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Guide features 10 steps to a healthy eating plan by Brazil’s Ministry of Health [VIDEO: 4:26]
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Some time long ago, I came across Brazil’s dietary guidelines. They’re rather simple, and they’ll lead you to the right place. They are:
- Prioritize fresh food.
- Oils, fat and sugar are great for taste, but should be used in moderation.
- Limit processed food.
- Avoid ultra-processed foods.
- Eat regularly and undistracted.
- Buy at places with fresh food that’s in season and by local producers.
- Learn to cook and share your skills
- Be organized around food; when you eat, how you buy and stock up etc, preferably with family.
- Eat at places which use fresh food.
- Beware of advertising and teach kids on how to critically examine ads.
If you follow these, you’ll be lead to eating healthy food and not overeat. It doesn’t over prescribe what you should and shouldn’t eat (like complicated food triangles), but provides suggestions on what to eat. It also emphasises a community aspect to food which the video claims Brazillians have lost.
My only reservation would be on “fresh food” since you can preserve food without it being overly artificial whilst retaining flavour. Also, I know they mean “processed food” as in “artificial preservatives”, but consider that a lot of food is processed, which makes it food. You need to process milk to make it safe for consumption and make cheese. Heck, cooking is processing food and it helps kill pathogens.
Evidently I don’t practice these, but I hope to at some point.