Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Nutr Bull. 2023 Mar;48(1):134-143. doi: 10.1111/nbu.12601. Epub 2023 Jan 17.
Diet is a key modulator of non-communicable diseases, and food production represents a major cause of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, 'nudging' people to make better food choices is challenging, as factors including affordability, convenience and taste often take priority over the achievement of health and environmental benefits. The overall 'Raising the Pulse' project aim is to bring about a step change in the nutritional value of the UK consumers' diet, and to do so in a way that leads to improved health and greater sustainability within the UK food system. To achieve our objectives, UK-specific faba bean production systems that optimise both end users' diets and environmental and economic sustainability of production will be implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders (including industry, the retail sector and government). Palatable faba bean flours will be produced and used to develop 'Raising the Pulse' food products with improved nutritional profile and environmental value. Consumer focus groups and workshops will establish attitudes, preferences, drivers of and barriers to increased consumption of such products. They will inform the co-creation of sensory testing and University-wide intervention studies to evaluate the effects of pulses and 'Raising the Pulse' foods on diet quality, self-reported satiety, nutritional knowledge, consumer acceptance and market potential. Nutrient bioavailability and satiety will be evaluated in a randomised-controlled postprandial human study. Finally, a system model will be developed that predicts changes to land use, environment, business viability, nutrition and human health after substitution of existing less nutritionally beneficial and environmentally sustainable ingredients with pulses. Government health and sustainability priorities will be addressed, helping to define policy-relevant solutions with significant beneficial supply chain economic impacts and transformed sustainable food systems to improve consumer diet quality, health and the environment.
饮食是影响非传染性疾病的关键因素，而食物生产是造成环境恶化和温室气体排放的主要原因。然而，“引导”人们做出更好的食物选择具有挑战性，因为在做出选择时，价格、便利性和口味等因素往往优先于健康和环境效益的实现。“提高脉冲”项目的总体目标是提高英国消费者饮食的营养价值，并在提高英国食品系统的健康和可持续性的同时实现这一目标。为了实现我们的目标，将与主要利益相关者（包括行业、零售部门和政府）合作，实施优化终用户饮食以及生产的环境和经济可持续性的英国特定蚕豆生产系统。将生产美味的蚕豆粉，并将其用于开发“提高脉冲”食品，以改善营养状况和环境价值。消费者焦点小组和研讨会将确定对这些产品的消费增加的态度、偏好、驱动因素和障碍。它们将为感官测试和全校干预研究的共同创造提供信息，以评估豆类和“提高脉冲”食品对饮食质量、自我报告的饱腹感、营养知识、消费者接受度和市场潜力的影响。将在一项随机对照餐后人体研究中评估营养素生物利用度和饱腹感。最后，将开发一个系统模型，预测用豆类替代现有营养效益较低和环境可持续性较低的成分后，土地利用、环境、企业生存能力、营养和人类健康的变化。该项目将解决政府的健康和可持续性优先事项，帮助确定具有重大有益供应链经济影响的政策相关解决方案，并实现可持续的食品系统转型，以提高消费者的饮食质量、健康和环境。
