In these stressful times, eating a balanced diet may seem like a miracle. Quick-result diets, fads spreading on social networks, and the rise of ready-to-eat foods complicate the path to a healthy menu. Amid all the noise and misinformation about food, what are the guidelines that actually shed light?
Azahara Nieto, clinical nutritionist and author of the newsletter “EL PAÍS” healthy food for people in a hurrygot together with a group of the newspaper’s premium subscribers on November 5th to share the keys to simple, balanced nutrition, but most of all “free and guilt-free” nutrition. This meeting is part of special activities of the EL PAÍS+ loyalty program.
During the event, Nieto explained the origins of his latest book: Guilt makes people fat: “When you eat healthy food, you have a lot of morality and you feel guilty because you want to eat certain foods.” The nutritionist wanted to delve into the origins of this guilt and its weight in society to offer a radical approach in an age obsessed with being thin. For experts, “there should be no forbidden foods at any point in our lives. The more we ban them, the more we desire them,” she added.
Moderated by EL PAÍS journalist Bernardo Marín, the meeting lasted an hour, during which Nieto answered questions from subscribers. He cautioned that while there is no magic formula, there are general guidelines underlying the Mediterranean diet. This means eating a daily diet of protein-rich fruits, vegetables, legumes, and high-quality carbohydrates, and drinking plenty of fluids (about 2 liters of water per day). It is recommended to eat up to 3 servings of white meat per week and up to 90 grams of red meat, making sure it is ‘lean’.
From there, each guideline can be customized based on age, gender, and genetics. He says that between the ages of 35 and 40, muscle mass starts to decline, so it’s recommended to increase your protein intake. Women, especially during menopause, are recommended to “increase protein intake, healthy fats such as fatty fish, avocados, chia seeds, nuts, and legumes, and limit carbohydrate intake.” Similarly, encouraging sunlight exposure and rest are key to hormonal regulation during this stage.
Supplements, which are very popular on social networks, also became a subject of discussion. “Without prior analysis, we do not recommend including anything, except vitamin B12 in the case of vegan or vegetarian diets,” Nieto warned. “We’re in an era of supplementing everything, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be.” For experts, “there’s also a business aspect because supplements are easier than prescribing a personalized diet,” she says, insisting that you consult a professional before adding them to your diet.
Participants were able to learn how to differentiate between healthy processed foods and harmful ultra-processed foods. Nieto doesn’t trust applications like Yuka or Nutri-Score. Its evaluation is according to the developer’s standards and does not always provide a fair evaluation. Instead, he encourages learning to read labels. “Rather than looking at the number of ingredients, you need to look at their proportions and detect how they contain sugar (starch, syrup, agave, concentrate) or oils such as palm or coconut,” he said.
In both the event and newsletter (which you can sign up for here), the nutritionist busted some food myths, including that fruit ferments in your stomach and that it’s impossible to gain muscle mass on a completely plant-based diet. At the conclusion of the workshop, Nieto advised eating mindfully, allowing at least 30 minutes for lunch or dinner, not leaving more than three hours between meals, planning your shopping list, and cooking in batches to save time. batch cooking). Other methods, such as the Harvard Plate, provide a simple visual guide to creating a balanced menu.
Premium subscribers have access to exclusive finance and wellness events. Isn’t it premium? Go Premium Now Join us at the next conference hosted by EL PAÍS+.
About The Author
