Foods that are rich in fats and sugars are pleasurable because they stimulate our reward circuits, the same circuits that are activated by drugs. In a context in which unhealthy diets and drug abuse are common from adolescence, it is important to investigate their consequences.
There is a widespread misconception, mainly due to perverse agnogenic practices, that nutrition is hard and confusing, that we do not really know what to eat and that health professionals cannot agree.
Nutritional epidemiology currently studies the diet-disease relationships. In this review, we analyse the impact of diet on health and the importance of dietary factors in the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
The monograph, coordinated by Gonzalo Casino and Montserrat Rabasa, delves into the relationships between food, society and health
Growing concern for health has fuelled interest in the relationship between diet and disease prevention. But despite the remarkable scientific advances, there are still many unanswered questions, and many evidence-based messages do not reach the population and are lost in a sea of misinformation and half-truths.
Alcohol is like any other type of drug, except more widespread and accepted. It is important to contextualise the importance of social behaviour in its consumption.
Palm oil is a plant oil consisting on saturated fats, which increase cholesterol and cardiovascular risks.
Sweet is more than a flavour. It is a world of nuances and aromas, a range of sensations and experiences linked to the pleasures of the table. «Sweeter than honey», that is what the poets sang in passionate verses, knowing that there was no better delight than sweetness on your lips.
One fine day I found I had a Mediterranean diet. Just as Molière’s character, who was happy to learn he was speaking in prose, I experienced the satisfaction of right and proper eating. It turns out humankind feeds wrong.
The habit of gathering leaves, flowers, roots, fruits of wild plants and mushrooms for cooking traditional dishes is dying out in parts of Alicante, although in other –mostly rural– areas these traditional recipes are still in use. Ethnobotanical studies conducted in the province of Valencia identify more than 110 wild species used as food.