Consommer des produits dont les animaux ont été alimentés à l’herbe est-il suffisant pour équilibrer notre alimentation en acides gras poly-insaturés ?

Can we balance our dietary intake of polyunsaturated fats by consuming products from grass-fed livestock?

According to nutritional recommendations, humans should consume 1.8 g/day of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and have a dietary linoleic acid (LA) to ALA ratio of less than 4. However, in France, mean ALA consumption is 0.9 g/day, and the mean dietary LA:ALA ratio is greater than 9. These trends are linked to the lower levels of ALA found in animal products currently on the market. To generate products containing recommended ALA levels and LA:ALA ratios, we should increase the amount of grass in the diets of ruminant livestock, give non-ruminant livestock greater access tograsslands, and provide all livestock with dietary supplements such as rapeseed oilcakes and flaxseed. However, to fully meet nutritional recommendations, consumers also need to make global changes to their diets in terms of the animal products and oils they eat. Here, we provide clear guidelines that consumers can follow to improve the quality of their diets and balance their intake of polyunsaturated fats. They involve eating foods produced in certain quality marks (e.g., via organic farming), favoring grass-fed products and certain types of edible oils.