On 5 August, National Health Day, we asked Osiyallê Akanni, a nutritionist at the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, five questions to find out how to promote a healthy lifestyle through what we eat.
Can we say that health starts on our plate?
The plate of food is one factor in the health chain. The quality of the air we breathe, the origin of food, the quality of food, housing conditions, lifestyle habits and other factors are all interconnected and contribute to health.
Is our Brazilian “Prato Feito” synonymous with a healthy and nutritious meal?
That’s a difficult question, because Brazilian meals are not limited to the well-known “rice and beans”. These foods are healthy in themselves, but it is necessary to consider the specificities of each city and/or region so that a healthy meal is both representative and accessible to those who eat it.
What should a dish that provides all the nutrients necessary for good health look like?
It needs to be made with foods from family farming, agroecology and socio-biodiversity. It should be a dish rich in fresh or minimally processed foods and foods that respect the local food culture. The fewer ultra-processed foods, which are low in vitamins and minerals and high in calories, the better for our health. On the other hand, including nutrient-rich foods contributes to health and disease prevention.
As a nutritionist, what tips would you give us for living a healthy life?
In addition to eliminating or restricting the number of calories from ultra-processed foods, some factors for a healthy life are sleeping, exercising, eating well, and engaging in daily practices that promote well-being.
What does health have to do with the food system?
It is important to understand that the food system is a concept that encompasses the quality of nutrients present in the soil, the planting of agricultural crops, harvesting, storage with adequate sanitary compliance, food distribution, consumption, and food disposal. Therefore, if these stages (or others that are part of this process) are harmful to health—such as the use of pesticides in planting and the consumption of food containing these chemical compounds, thus enabling the development of diseases—the health of individuals can be weakened.
Therefore, all stages of food systems must be sustainable, both for nature (where food is produced) and in the mechanisms that promote the composition of the food we eat every day.