The Bellagio report on healthy agriculture, healthy nutrition, healthy people is the result of the meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy, 29 october-2 november 2012. The meeting was science-based but policy-oriented. The role and amount of healthy and unhealthy fats, with attention to the relative content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, sugar, and particularly fructose in foods that may underlie the epidemics of non-communicable diseases (NCD's) worldwide were extensively discussed. The report concludes that sugar consumption, especially in the form of high energy fructose in soft drinks, poses a major and insidious health threat, especially in children, and most diets, although with regional differences, are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and too high in omega-6 fatty acids. Gene-nutrient interactions in growth and development and in disease prevention are fundamental to health, therefore regional Centers on Genetics, Nutrition and Fitness for Health should be established worldwide. Heads of state and government must elevate, as a matter of urgency, Nutrition as a national priority, that access to a healthy diet should be considered a human right and that the lead responsibility for Nutrition should be placed in Ministries of Health rather than agriculture so that the health requirements drive agricultural priorities, not vice versa. Nutritional security should be given the same priority as food security.

El informe del Bellagio sobre agricultura saludable, nutrición saludable, población saludable es el resultado de la reunión mantenida en el Centro Bellagio de la Fundación Rockefeller en el Lago de Como en Italia, entre el 29 de octubre y el 2 de noviembre de 2012. La reunión basada en la ciencia, fue orientada hacia la política. Se discutió extensamente el papel y la cantidad de grasas saludables y perjudiciales, con atención al contenido relativo de los ácidos grasos omega-3 y omega-6, el azúcar, y particularmente la fructosa en los alimentos que pueden conllevar la epidemia de enfermedades no transmisibles (EnT) a través del mundo. El informe concluye que el consumo del azúcar, especialmente en forma de fructosa de alta energía utiizada en bebidas refrescantes, posee una amenaza muy importante de la salud, especialmente en niños, y la mayoría de las dietas, aunque con diferencias regionales, son deficientes en ácidos grasos omega-3 y demasiado altas en ácidos grasos omega-6. Las interacciones gen-nutriente en el crecimiento y desarrollo y en la prevención de la enfermedad son fundamentales para la salud, por lo que deberían establecerse a través de todo el mundo Centros regionales de Genética, Nutrición y Condición Física para la Salud. Los jefes de estado y gobierno deben priorizar dentro de sus nacionales de forma urgente la Nutrición, cuyo acceso a una dieta saludable debería considerarse un derecho humano y dirigir la responsabilidad para que la Nutrición tenga un lugar en los Ministerios de Salud, más que la agricultura de modo que los requerimientos de salud conduzcan a prioridades agrícolas, y no viceversa. La seguridad nutricional debería ser considerada como prioridad como lo es la seguridad alimentaria.

The Bellagio Report on Healthy Agriculture, Healthy Nutrition, Healthy People is the result of the meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy 30 October-1 November, 2012. The meeting was science-based but policy-oriented. The role and amount of healthy and unhealthy fats, with attention to the relative content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, sugar, and particularly fructose in foods that may underlie the epidemics of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide were extensively discussed. The report concludes that sugar consumption, especially in the form of high energy fructose in soft drinks, poses a major and insidious health threat, especially in children, and most diets, although with regional differences, are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and too high in omega-6 fatty acids. Gene-nutrient interactions in growth and development and in disease prevention are fundamental to health, therefore regional Centers on Genetics, Nutrition and Fitness for Health should be established worldwide. Heads of state and government must elevate, as a matter of urgency, nutrition as a national priority, that access to a healthy diet should be considered a human right and that the lead responsibility for nutrition should be placed in Ministries of Health rather than agriculture so that the health requirements drive agricultural priorities, not vice versa. Nutritional security should be given the same priority as food security.

El Informe Bellagio sobre la actividad agropecuaria y la nutrición para la salud de las personas es el resultado de la reunión celebrada del 30 de octubre al 1 de noviembre del 2012 en el Centro Bellagio de la Fundación Rockefeller, ubicado a orillas del lago de Como (Italia). La reunión se basó en datos científicos, pero estuvo orientada a cuestiones de política. Se trataron ampliamente los temas de la función y la cantidad de las grasas saludables y las grasas poco saludables en los alimentos, con atención especial a su contenido relativo de ácidos grasos omega-3 y omega-6, y de azúcar, en particular fructosa, que pueden ser la causa de la epidemia de enfermedades no transmisibles en el mundo. El informe concluye que el consumo de azúcares, sobre todo en la forma de fructosa de alto contenido energético contenida en las bebidas gaseosas, supone una amenaza grave e insidiosa para la salud, especialmente en la niñez, y que la mayoría de los regímenes alimentarios, aunque con diferencias regionales, contienen cantidades insuficientes de ácidos grasos omega-3 y cantidades demasiado elevadas de ácidos grasos omega-6. Dado que las interacciones entre los genes y los nutrientes durante el crecimiento y el desarrollo, así como en la prevención de las enfermedades, son fundamentales para la salud, deben establecerse en todo el mundo centros regionales de genética, nutrición y buena condición física para promover la salud. Los jefes de Estado y de gobierno deben elevar la nutrición, con carácter de urgencia, al nivel de prioridad nacional, lograr que el acceso a un régimen alimentario saludable se considere un derecho humano, y hacer que la responsabilidad principal en materia de nutrición recaiga en los ministerios de salud, en lugar de en los ministerios de agricultura y ganadería, a fin de que las necesidades de salud orienten las prioridades agropecuarias, y no a la inversa. Debe asignarse a la seguridad nutricional la misma prioridad que a la seguridad alimentaria.

O Relatório de Bellagio sobre Agricultura Saudável, Alimentação Saudável, Populações Saudáveis foi baseado em ciência, mas politicamente orientado. Foram amplamente discutidos o papel e a quantidade de nutrientes saudáveis e não saudáveis em alimentos que podem estar subjacentes à epidemia de doenças não transmissíveis em todo o mundo, com atenção ao conteúdo relativo de ácidos graxos ômega-3 e ômega-6, e também de açúcar, especialmente frutose. O relatório conclui que o consumo de açúcar, principalmente na forma de frutose de alta energia em refrigerantes, representa uma grande e insidiosa ameaça à saúde, e a maioria das dietas é deficiente em ácidos graxos ômega-3 e muito rica em ômega-6 ácidos graxos. A reunião estabeleceu que: os governos devem elevar, como uma questão de urgência, a Nutrição para uma posição de prioridade nacional; o acesso a uma dieta saudável deve ser considerado um direito humano; e a responsabilidade principal sobre a Nutrição deve ser colocada nas mãos do Ministério da Saúde, em vez do da Agricultura, para que os requisitos de saúde conduzam as prioridades agrícolas, e não vice-versa.

The Bellagio Report on Healthy Agriculture, Healthy Nutrition, Healthy People was science-based but policy-oriented. The role and amount of healthy and unhealthy nutrients in foods that may underlie the epidemics of non-communicable diseases worldwide was extensively discussed, with attention to the relative content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and also sugar, particularly fructose. The report concludes that sugar consumption, especially in the form of high energy fructose in soft drinks, poses a major and insidious health threat, and most diets are defficient in omega-3 fatty acids and too high in omega-6 fatty acids. The meeting established that: governments must elevate, as a matter of urgency, Nutrition to a national priority; access to a healthy diet should be considered a human right; and the lead responsibility for Nutrition should be placed in Ministries of Health rather than Agriculture so that the health requirements drive agricultural priorities, not vice versa.

Human beings evolved on a diet that was balanced in the omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and was high in antioxidants. Edible wild plants provide alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and higher amounts of vitamin E and vitamin C than cultivated plants. In addition to the antioxidant vitamins, edible wild plants are rich in phenols and other compounds that increase their antioxidant capacity. It is therefore important to systematically analyze the total antioxidant capacity of wild plants and promote their commercialization in both developed and developing countries. The diets of Western countries have contained increasingly larger amounts of linoleic acid (LA), which has been promoted for its cholesterol-lowering effect. It is now recognized that dietary LA favors oxidative modification of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increases platelet response to aggregation. In contrast, ALA intake is associated with inhibitory effects on the clotting activity of platelets, on their response to thrombin, and on the regulation of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. In clinical studies, ALA contributed to lowering of blood pressure, and a prospective epidemiological study showed that ALA is inversely related to the risk of coronary heart disease in men. Dietary amounts of LA as well as the ratio of LA to ALA appear to be important for the metabolism of ALA to longer-chain omega-3 PUFAs. Relatively large reserves of LA in body fat, as are found in vegans or in the diet of omnivores in Western societies, would tend to slow down the formation of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from ALA. Therefore, the role of ALA in human nutrition becomes important in terms of long-term dietary intake. One advantage of the consumption of ALA over omega-3 fatty acids from fish is that the problem of insufficient vitamin E intake does not exist with high intake of ALA from plant sources.