In 1976, she was part of the Working Group that established the Nutrition Course at the University of Porto, which later became the current Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto .
Alongside his studies, he practiced sports: roller hockey with the team from the University Center of Porto; tennis at the Ermesinde Tennis Club; and mountaineering at the National Mountaineering Club. He also joined the University Choir of Porto, tried journalism, and, while in his third year of university, began working as a medical information representative.
His commitment to culture led him to participate in the founding of the Popular University of Porto (UPP), a non-profit cultural association of public utility, with Rui Luís Gomes, Óscar Lopes and Armando de Castro, an institution that opened its doors on June 25, 1979, during the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of the death of Bento Jesus Caraça.
He was also involved with the Maria Isabel Guerra Junqueiro and Luís Pinto de Mesquita Carvalho Foundation, established after the death of the daughter of the poet from Trás-os-Montes. He was a consultant for the Verbo Encyclopedia, a member of the Portuguese Communist Party, and vice-president of the Regional Section of the Order of Physicians (1973-1975).
Beyond a full life, it's worth reading his writing, a blend of science, humor, and culture that left no one indifferent. For those who consider Portuguese soup one of our gastronomic highlights, it's worth reading "The Praise of Soup," published in the magazine Alimentação Humana.
“…For nutrition scholars, soup is an excellent example to demonstrate that the arithmetic sum of the nutritional contents of the constituents of a dish, taken one by one from a food composition table, neither translates nor explains the nutritional and nutritive value of that dish…”
"The nutritious, bioregulatory, gastronomic and hedonistic soup is authentic, nourishing, appealing and delightful food. It satisfies body and soul."
“In contrast, fast food is a summary meal, a crisis-induced swallow, a medicine to kill hunger. If it weren't for the architecture, the colors, and the sweetness, it would be repulsive.”
A good summer read, worth savoring and enjoying from beginning to end. Happy reading!
Written by
Pedro Graça, Director of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto