Valorization of Local Legumes and Nuts as Key Components of the Mediterranean Diet
Author
Ortiz-Solà, Jordi
Alamprese, Cristina
Barros, Lillian
Shelef, Oren
Basheer, Loai
Rivera, Ana
Publication date
2022-11-29ISSN
2304-8158
Abstract
Legumes and nuts are components of high importance in the diet of many countries, mainly those in the Mediterranean region. They are also very versatile and culturally diverse foods found all over the world, acting as a basic protein source in certain countries. Their genetic diversity is needed to sustain the food supply and security for humans and livestock, especially because of the current loss of habitats, species, and genetic diversity worldwide, but also because of the ever present need to feed the increasing human population. Even though both legumes and nuts are considered as high-protein food and environmentally friendly crops, developed countries have lower consumption rates when compared to Asia or Africa. With a view to increasing the consumption of legumes and nuts, the objective of this review is to present the advantages on the use of autochthonous varieties from different countries around the world, thus providing a boost to the local market in the area. The consumption of these varieties could be helped by their use in ready-to-eat foods (RTE), which are now on the rise thanks to today’s fast-paced lifestyles and the search for more nutritious and sustainable foods. The versatility of legumes and nuts covers a wide range of possibilities through their use in plant-based dairy analogues, providing alternative-protein and maximal amounts of nutrients and bioactive compounds, potential plant-based flours for bakery and pasta, and added-value traditional RTE meals. For this reason, information about legume and nut nutrition could possibly increase its acceptance with consumers
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
663/664 - Food and nutrition. Enology. Oils. Fat
Pages
28
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Foods
Citation
Hernández-López, Israel, Jordi Ortiz-Solà, Cristina Alamprese, Lillian Barros, Oren Shelef, Loai Basheer, Ana Rivera, Maribel Abadias, and Ingrid Aguiló-Aguayo. 2022. "Valorization of Local Legumes And Nuts As Key Components Of The Mediterranean Diet". Foods 11 (23): 3858. doi:10.3390/foods11233858
Grant agreement number
EC/H2020/ /EU/Developing innovative plant-based added-value food products through the promotion of LOCAL Mediterranean NUT and LEGUME crops/LOCALNUTLEG
MINECO/Programa Estatal de promoción del talento y su empleabilidad en I+D+I/RYC-2016-19949/ES/ /
Program
Postcollita
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2635]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/