Protein for a Healthy Future: How to Increase Protein Intake in an Environmentally Sustainable Way in Older Adults in the Netherlands.

Background: Protein intake greater than the currently recommended amount is suggested to improve physical functioning and well-being in older adults, yet it is likely to increase diet-associated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) if environmental sustainability is not considered.

Objectives: We aimed to identify dietary changes needed to increase protein intake while improving diet environmental sustainability in older adults.

Methods: Starting from the habitual diet of 1,354 Dutch older adults (aged 56-101 y) from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam cohort, mathematical diet optimization was used to model high-protein diets with minimized departure from habitual intake in cumulative steps.

Future-proof and sustainable healthy diets based on current eating patterns in the Netherlands.

Background: To keep global warming <1.5°C as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), eating patterns must change. However, future diets should be modeled at a national level and respect cultural acceptability.