Do we have to consume food of animal origin? The answer is in our DNA. In a population that descends from omnivorous ancestors, who therefore present a higher probability of being carriers of genes that require consumption of meat to remain healthy, the drastic step towards a diet without food from animal origin can be a risk.

This is what has emerged from the intervention of Tom Brenna, Professor of Human Nutrition and Chemistry at Cornell University in New York (United States) who has presented various studies including one he coordinated and presents for the first time in Italy, published in the scientific journal “Molecular Biology and Evolution” (Oxford University Press), which analysed the worldwide database of information (1000 Genomes Project), containing  the  genetic profiles of populations with different food habits, from those traditionally vegetarian to those typically carnivorous.

In particular, on occasion of the International Scientific Symposium “The role of meat in human food. News from the research”, held on Tuesday, 15^th November, 2016, Tom Brenna, highlighted the role of genetic variation in our food choices and the nutritional importance of meat and products of animal origin for persons belonging to civilizations historically used to eating all kinds of foods.

“Those who are descended from omnivores are more likely to be carriers of genes that require meat and fish consumption to remain healthy and for this reason their diet should contain these kinds of food – said Tom Brenna – Animal protein in all its forms, provides the optimal amino acid balance for growth and repair, highly bioavailable heme iron, zinc, vitamin B12 snd other B group vitamins and an appropriate compliment of fats. These nutrients are all most critical during the early stages of human development, for growth, brain development and tissue repair, and for maintenance of metabolic function in aging. For these same individuals, a strictly vegan diet would be risky for their health: in fact they are not genetically predisposed towards a diet where the only protein intake comes from vegetables”.

In historically omnivorous populations, such as those of Western countries, animal proteins are indispensable for all age groups, especially during growth: meat, in particular, is rich in nutrients, which are fundamental in the early stages of an individual’s life.

The intervention of Annunziata Di Palma, Head of the Paediatrics Department of the Santa Chiara Hospital of Trento, caused a reflection on the recent cases of children who follow vegan diets and the importance of a healthy diet based on the correct balance of all nutrients: “Nowadays food fads or incorrect beliefs lead some parents to make their children follow vegetarian or vegan diets, with harmful effects if conducted rigidly and without the necessary integrations – sustains Annunziata Di Palma – a lack of vitamin B12 causes the most serious damage, because it involves the development of the brain causing neurological changes leading to diffuse brain atrophy. In addition, calcium deficiencies due to a vegan diet lead to rickets, a disease that had disappeared and now, because of the phenomenon of uncontrolled diets, reappears in our society”.

Even the Italian Society of Paediatric Nutrition believes that for a diet to be healthy, especially for children, it is mandatory that it is balanced and varied, as is the case, for example, in the correct application of the principles of the Mediterranean Diet.

“In this context, the role of meat must not be underestimated nor on the contrary overestimated: mankind has been for many tens of thousands of years an omnivorous animal,  in whose diet, therefore, all classes of foods should be represented, – affirms Professor Andrea Vania, member of the SINUPE Directive and Level I Manager and Head of the Dietetics and Paediatric Nutrition Centre of the Department of Paediatrics of the University La Sapienza in Rome – Meat has nutritional properties that make it really precious for children. In fact, it is not only is rich in heme iron (easily absorbable and usable by our body,), zinc (necessary for growth, wound healing and for fighting infections) and vitamin B12 (which occurs, inter alia, in the formation of red blood cells, nerve function and in energy transformation processes), but meat is also a primary source of high quality proteins, that guarantee and regulate the growth of the human body and are a source of essential amino acids that the organism is not able to produce independently”.

The Society of Paediatric Nutrition therefore considers that “white, red or processed meat, maintain their validity throughout the whole paediatric age span. The care that must be taken, especially in the child and during the first thousand days of life, will be in securing their variety, and their restrained consumption appropriate to the child’s needs for growth, that vary, as it is obvious, with age change and the development stages reached” concludes Professor Vania.

Source: Sprim