1. UNIT 2 Feeding and nutrition FRANCISCO GRANDE COVIÁN Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education

2. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Francisco Grande Covián was born in Colunga (Asturias) in 1909. Life He studied Medicine and completed his Ph.D at the University of Madrid in 1931. He worked with Severo Ochoa and completed his training at various European universities. He returned to Spain in 1979 and, between then and 1983, he was Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Science Faculty of Zaragoza university. From the 1 st of April 1986 to the 31 st of May 1995, he was an emeritus professor. He died in Madrid in 1995. Between 1953 and 1974, he lived in the United States, where he was a professor at the university of Minnesota and director of the Mount Sinai hospital in Minneapolis.

3. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science He was the first person to study the problems of malnutrition among the population of Madrid during the Civil War, which enabled him to discover the beneficial properties of the two foods that saved Spaniards during the war: lentils and canned sardines. He is known for his work as a nutritionist.

4. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science During his time in the United States, and with the collaboration of other US scientists, he carried out a study of the relation between the quantity of fats in a diet and the level of cholesterol in the blood, and established a formula which is still used today by dietitians around the world.

5. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science He warned that a high level of cholesterol in the blood can cause cardiac diseases, which can be prevented by consuming certain foods, in particular those which make up the Mediterranean diet, which he so staunchly defended.

6. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science He demonstrated the importance of consuming water and proteins for the organism, and denounced certain diets that dangerously reduced water consumption, as they posed a risk to people’s health.

7. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science He was fiercely opposed to slimming diets, vegetarian diets and macrobiotic diets, as he considered them deficient in vitamins, and other substances. He insisted on the need to “eat a bit of everything” to obtain sufficient energy and, and to simply eat less if you want to lose weight.

8. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science He was obsessed with the problem of hunger in the world. He thought that it was not caused by lack of food, but rather the result of bad distribution. Map of the undernourished population in the world % of undernourished population 35% 20 to 34 % 5 to 19 % 2,5 to 4 %  2,5 % No data

9. UNIDAD 3 UNIT 2 Francisco Grande Covián Biology and Geology 3. Secondary Education Contribution to science Don Francisco Grande Covián was an internationally recognised authority in the field of nutrition and he made a great contribution to the world diet and nutrition through his many books and articles. He is considered to be the father of dietetics, having been the first President of the Spanish Nutrition Society.