World Vegetarian Day
World Vegetarian Day is celebrated on January 11 in Poland. Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
- A plant-based diet is any diet that focuses on foods derived from plant sources. This can include fruit, vegetables, grains, pulses, legumes, nuts, and meat substitutes such as soy products. Those who eat a plant-based diet lower their risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other health conditions.
- To keep balance, it is important to include whole grain products, legumes, nuts, products enriched with deficient ingredients (e.g. vegetable drinks enriched with calcium, vitamin B12, and D), and in some cases vitamin and mineral supplements.
- In the case of a vegan and macrobiotic diet, especially if children are concerned, it is important to monitor the health condition by a doctor and to cooperate with a dietitian in terms of a properly balanced diet.
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. So it can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
The way we eat and what diet we follow determine our health. Therefore, SGGW conducts scientific research, educational projects and studies at two faculties that prepare future specialists in the field of dietetics, human nutrition, food assessment, or technologies used by the food industry.
The use of diets in nutrition is an important issue at SGGW. For example, veganism as a way of eating is included in the “Human Nutrition II” study program at the faculty of Dietetics, and Human Nutrition and Food Assessment. The updated information on the subject can be found in the “Human Nutrition Practice Guide. Supplementary scope” script, edited by our staff: Ewa Sicińska, Dorota Czerwińska, and Katarzyna Kozłowska, and published in 2021 by the SGGW Publishing House.
SGGW Scientists also share their knowledge on alternative diets, including vegetarian and vegan diets, with younger and older recipients. The subject is discussed in the monographs prepared by the Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences staff and training sessions for primary school teachers as part of the Junior-Edu-Żywienie project implemented by the Institute. Those pieces of training are to be an element of the nutrition education program implementation for primary school learners, aiming to shape healthy eating habits among Polish children and teenagers.
The staff of the Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences also prepared the “Nutrition and nutritional treatment of children and adolescents” used by doctors and dieticians, edited by Hanna Szajewska and Andrea Horvath published by the Wydawnictwo Medycyna Praktyczna. The “Vegetarian and vegan diet” chapter was developed by dr inż. Joanna Rachtan-Janicka.
The Faculty of Human Nutrition offers the following study programs:
The Faculty of Food Technology and Human Nutrition offers the following study programs: