scientists found that supplementing diets of nursing dairy cows with rapeseed oil reduced methane emissions by up to 23%.

Methane-cutting measures must be balanced with environmental impacts

Although plant extracts work well in reducing methane emissions, it’s important to make sure the plants can be produced sustainably, taking into account the methods used to harvest, transport, store, and process them into a feed ingredient. The carbon footprint should not outweigh the gains made from methane reduction, the authors warn.

Seaweed holds promise as a sustainable choice because it can be grown in seaweed farms around the world and it is known to absorb vast quantities of carbon dioxide.

Demands on water resources are also important. Cinnamon essential oils, for example, have been shown to reduce methane in lab tests. To produce 1 kg of cinnamon takes 15,526 litres of water and emits 1.6 kg of carbon dioxide, equivalent to driving a car for 6 km (7).

Garlic and oregano tick more boxes when it comes to sustainable production. It takes only 589 litres of water to produce 1 kg of garlic, and 7048 L of water to produce 1 kg of dried oregano (8).

Rapidly-growing plants tend to put less strain on the environment because they need less water and fertiliser than other plants. Eucalyptus trees may be harvested in as little as 3-5 years, making them a quickly renewable resource, with certain kinds of eucalyptus growing 4 m each year, say the authors.

Genetic selection: breeding non-gassy cows

As well as changing our livestock’s diet, we can also look at breeding the right cows.

Scientists believe that genetically selecting low-methane-emitting cows can be a sustainable way to cut emissions from dairy cattle (9). Studies suggest that dairy cows have a low to moderate level of inheritance of their gassy tendencies. Further research is needed to understand the genetics.

The authors point out that, to ensure animal welfare and health, research investigating methane emissions should be conducted in a large number of animals over a long period.

‘To meet future global demands, the livestock industry must investigate natural feed additives that improve nutrient utilization efficiency, provide antibiotic alternatives, and reduce ruminant methane emissions.’ – Bačėninaitė D, et al, 2022

Find out more: read the original article.
Source: (1) Bačėninaitė D, Džermeikaitė K, Antanaitis R. Global Warming and Dairy Cattle: How to Control and Reduce Methane Emission. Animals (Basel). 2022 Oct 6;12(19):2687. doi: 10.3390/ani12192687.
Additional sources:
  1. (2) Cows, Methane, and Climate Change | Let’s Talk Science (letstalkscience.ca)
  2. (3) Black, J.L.; Davison, T.M.; Box, I. Methane Emissions from Ruminants in Australia: Mitigation Potential and Applicability of Mitigation Strategies. Animals 2021, 11, 951.
  3. (4) Kristiansen, S.; Painter, J.; Shea, M. Animal Agriculture and Climate Change in the US and UK Elite Media: Volume, Responsibilities, Causes and Solutions. Environ. Commun. 2021, 15, 153–172.
  4. (5) Tubiello, F.N.; Salvatore, M.; Rossi, S.; Ferrara, A.; Fitton, N.; Smith, P. The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Environ. Res. Lett. 2013, 8, 015009.
  5. (6) Stefenoni, H.A.; Räisänen, S.E.; Cueva, S.F.;Wason, D.E.; Lage, C.F.A.; Melgar, A.; Fetter, M.E.; Smith, P.; Hennessy, M.; Vecchiarelli, B.; et al. Effects of the macroalga Asparagopsis taxiformis and oregano leaves on methane emission, rumen fermentation, and lactational performance of dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 2021, 104, 4157–4173.
  6. (7) Marie, A. Cinnamon Benefits + Side Effects. HEALabel. 2022.
  7. (8) Marie, A. Oregano Benefits + Side Effects. HEALabel. 2022.
  8. (9)Lassen, J.; Difford, G.F. Review: Genetic and genomic selection as a methane mitigation strategy in dairy cattle. Animal 2020, 14, s473–s483.
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23 Jan 2023
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2 min read
Benefits for planet health IUNS-ICN 2022

Eating to protect our health and planet: the recording

climate change IUNS ICN2022 sustainable diet
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Discover or re-discover online our conference on “Eating to protect our health and our planet”.

Online conference

During a symposium at the IUNS International Congress of Nutrition, in Tokyo, Japan, in dec 2022, the Yogurt in Nutrition Initiative gathered international scientists through a conference focused on eating to protect our health and our planet. The goal of this conference was to highlight the role of food systems, diets and households’ strategies to build more sustainable healthy diets. The conference, chaired by Sharon Donovan and Olivier Goulet, gathered three experts: Janet Ranganathan, Frans Kok and Jess Haines.

The conference was recorded and we are happy to share now the recording with you.

In short

The challenge is to feed 10 billions people by 2050.

It will imply to close:

  • a GHG emissions mitigation gap of 11 Gt (gigatonnes) by 2050
  • a food gap of 56% by 2050
  • a land gap of 593 million hectares to avoir further agricultural expansion

In order to do so, in short:

  • Produce, protect, reduce, restore
  • Use land efficiently
  • Reduce demand fairly
  • Manage ruminants
  • Develop more output per hectare, animal, liter of water, kg of nitrogen
  • Find the right balance for role of agri in soil carbon sequestration

In the plate, it will go through major transitions in food production, processing, food loss/waste:

  • In regards to nutrient adequacy, plant-based diet solutions can provide the required nutrients, provided it is well-planned.
  • Rank order in global warming: beef > other meat > cheese > milk > eggs > fish > plant products
  • Results indicate that dairy has a moderate impact on sustainability: Daily intake of 250g of milk or derivatives e.g. yogurt fits in future sustainable diets

If modelization helps find the direction towards more sustainable diet, putting it in practice will imply changes in eating and consumer behaviors and adoption of new habits:

  • Eat more plant-based proteins
  • Cook more meals at home
  • Reduce food waste
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09 Jan 2023
•
6 min read
•
by YINI Editorial team
Fermentation benefits Other studies

Overcoming acne: probiotics show promise

YINI Editorial team
The YINI team includes nutritionists, food engineers, registered dietitians and scientific writers.
Acne cheese dairy Fermented dairy products probiotics
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We’ve all been there – a hot date coming up and right on cue, the spots have erupted. But for many people, it’s not just a couple of short-term blemishes that are ruining their day; acne is a whole other ballgame. It can bring misery and heart-ache just at the time when people are most concerned about how they look.

But things are looking up for the millions of people who struggle with acne, as we learn more about what triggers this chronic condition and how it might be overcome. Not only is new research unravelling the complex processes underlying acne but it is also revealing a promising role for probiotics in its treatment. And this research could help explain why acne is associated with drinking milk but not with yogurt – which contains probiotic bacteria.

Acne can affect adults too

Acne mainly arises when the sebaceous glands in our skin produce too much sebum, which then blocks the skin follicles – a situation most likely to happen during puberty.

The chances are that most of us develop acne at some point. It affects 50-95% of teenagers aged 12-18 years. But it’s not just a blight for young folk – adults can get it too. Research has shown that up to 43% of people who had acne in adolescence still have it when they’re 30–40 years old.

Acne is closely linked to the westernised lifestyle and in particular the finger of suspicion points towards the western diet, characterised by processed foods, saturated fats, and refined sugars.

Investigating the link between dairy products and acne

Dairy products, another popular part of the diet, have also come under the spotlight but previous studies on their possible role in the development of acne have led to conflicting results (3,4,5).

So to get a clearer picture, researchers reviewed these studies, analysing data from 14 studies that met their criteria and comparing findings from people who had the highest intake of various dairy products with those who had the lowest intake. The age of participants in these studies ranged from 9 to 30 years (1).

Acne is associated with consuming milk but not yogurt or cheese

Results showed that consuming dairy, total milk, whole fat milk, low-fat milk and skimmed milk were all associated with the presence of acne. The more milk people drank, the greater their risk of acne. Each additional serving of dairy, whole milk and skimmed milk increased the risk of acne by 83%, 13% and 26%, respectively.

But it was a different story when it came to yogurt and cheese. The four studies that looked specifically at yogurt and cheese intake all consistently found that these products were not associated with acne.

The authors suggested that the lack of a relationship between yogurt/cheese and acne may be due to the fermentation process involved in making them. This process, requiring a starter culture of bacteria, may modify the components of milk that are associated with acne development.

‘Results of the present meta-analysis recommend the consumption of yogurt/cheese to avoid acne creation.’ – Aghasi M, et al, 2019

The gut-skin axis plays a key role in acne development

Separate research may shed light on these findings. It has sought to uncover the processes underlying the development of acne, and the role of the human microbiota – the trillions of microorganisms that live on and in us.

In particular, our gut microbiota constantly interacts with our immune system and helps to shape our inflammatory response – this may explain findings suggesting a role for the gut microbiota in several inflammatory skin conditions, including acne.

Our community of gut microbiota is profoundly influenced by what we eat. While fruit and vegetables in the diet promote a healthy mix of gut microorganisms, fatty foods and foods with a high glycaemic index are associated with less diverse gut microbiota and an increase in inflammatory triggers. Hence it comes as no surprise that our western diet may aggravate the development of acne.

In light of these findings, researchers reason that modulating the gut microbiota could potentially influence the appearance and progression of acne. And a good way to achieve this would be through probiotics, used together with, or instead of existing therapies for acne (2).

Probiotics show promise against acne

A review of research to date has indeed suggested that, according to laboratory tests, probiotics may help against acne, and the few studies carried out so far in people have shown promising results for probiotics applied to the skin and especially probiotics taken orally.

Probiotics may exert their beneficial effects through several ways, say the researchers. For example, probiotics taken by mouth may modulate the gut microbiota, generating an anti-inflammatory response and improving the barrier function of the gut. Or they may affect insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1), a hormone that has been implicated in the development of acne.

Several probiotic strains, including Lactobacillus strains, have been shown in lab tests to produce anti-microbial substances that inhibit the growth of acne bacteria, Cutibacterium acnes.

Trials in people have included:

  • An early study found that adding a probiotic mix containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains to antibiotic treatment increased the anti-inflammatory effects and reduced potential adverse effects of prolonged antibiotic therapy (6).
  • In another study, an oral Lactobacillus probiotic taken for 12 weeks was associated with improvement in acne compared with placebo, also reducing IGF-1 expression (7).
  • An increase in levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 was seen in a trial following treatment with a probiotic mixture containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains given orally for 30 days (8).
  • A recent study evaluated a mixture of probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium, Lacticaseibacillus, and Ligilactobacillus plus extract of aubergine (Solanum melongena) and Echinacea taken orally in 114 people with mild to moderate acne for 8 weeks (9). Compared with placebo, acne symptoms improved and the rate of sebum secretion fell, as did presence of C. acnes in patients who were treated with the probiotic mixture and the botanical extract, especially when taken together.

‘Given the aggressiveness of some standard acne treatment, probiotics should continue to be investigated as an alternative or adjuvant therapy.’ – Sánchez-Pellicer P, et al, 2022

References
  1. (1) Aghasi M, Golzarand M, Shab-Bidar S, et al. Dairy intake and acne development: A meta-analysis of observational studies Clin Nutr. 2019 Jun;38(3):1067-1075. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.04.015. Epub 2018 May 8.PMID: 29778512
  2. (2) Sánchez-Pellicer P, Navarro-Moratalla L, Núñez-Delegido E, et al. Acne, Microbiome, and Probiotics: The Gut–Skin Axis. Microorganisms. 2022 Jun 27;10(7):1303. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10071303.PMID: 35889022
  3. (3) Burris J, Rietkerk W, Woolf K. Relationships of self-reported dietary factors and perceived acne severity in a cohort of New York young adults. J Acad Nutr Diet 2014;114(3):384e92
  4. (4) LaRosa CL, Quach KA, Koons K, Kunselman AR, Zhu J, Thiboutot DM, et al. Consumption of dairy in teenagers with and without acne. J Am Acad Dermatol 2016;75(2):318e22
  5. (5) Pereira Duquia R, da Silva Dos Santos I, de Almeida Jr H, Martins Souza PR, de Avelar Breunig J, Zouboulis CC. Epidemiology of acne vulgaris in 18-year-old male army conscripts in a south Brazilian City. Dermatology 2017;233(2e3): 145e54
  6. (6) Jung, G.W.; Tse, J.E.; Guiha, I.; Rao, J. Prospective, randomized, open-label trial comparing the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of an acne treatment regimen with and without a probiotic supplement and minocycline in subjects with mild to moderate acne. J. Cutan. Med. Surg. 2013, 17, 114–122.
  7. (7) Fabbrocini, G.; Bertona, M.; Picazo, Ó.; Pareja-Galeano, H.; Monfrecola, G.; Emanuele, E. Supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus SP1 normalises skin expression of genes implicated in insulin signalling and improves adult acne. Benef. Microbes 2016, 7, 625–630.
  8. (8) Rahmayani, T.; Putra, I.B.; Jusuf, N.K. The Effect of Oral Probiotic on the Interleukin-10 Serum Levels of Acne Vulgaris. Open Access Maced. J. Med. Sci. 2019, 7, 3249–3252
  9. (9) Rinaldi, F.; Marotta, L.; Mascolo, A.; Amoruso, A.; Pane, M.; Giuliani, G.; Pinto, D. Facial Acne: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study on the Clinical Efficacy of a Symbiotic Dietary Supplement. Dermatol. Ther. 2022, 12, 577–589.
YINI Editorial team
The YINI team includes nutritionists, food engineers, registered dietitians and scientific writers.
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03 Jan 2023
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6 min read
Nutri-dense food Q&A

What are the health benefits of yogurt?

bone bone density cardiovascular disease Diabetes Nutrient density t2d
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A balanced diet is important to support good health and largely depends on appropriate nutritional and food intakes. Within the diet, certain foods such as yogurt are scientifically recognized as being beneficial to our health.

Yogurt stands as a nutrient-rich food

Due to its composition, yogurt is a nutritionally dense-food. It contains both micronutrients – vitamins and minerals – and macronutrients, including proteins and fatty acids (1). Regarding protein content, yogurt provides high-quality protein, including all essential amino acids in the proportions needed for protein synthesis. Moreover, they are proved to be more digestible than proteins in standard milk (2), probably because the fermentation process of making yogurt starts to break them down into smaller units.

Yogurt is a well-recognized source of calcium, but it also provides smaller amounts of many other micronutrients, including potassium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B5, and vitamin B12 (3).

Yogurt consumption is associated with reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is a worldwide health challenge: type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by an abnormally high blood glucose levels or glycaemia. When glycaemia chronically outreaches a precise defined threshold, there is an increased risk of developing adverse long-term outcomes.

Nowadays, data from cohorts’ studies indicate there may be a beneficial association between yogurt consumption and T2D prevention (4,5,6,7):

  • Yogurt is a low glycemic index food (in average around 41 for a plain unsweetened yogurt, against 100 for pure glucose), suggesting that it does not cause a large spike in blood glucose levels after a meal.
  • Yogurt consumers are less likely to have unhealthy lifestyles that are linked to T2D development.
  • Live bacteria in yogurt can improve the composition of the gut microbiota and this may help to reduce inflammation linked to T2D.
  • The risk of T2D has been shown to fall by 7% for each 10 μg increase in dietary vitamin K2, and a whole-fat yogurt contains up to 28 μg of vitamin K2 per 100 g serving.

Yogurt consumption contribute to support cardiovascular health

Having a healthy diet is one of the most important ways of preventing cardio-vascular disease (CVD). Yogurt, with their diverse assortment of different bioactive, nutrient-rich compounds, especially when consumed with fruit, have been linked with a reduced risk of CVD. Yogurt consumption was also repeatedly found to be associated with a reduced risk of high blood pressure (8).

Yogurt consumption supports cardiovascular health. The association between its consumption and reduced risk of CVD may be due to the protective properties of some of yogurt components (9,10,11):

  • Micronutrients (calcium, potassium, magnesium) have been linked to a reduced risk of stroke.
  • Yogurt and dairy products are rich in micronutrients and proteins, some of which have been associated to lower blood pressure.
  • Low-grade inflammation underlies the pathology of CVD, and some saturated fatty acids found in dairy products (e.g. lauric acid) may have anti-inflammatory effects.
  • Fermented dairy products such as cheese, yogurt or probiotic fermented milks have a high antioxidant potential i.e. the ability to combat oxidative damage (12) and could play a part in healthy and active ageing (13). The fermentation process influences the dairy fat composition. Consequently, it increases the concentration of conjugated linoleic acid, which, evidence suggests, may have several anti-atherosclerotic benefits including changes in body fat, lipid profile and blood pressure (14).

Consuming yogurt may contribute for strong and healthy bones

Yogurt, as part of the dairy product group, is indeed recommended in many dietary guidelines because of its nutrient content deemed essential for bone health. Not only is it rich in nutrients essential for bone health, most notably calcium, yogurt also contains proteins important for bone health (15).

On the one hand, yogurt consumption is linked to healthy growth of bones during childhood and adolescence thanks to its high calcium content. On the other hand, yogurt consumption could reduce the risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures in elderly people (> 60 years old). Statistical modelling of yogurt intake and bone health actually predicted that each increase of one serving per week of yogurt intake was associated with a 39% lower risk of osteoporosis in women and a 52% lower risk in men (16).

Thus, encouraging people to eat yogurt more often may be a valuable public health strategy to ensure healthy growth but also stave off osteoporosis (16).

For more information:

References:
(1) YINI Digest, 2014. What added value does yogurt bring to dairy protein?.
(2) Adolfsson O, Meydani SN, Russell RM. Yogurt and gut function. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80(2):245-56.
(3) Williams EB, Hooper B, Spiro A, et al. The contribution of yogurt to nutrient intakes across the life course. Nutrition Bulletin 2015;40:9–32.
(4) Marette A, Picard-Deland E. Yogurt consumption and impact on health: focus on children and cardiometabolic risk. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;99:1243S–7S.
(5) Chen M, Sun Q, Giovannucci E, et al. Dairy consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: 3 cohorts of US adults and an updated meta-analysis. BMC Med 2014;12:215.
(6) Aune D, Norat T, Romundstad P, et al. Dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and doseresponse meta-analysis of cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr 2013;98:1066–83.
(7) Gijsbers L, Ding EL, Malik VS, et al. Consumption of dairy foods and diabetes incidence: a dose-response metaanalysis of observational studies. Am J Clin Nutr 2016;103:1111–24.
(8) Wang H, Troy LM, Rogers GT, et al. Longitudinal association between dairy consumption and changes of body weight and waist circumference: the Framingham Heart Study. Int J Obes (Lond) 2014;38:299–305.
(9) Givens DI. Saturated fats, dairy foods and health: a curious paradox? Nutrition Bulletin 2017;42:274–82.
(10)  Guo J, Astrup A, Lovegrove JA, et al. Milk and dairy consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eur J Epidemiol 2017;32:269–87.
(11) Lordan R, Tsoupras A, Mitra B, et al. Dairy fats and cardiovascular disease: do we really need to be concerned? Foods 2018;7:29.
(12) Fardet A, Rock E. In vitro and in vivo antioxidant potential of milks, yoghurts, fermented milks and cheeses: a narrative review of evidence. Nutr Res Rev 2017; Oct 2:1–19.
(13) El-Abbadi NH, Dao MC, Meydani SN. Yogurt: role in healthy and active aging. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;99(5 Suppl):1263S–70S.
(14) Fernandez MA, Panahi S, Daniel N, et al. Yogurt and cardiometabolic diseases: a critical review of potential mechanisms. Adv Nutr 2017;8(6):812-829.
(15) Rozenberg S, Body JJ, Bruyère O, et al. Effects of dairy products consumption on health: Benefits and beliefs – a commentary from the Belgian Bone Club and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Calcif Tissue Int 2016;98:1–17.
(16) Laird E, Molloy AM, McNulty H, et al. Greater yogurt consumption is associated with increased bone mineral density and physical function in older adults. Osteoporos Int 2017;28:2409–19.
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19 Dec 2022
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by YINI Editorial team
Fermentation benefits Gut Health Lactose intolerance Q&A

What are the digestive benefits of yogurt?

YINI Editorial team
The YINI team includes nutritionists, food engineers, registered dietitians and scientific writers.
digestion gut lactase Lactose microbiota
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When it comes to digestion, yogurt stands out as an asset not to be overlooked in daily life. As a dairy product, yogurt is a source of lactose but also contains live bacteria that produce lactase, which improves the digestion of the lactose contained. Moreover, evidence shows that yogurt consumption has beneficial outcomes in terms of gut health and may help people that suffer constipation episodes.

Yogurt is beneficial for people with lactose maldigestion

Lactose is a natural sugar found in milk and other dairy products. When digesting, it can be broken down by the enzyme lactase in the small intestine into two simpler sugars, glucose and galactose, that are absorbed into the bloodstream.

When undigested lactose molecules reach the colon, they are fermented by the resident microbiota, resulting in the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and gases: this is called lactose maldigestion. In most people, lactose maldigestion produces no noticeable symptoms. However, when it gives rise to symptoms such as bloating, cramps, diarrhea and flatulence, we talk about lactose intolerance (1).

lactose-wgo

Dairy products are recognized as an important part of a healthy diet as they are a source of several nutrients, such as calcium, for which it is difficult to achieve the recommended daily intake from a dairy-free diet (2,11). It is therefore important that dairy products are part of the diet of people with lactose maldigestion or intolerance.  It is therefore important that dairy products are part of the diet of people with lactose maldigestion or intolerance.

People suffering lactose maldigestion can consume standard yogurt: it only contains a reduced level of lactose (2). This is due the live bacteria producing the lactase that are used in the fermentation process (L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus). The enzyme hydrolyses the lactose.  Furthermore, some of the active bacteria survive their passage through the gut: as a result, the bacterial lactase helps further with digestion of lactose in the small intestine, partly solving the problem of lactose fermentation that causes maldigestion or intolerance

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued in 2010 an official scientific opinion (3) that claims the consumption of live cultures in yogurt, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp, bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, improves digestion of lactose for individuals with lactose maldigestion.

 Yogurt with live microorganisms can contribute to gut health

The gut microbiota plays an important role in digestion, but is also of paramount importance for the normal development of the immune system and nerve function (4). Gut microbiota composition can be influenced by our diet (5) and beneficially when fermented foods, such as yogurt, are consumed.

In fact, a small portion of bacteria contained in the dairy matrix surviving in the digestive tract (6), these strains will bolster the resident microbiota, up to 10,000 times (7) and add new beneficial bacteria strains, which diversify the populations. Such a supplementation coming from the diet is beneficial for maintenance of gut health, an enhanced intestinal microbiota, and could improve digestive pathologies or discomfort. Also, this fermented product intake has positive for the immune system development and cognitive functions.

Yogurt may help with constipation

Constipation is very common in children and adults and can become chronic. Chronic constipation can be defined as including fewer than 3 stools per week, stool form that is mostly hard or lumpy and difficult stool passage more than 6 months. Chronic constipation accounts for (in average) for 2 to 27% of adult population (8).

Some results have shown that the consumption of standard yoghurt (milk fermented by the two bacterial strains L. bulgaricus and S. thermophiles) reduced intestinal transit time in adults with habitual constipation. In the same study, subjects consuming fermented milk also had improved bowel function (9).

According to the authors of a clinical trial (10), the alleviation of the constipation symptoms could be due to the therapeutic potential of probiotics contained in yogurt. The intake of probiotic yogurt accelerated bowel transit in germ-free animals in the trial and globally, evidence showed an improvement in constipation symptoms using both supplemented in probiotic strains and non-supplemented yogurts (11).

Only few reports and studies on this subject are available for the moment, and more research is needed to deeply understand the beneficial actions of probiotics on gut malfunctions such as constipation, especially in chronically constipated subjects.

Related posts:

  1. Our special focus : Fermented foods
  2. Our special focus: Lactose intolerance
  3. Q&A: What is gut microbiota?
  4. Could eating yogurt help protect you from bowel cancer?
References:
(1) Suchy FJ, Brannon PM, Carpenter TO, et al. NIH Consensus Development Conference Statement: lactose intolerance and health. NIH Consens State Sci Statements 2010;27:1–27
(2) Rozenberg S, Body JJ, Bruyère O, et al. Effects of dairy products consumption on health: Benefits and beliefs – a commentary from the Belgian Bone Club and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Calcif Tissue Int 2016;98:1–17.
(3) EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1763.
(4) Marco ML, Heeney D, Binda S, et al. Health benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2017;44:94–102.
(5) Wen L, Duffy A. Factors influencing the gut microbiota, inflammation, and type 2 diabetes. J Nutr 2017;147:1468S–75S.
(6) C. Landman, E. Quévrain, Le microbiote intestinal : description, rôle et implication physiopathologique, La Revue de Médecine Interne, 2016
(7) Hollister EB et al. Structure and function of the healthy pre-adolescent pediatric gut microbiome. Microbiome. 2015;3:36. 
(8) Sanchez MI, Bercik P. Epidemiology and burden of chronic constipation. Can J Gastroenterol. 2011 Oct;25 Suppl B(Suppl B):11B-15B. doi: 10.1155/2011/974573. PMID: 22114752; PMCID: PMC3206560.
(9) Oskar Adolfsson, Simin Nikbin Meydani, Robert M Russell, Yogurt and gut function, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 80, Issue 2, August 2004, Pages 245–256
(10) Guerra, P. V., Lima, L. N., Souza, T. C., Mazochi, V., Penna, F. J., Silva, A. M., Nicoli, J. R., & Guimarães, E. V. (2011). Pediatric functional constipation treatment with Bifidobacterium-containing yogurt: a crossover, double-blind, controlled trial. World journal of gastroenterology, 17(34), 3916–3921.
(11) Bacchetta J, et al. Vitamin D and calcium intakes in general pediatric populations: A French expert consensus paper. Arch Pediatr. 2022 May;29(4):312-325.
YINI Editorial team
The YINI team includes nutritionists, food engineers, registered dietitians and scientific writers.
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08 Dec 2022
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Benefits for planet health IUNS-ICN 2022

Eating to protect our health and our planet: overview

frans kok IUNS ICN2022 Janet Ranganathan Jess Haines sustainable healthy diets
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During a symposium at the IUNS International Congress of Nutrition, in Tokyo, Japan, the Yogurt in Nutrition Initiative gathered international scientists through a conference focused on ”Eating to protect our health and our planet”.

YINI Symposium at ICN 2022 in Tokyo, JapanThe overall goal of this conference was to highlight the role of food systems, diets and households’ strategies to build more sustainable healthy diets. In this session, chaired by Sharon Donovan and Olivier Goulet, three experts shared their knowledge and strategies on the ways food systems can be adapted for more sustainable diets: Janet Ranganathan, Frans Kok and Jess Haines.

Creating a Sustainable Food Future

Janet Raganathan, Managing Director and Executive Vice President for Strategy, Learning and Results at the World Resources Institute, USA, began the conference by a wide focus on the mains issues the food systems have to face.

Feeding a population of nearly 10 billion in 2050 will require closing three gaps:

  1. The world will need to close a 11 gigaton GHG (GreenHouse Gas) emission mitigation gap, between expected agricultural emissions in 2050 and the level need to hold global warming below 2°C.
  2. The world will need to close a 56% food gap between crop calories produces in 2010 those needed in 2050
  3. The world will need to close a land gap of 593 million Ha to avoid further agricultural expansion

Creating a Sustainable Food Future - YINI@IUNS INC 2022 - Janet Ranganathan

According to Janet Raganathan, addressing these gaps will require a produce- protect- reduce- restore strategy, and therefore to:

  • increase food production without expanding agricultural land
  • reduce food loss and waste
  • shift diets
  • find solutions to reduce the impact of ruminants on the environment (for example a more efficient milk production may reduce GHG emissions dramatically)
  • address the challenges of the role of carbon in agricultural soils

Balancing nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability: what do we learn from modeling studies?

Following the intervention of Janet Raganathan, Frans Kok, Emeritus Professor in Nutrition & Health and former head of the Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, focused on the ways to shift diets and build sustainable nutrition, based on several modeling studies.

Each food group has its own specific environmental footprint and nutritional characteristics and therefore, need to be balanced to form, overall, a sustainable diet bringing both nutritional adequacy as well as environmental sustainability.

However, it seems that most actual dietary guidelines are inconsistent with the 1.5°C target. There is a need to shift our diets taking in account the 4 dimensions of sustainable diet: health, economic, environment and cultural acceptability.

To evaluate to what extent food categories can be part of sustainable diets, observational and scenario-based approaches, and modeling/ optimization strategies have been used.

Balancing nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability - YINI@IUNS ICN2022 - Frans Kok

Models show that shifting the diet towards more plant-based proteins can ease the transition while maintaining the nutrient intake, with some interesting focuses:

  • Vegetarian and vegan diets may have positive impact in terms of environmental footprint, but can lead to some deficiencies such as vitamin B12, zinc, or iron.
  • Dairy has a moderate impact on sustainability and daily intake of 1-2 servings of dairy may fit in sustainable and healthy diets. Yogurt and milk are of special interest, because of their nutrient richness and low-fat content, but more studies are necessary to quantify their impact.
  • Sustainable diets can be composed in different ways. Ideally, current local dietary habits and eating cultures should be the basis for change.

Balancing nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability 2 - YINI@IUNS ICN2022 - Frans Kok

In practice, the best way to achieve sustainable goals, should be to choose a varied predominantly plant-based diet, combined with a reduction of food waste.

By adopting new food consumption habits on a collective and individual scale, it should be possible to reduce food-related GHG emissions and protect the planet’s natural resources. Most probably, convergence guidelines which recommend a reduction and substitution rather than elimination approach may be more effective in increasing dietary transition rates.

Family-based interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets

After Frans Kok describing the modelized diets that should be adopted, Jess Haines, Associate Professor of Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph, Canada, focused on practical approaches and behavioral changes.

She presented the development, implementation and evaluation of family-based interventions designed to promote sustainable healthy diets.

The family-based approach is meant to increase the intake of plant-based proteins, develop home cooking and reduce household food waste, through interventions among both parents and children.

Food waste reduction is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Approximately a third of all food produced is wasted, with a strong level of household food waste. 47% of wasted food comes from consumers in developed countries.

Family-based interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets - YINI@IUNSICN2022 - Jess Haines

The good news is that concerns for the environment is a motivator for behavioral change and 41% of young people declare themselves concerned about climate change.

For Jess Haines, we need to implement effective strategies that impact consumers.

She shared a practical example of a family-based intervention study, “Weeknight Supper Savers”. This intervention study included a dedicated cookbook, with tips and recipes designed to reduce food waste, a family cooking and education class, and behavioral supports. Results showed that the intervention could reduce household food waste and that families enjoyed participating in the intervention.

Family-based interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets 2 - YINI@IUNSICN2022 - Jess Haines

Achieving sustainable healthy eating requires clear messages, based on consumer motivation, as well as persuasive practical advices which will help to remove barriers to change.

The three topics have clarified the main issues that foods systems have to face and opened opportunities to act at different level to build more sustainable diets and achieve behavioral changes among the consumers…

For more information, we invite to find the complete live cover of the symposium on our twitter account @yogurtnutrition

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05 Dec 2022
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Benefits for planet health

Local foods may be the key to healthy sustainable eating around the world

local sustainable diet Mediterranean Diet planeterranean diet sustainable
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Green bananas, seaweed, and pepper berries may not be everybody’s cup of tea. But to others of us these exotic-sounding foods have been an integral part of their diet all their lives. And it’s these traditional, locally-grown foods that may hold a key to a more healthy and sustainable future.

So much so that experts are encouraging people around the world to return to their dietary roots for a healthier, more sustainable future.

Why? Because scientists believe that dietary patterns based on local foods can confer similar health benefits to those of the Mediterranean Diet (MD)– the plant-based diet that includes moderate amounts of animal protein, with fish and dairy products but limited processed foods.

And this MD is likely to play a pivotal role in tackling one of the greatest global health crises facing us today – the burden of long-term diseases such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. The spotlight has shone in recent years on the MD in the prevention and management of these ‘non-communicable’ diseases, which account for more than 70% of deaths globally.

But the MD is all very well for people living around the Mediterranean; not so easy for people elsewhere who have their own dietary habits, lifestyles and traditions. For them, it’s not practical to switch to a new and unfamiliar diet at the drop of a hat and it is more costly since the MD foods are not always affordable in their region. It makes more sense for individual countries or regions to advocate healthier diets based on affordable, available foods that are typically part of centuries-old traditions.

New strategy to adapt a diet model to local needs

Rising to this challenge is the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development. In a continuation of its research project aiming to extend the global reach of the MD, the UNESCO group has developed a healthy and sustainable dietary model echoing the nutritional properties of the MD but implemented at a local level– the ‘Planeterranean’ diet.

To develop the model, the researchers conducted a review to collect data on dietary habits around the world, including local traditional foods and their health benefits, crop production and processing, and local recipes. Countries were grouped into five ‘macro-areas’: North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Local foods with similar nutritional benefits to the MD

For each macro-area, the researchers identified readily available, affordable local foods that allow to build a global diet which will share nutritional properties similar to those of the MD.

From this, they developed nutritional food pyramids tailored to each macro-area and offering the same health benefits – as well as environmental-friendly production processes – as for the MD.

Next steps in research may aim to sub-divide recommendations within the macro-areas to take account of local dishes in individual countries.

Further research is also needed to assess the sustainability of the pyramids, says the UNESCO group. This should compare greenhouse gas emissions of local crops with those associated with foods that have been transported long distances, and consider the affordability, and the impact on local economies that need to meet the demand from the growing population,

The Planeterranean diet: key recommendations by region

Here are some simple steps to a healthier and more sustainable diet wherever you live in the world, according to UNESCO:

Latin America

  • Opt for starchy foods such as quinoa and plátanos with a low glycaemic index, rather than rice, corn, and potato (a high glycaemic index)
  • Use avocado as your main daily source of fat
  • Go green – eat at least 2 servings/day of vegetables
  • Eat 1 or 2 servings/day of fruit – choose fruit such as açai and other berries with high antioxidant properties

North America

  • Use canola as your main daily fat source
  • Eat loads of vegetables – at least 2 servings/day – and at least 3 servings per week of legumes, ideally local varieties such as okra and pinto beans
  • If you want a snack, go for nuts; pecans are great for this

Central Africa

  • Choose native grains such as teff (at least 2 servings/day)
  • Use Moringa oil as your daily fat source
  • Eat plenty of plant-based foods – African fruit (1 or 2 servings/day) and vegetables (at least 2 servings/day)

Asia

  • Eat more starchy foods such as barley and wholegrain with a low glycaemic index and go easy on starchy foods with a high glycaemic index such as rice and noodles (no more than 2 servings/week)
  • Use sesame oil as your main daily fat source and use sesame seeds to enrich soups
  • Eat more fruit (1-2 servings/day) and vegetables (at least 2 servings/day)
  • Include 2 servings/week of plant protein sources, preferably soy-derived foods
  • Include 1 serving/day of seaweeds especially spirulina and wakame

Australia

  • Use macadamia oil as your main daily fat source
  • Eat at least 2 servings/day of vegetables and of fruits, ideally local varieties including Davidson’s plum, native pepper berry and finger lime
  • Eat more fish rich in omega-3 PUFA (2–3 servings/week), preferably local types such as the Atlantic salmon, barramundi
  • Macadamia nuts are good for a snack (40–90g/day).
Planeterranean diet - how to adapt mediterranean diet locally? - YINI

’It seems more reliable – and also desirable – that each country rediscovers its own heritage to develop a healthier nutrition pattern based on traditional and local foods.’ – Vetrani C et al, 2022

Find out more: read the original article.

Source: (1) Vetrani C, Piscitelli P, Muscogiuri G, et al “Planeterranea”: An attempt to broaden the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet worldwide. Front Nutr. 2022 Sep 2;9:973757.
Additionnal references:
  1. (2) GBD 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020;396(10258):1204–22.
  2. (3) Martínez-González MÁ, Hershey MS, Zazpe I, Trichopoulou A. Transferability of the mediterranean diet to non-mediterranean countries. What is and what is not the mediterranean diet. Nutrients. (2018) 9:1226.
  3. (4) Colao A, Vetrani C, Muscogiuri G, et al. “Planeterranean” Diet: extending worldwide the health benefits of Mediterranean Diet based on nutritional properties of locally available foods. J Transl Med. 2022 May 17;20(1):232.
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30 Nov 2022
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Benefits for planet health IUNS-ICN 2022

Family-based interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets

families family meals Haines ICN 2022 sustainable healthy diets
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Our next symposium “Eating to protect our health and our planet” will be held during the 22nd IUNS  International Congress of Nutrition, in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2022. Let’s focus on the third talk, by Jess Haines (Canada).

Jess Haines (Canada)

YINI Live event : eating to protect our health and planet - Jess HainesJess Haines, PhD, MHSc, RD is an Associate Professor of Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph in Canada. Along with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues at the University of Guelph, she is currently testing interventions designed to promote sustainable healthy eating among families. She is also the co-Director of the Guelph Family Health Study, a longitudinal family-based cohort.
For her work, Dr. Haines received the 2020 Danone International Prize for Alimentation and was named as a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, which is ”Canada’s top academic honour for outstanding achievement in the arts, social sciences and sciences.”

Family-based interventions to promote sustainable healthy diets

ldentifying effective strategies to promote environmentally sustainable and healthy diets is a critical component of creating sustainable food systems. The objective of this presentation is to describe the development, implementation and evaluation of family based interventions designed to promote sustainable healthy diets.

Formative assessment with both parents and children were conducted to identify feasible and contextually-relevant intervention strategies to increase intake of plant -based proteins and reduce household food waste. These results informed the development and testing of family-based interventions focused on the promotion of sustainable healthy eating.
Findings from feasible studies among families with children aged 9-12 years suggest our intervention strategies are well accepted by families and may increase intake of plant-based protein and reduce level of household food waste. Key learnings and next steps regarding approaches to promote sustainable healthy diets will be discussed.

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