Austria Updates Dietary Guidelines, Emphasises Legumes and Vegetarian Options

Austria Updates Dietary Guidelines, Emphasises Legumes and Vegetarian Options

APA/dpa/A3609 Daniel Karmann

 

Austria’s Ministry of Health has updated its dietary recommendations to include guidance on legumes and vegetarian diets, according to a press statement issued on Thursday.

The revised guidelines now classify “legumes and products made from them” as a distinct category. Legumes include items such as chickpeas, peanuts and beans.

“We do not want to prescribe or forbid anything to people, but rather create awareness,” Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Green Party) said in the statement. The new guidelines recommend consuming three servings of legumes per week and encourage a reduction in the intake of meat, fish, milk and dairy products.

For the first time, there are also specific recommendations for vegetarian diets. The core components of a balanced diet remain drinking water (six servings a day), vegetables and fruit (five servings a day), and cereals and potatoes (four servings a day).

According to Minister Rauch, the emphasis is on education and climate protection: “Healthy eating protects both our health and our climate.”

It is estimated that up to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in Austria are linked to dietary choices – particularly the production and transport of animal products, which significantly contribute to CO2 emissions. For these items, it is advised to prioritise regional sourcing to minimise transportation distances. For fruit and vegetables, the focus should be on seasonality. Fresh seasonal produce not only provides greater nutritional benefits but also tends to be more cost-effective due to reduced transportation and storage expenses.

The updated dietary recommendations have been approved by the National Nutrition Commission.

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