Next week marks the anniversary of the first Rational Nutrition class given by Dr. Emílio Peres. In this year's commemoration, we highlight one of the Master's most important pedagogical aspects, which has become intrinsic to so many generations – thinking critically about what we eat.
Far more important than dispensing knowledge from ultra-recent publications, “pushed to the level of miracles (but in nutrition nothing is good outside of a framework)” (1), or “turning everything that is discovered to be bad into terrorist news” (1), is critical thinking that allows us to apply knowledge and gain decades of head start over science itself.
An example:
In 2017, Carlos Monteiro stabilized the definition of the NOVA classification and, to recognize ultra-processed foods, states that they are "Ultra" because they are processed multiple times, often being industrial formulations, typically with 5 or more ingredients, with additives and substances such as sugars, oils, fats, salt, antioxidants, stabilizers, and preservatives.
More than 20 years ago, Emílio Peres drew attention to the possibility of "crossing a toxicological boundary with respect to the presence of additives or residues in food, due to the various transformation or processing processes they undergo"1. And he warned that: "epidemiological research contributes decisively but very belatedly to the recognition of the harmful effects of additives and other pollutants". And in fact, it was only this month, in the prestigious British Journal of Nutrition, about 20 years after Dr. Emílio Peres' warning, that the first systematic review with meta-analysis was published, evaluating all available observational studies on the relationship between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and health status (worse cardiometabolic risk profile, higher risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, depression, and all-cause mortality) .
In this week of celebration, Dr. Emílio Peres continues to inspire the thinking of the FCNAUP community, challenging “the next millennium to urgent, fundamental (and simple?) change: rediscover the lost culture and create the new post-crisis culture.” (1).
(1) Emílio Peres, Manuscripts (1932-2003), BDNut.
