The New Challenge: "Back to Basics"

Milan (ots/PRNewswire) -

Scientific evidence and nutritional advice for a better life

At EXPOMilano2015, food and nutrition was discussed during the
international meeting "Back to Basics" which was attended by doctors,
scientists and senior figures from around the world. Attendees
included the Australian Robert Gibson, the Italian Carlo La Vecchia,
Briton Sumantra Ray, the South African Christine Venter, the Swiss
Luc Tappy and the Israeli Raanan Shamir.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150619/749274 )

Many topics were addressed, primarily the indispensability of
scientific evidence in all research regarding food and nutrition,
starting with the one that Prof. Bier has repeatedly defined as the
only element corroborated by science in this field - namely that an
imbalance between ingested calories and consumed calories results in
a person being overweight or underweight.

During the meeting, the importance of the holistic approach was
stressed, and its capacity to analyze food in all its complexity.
According to Prof. Gibson, "Guidelines that focus on specific
nutrients must be evaluated critically: the food must be considered
in its complexity and in eating patterns."

This position is strongly opposed to the reductionist approach,
which focuses on individual nutrient criteria that lately has been
used to suggest approaches such as "traffic light food" in the UK
(Traffic Light Labelling) or more broadly to so-called "nutrient
profiles." This approach has proven repeatedly to have limitations in
providing nutritional guidelines and has also resulted in harmful
campaigns of demonization of individual nutrients (fat and sugar in
particular). On this subject, Prof. Tappy stated that: "The
reductionist view of individual ingredients has, in the past, posited
theories that recent findings on fats cast into great doubt." The
scholar then focused on the specific case of sugar: "Today, sugar
seems to replace fat, but without a holistic approach to assess the
nutrition as a whole, it is easy to predict that soon these
presumptions will be denied by science."

A further focus involved the criticism of observational studies
(epidemiology) - starting with the observations of two scholars among
the most popular in the world, John Ioannidis and Peter C. Austin -
which would be methodologically inadequate to demonstrate any causal
relationships between events related to health and consumption of
individual nutrients.

In addition, during the meeting, they discussed the generic
concept of balanced diet, necessary despite dietary differences in
the world. Also discussed was the need to create a right-thinking
convergence of tradition and innovation in the field of dietary
practices and the correct assessment of the role that taste has as an
essential constituent of food choice for all people.

Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150619/749274

ots Originaltext: InConTra
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Anna Colavita, +39-06-4740739, a.colavita@incontra.org