Absolutely! A notable seminal article from 2019 describes a universal diet that is both healthy for humans and sustainable for the planet. However, the diet needs to be adapted to the conditions and specific needs of each country.
In a study three different dietary patterns were optimized to be both more nutritious and climate-friendly. All diets had a lower proportion of animal products and a higher proportion of plant-based foods. The climate impact of a fully nutritious diet could be reduced by up to 53% while much of the diet remained unchanged. This shows that there are many variations of a healthy and environmentally friendly diet tailored to Swedish conditions.
Based on the collective scientific literature on food, health, and the environment, the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations were released in 2023. The overarching recommendation is that we should eat more plant-based foods than we do today and fewer products from land-based animals. Adults should reduce their intake of red and processed meat to a maximum of 350 grams per week for health reasons, and ideally even lower for environmental reasons. Meat can be replaced with legumes and grains. However, we should increase our intake of fish from sustainable stocks. In general, whole grains, vegetables, fruits and berries, nuts, and seeds are good for both climate and health.
Further reading: Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023
If We Eat More Climate-Smart, We Can Gain 1,200,000 Years of Life
About author:
Liselotte Schäfer Elinder
Professor of Public Health, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm
I lead the research group on Community Nutrition and Physical Activity, and my research area is health promotion and disease prevention, focusing on dietary habits, physical activity, and the prevention of obesity and other chronic diseases. I also research the optimization of public meals for health and sustainability and examine the resulting health effects.
