Elena Pérez and MarÃa Hernández-Alcalá They are responsible for the successful Futurlife21 project and protagonists, together with the CHUAC cardiologist Guillermo Aldama, of the IV Vegalsa-Eroski Health Conference. The company held this event last Thursday in A Coruña with the aim of promoting healthy lifestyle habits.
Futurlife21 bases its proposal on the biochemistryalways with scientific evidence on the table. Specialized in Food, Applied Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition and Public Health, those responsible for the project defend that chealthy omer is not incompatible with eating delicious food and they are committed to creating healthy habits for life.
“Everyone is responsible for the quality of life of their cells”said Elena Pérez during the day, to which her daughter added: “The majority of society believes that food is used to gain or lose weight and that’s it.” We have talked about all this with both of them.
What is the importance of holding events such as the IV Vegalsa-Eroski Health Day?
Health is the most important pillar of our life, without health we have nothing. Giving it the importance it deserves and promoting healthy lifestyle habits to maximize our quality of life and physical, mental and emotional performance is undoubtedly a great step and demonstrates the involvement of companies with the health of their workers and customers.
We are increasingly aware of the importance of taking care of ourselves and we want to improve our choices, but our pace of life and ultra-processed companies with ultra-palatable and easily accessible foods make it difficult.
Are citizens aware of the importance of having a healthy diet? Do you think interest has increased in this regard?
We are increasingly aware of the importance of taking care of ourselves and we want to improve our choices, but our pace of life and the ultra-processed companies with ultra-palatable and easily accessible foods make it difficult and it is often difficult to reconcile work, family and personal life with being foresight and choose a high percentage of foods that take care of our health. You have to have a lot of knowledge to choose healthy in a world where unhealthy things abound and this can be accessed in a very quick and easy way.
You avoid the term diet and opt for a healthy, constant lifestyle. Is it difficult to establish good habits?
It is not complicated if you understand the scientific reasons for taking care of your health through good nutrition and you learn how to apply it in a practical and rich way. The beginnings are always more difficult but once you learn to choose in the supermarket and prepare delicious and healthy dishes that you all enjoy at home, the simple fact of feeling much better inside and out helps you want to maintain those habits. Understanding that food not only satisfy hunger but also helps your body function is essential to creating a habit that lasts forever.
How can science help improve nutrition and, therefore, people’s lives?
Science tells us what really helps improve health and what makes it worse and increases the likelihood of problems developing. We are dedicated to putting in simple and informative language what science tells us, and we make science and practice merge, giving rise to rich complete dishes with a balance of nutrients that maximize our health. Understanding the scientific whys and knowing how to apply it at home is essential to establishing habits that last forever.
We must integrate taking care of ourselves through good nutrition as an essential habit in our daily lives.
We spend the day tired and we attribute it to lack of sleep or stress at work, but we rarely think that diet also plays a role. How should we change our eating habits to improve rest?
Sugars, soft drinks, alcohol, refined flours (from bread, pasta, white pasta), vegetable fats from ultra-processed foods… very negatively affect rest and increase our daily fatigue. The glycemic spikes they generate mean that our brain does not function at its maximum capacity and that we really want to continue eating foods rich in sugars, flours…
Our recommendation is that these foods be reduced as much as possible and that we prioritize vegetables, healthy fats from EVOO, fats from oily fish or nuts and that if we want to include forcefulness, we add more legumes, quinoa, brown rice or oats. This will help a lot in our level of daily fatigue and improve our rest.
Is lack of time a problem or an excuse when it comes to healthy cooking?
It is true that we do not have time, but we must prioritize what is important, without health we have nothing, and we must take care of it. Therefore, taking a few minutes each day to take care of yourself on the inside is essential and we should convey it that way. You have to have little tricks to speed up cooking (our book of batch cooking about this) and be forward-thinking, but we must assume that time will not appear as we get older, so we must integrate taking care of ourselves through good nutrition as an essential habit in our daily lives.
Could you tell us a couple of simple and key tricks to be able to maintain a healthy diet on a daily basis?
Don’t have unhealthy ultra-processed food at home, and take one day a week to prepare a small batch cooking so that during the week eating healthy is easier for you.
What happens at birthdays, weddings or family reunions? Should we deprive ourselves?
No, we always say that in those moments you take what is offered to you, physical health also goes with mental health and balance, so it is important that we are able to differentiate, but the problem comes when each day is a “special” day. We must be aware of our daily choices and that 80-90% of our week we must choose healthy: that 10% has practically no influence on your health if the rest of the time you choose healthy.
And finally, is there hope that the current food model will change, not only in homes but in other spaces such as hospitals, schools or company canteens?
I think it is possible. The more people who want this change and embrace it, the easier it will be. Hopefully we will normalize that these centers have a responsibility towards the people they feed. Little by little we will achieve that change, I am sure.