New dietary recommendations in the Netherlands: less meat, more legumes

Eat 40% less meat, half as much cheese, and twice as many legumes: that is the new recommendation from the Dutch Nutrition Center, which aims to help people eat healthier and in a more environmentally conscious way.

Based on recent scientific insights

The Nutrition Center has published an update to its “Schijf van Vijf,” (“Wheel of five”) which consists of five sections with recommendations for key food groups. The core message remains unchanged: the advice is still to eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole-grain products, and to limit salt, saturated fat, and sugar. There are mainly shifts in the recommended amounts, particularly regarding protein.

For adults aged 18 to 50 who eat both meat and fish, this means, among other things, a greater role for legumes, which increase from 120 to 180 grams per week to 250 grams per week. Meat decreases from a maximum of 500 grams to 300 grams per week, of which no more than 100 grams should be red meat. The recommendation for cheese goes from 40 grams to 20 grams per day. And the advice is to alternate between dairy and fortified dairy alternatives.

The updated Wheel of Five is based on recent scientific insights. “All the calculated dietary patterns are as healthy as possible, have a low environmental impact, and take safe limits into account. In this way, we not only take good care of ourselves, but also of the world around us and future generations,” says Petra Verhoef, director at the Netherlands Nutrition Centre.