Mediterranean diet is healthy, less of a pollutant: Study

A new study involving the University Hospital Complex of Huelva, Jaume I University of Castellon and the University of Huelva as found that not only is Mediterranean diet healthy, but is also less of a pollutant as it leaves behind less carbon footprint.

The researchers analysed the carbon footprint of daily menus served in Spain, based on a roughly Mediterranean diet, and compared them to those eaten in English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom and the US.

Lead author of the study Rosario Vidal, said that climate change was an international priority that must be tackled from all angles, one being the family environment and consideration of our daily diet.

Data was gathered at the Juan Ramon Jimenez Hospital in Huelva, which analyzed a total of 448 lunches and 448 dinners throughout the four seasons of the year to satisfy calorific needs of 2,000 kcal.

The menus could have equally been served in any school, restaurant or Spanish household. The recipes analyzed included typical dishes such as Andalusian gazpacho soup, vegetable pisto manchego, paella or the stew-like puchero.

The differences between the average value of the Mediterranean diet and that of English-speaking countries is due to much less beef being eaten in Spain (a food item with a larger carbon footprint) and more vegetables and fruit being eaten, which have a lower carbon footprints, said Vidal. Therefore, not only it’s healthier, but the diet is also more ecological.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint expresses the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent causing global warming (measured in kg of CO2 equivalent). In addition to carbon dioxide, different pollutant gases contribute to climate change, such as methane.

Each one has a global warming potential (provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)) relating to that caused by a unit of carbon dioxide. In the case of methane, this has a global warming potential of 25, which means that it is recognised as 25 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Ravi