According to a new study, eating these seven foods consistently will help you live a disease-free 70s.
In comparison to those who didn’t, the individuals who followed these dietary components the closest starting in their forties were in excellent health.
Less than one in ten persons were able to remain free of sickness, maintain good physical and mental health, and have the capacity to think, learn, and remember properly until they were 70 years old or older, which highlights the significance of eating a balanced diet.
The researchers conclude that, in light of their findings, a long-term objective of dietary recommendations should be to promote general good ageing.
The winning ingredients
Higher consumption of unsaturated fats, wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy was linked to a higher chance of healthy ageing, according to the study.
The impact was also significant: the study discovered that persons who adopted a healthy diet starting in their forties had a 43–84 percent higher chance of being physically and intellectually well-functioning at age 70 than those who did not.
Consuming higher amounts of trans fat, sodium, whole meats, red meat, and processed meats has been linked to a decreased risk of ageing healthily.
According to the researchers, the study is unique in that it focuses on healthy ageing, which they define as the capacity to live independently and with a high quality of life as we age rather than just the absence of sickness.
Postdoctoral fellow Anne-Julie Tessier of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in the US stated: “Dietary guidelines and research have traditionally focused on preventing chronic diseases like heart disease.”
“Our research supports the long-term goal of dietary recommendations to take into account both disease prevention and the promotion of overall healthy ageing.”
The conclusions are based on data collected over a 30-year period from over 100,000 individuals.
At the beginning of the study, participants had to be at least 39 years old, free of chronic illnesses, and able to answer questionnaires every four years regarding their food.
By 2016, almost half of the participants in the study had passed away, and 9.2 percent had lived to be 70 years of age or older, free of chronic illnesses and in excellent physical, mental, and cognitive health.
According to Dr. Tessier, one particularly noteworthy discovery was the correlation between a healthy ageing probability of 68 percent and the planetary health diet.
“This diet is based on the EAT Lancet Commission’s report,” she clarified, highlighting the importance of plant proteins, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and healthy fats derived from sustainable sources.
It is especially intriguing that it has become one of the main dietary patterns linked to healthy ageing since it suggests that we might consume a diet that may be good for the environment as well as our health.
The results were presented at Nutrition 2024, the premier annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. They showed that, even after accounting for physical activity and other variables known to affect health, there were still significant relationships between diet and healthy ageing.
A well-known tale
While not unexpected, the results are positive.
The Mediterranean diet, which has been repeatedly demonstrated to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and even prevent cognitive decline, contains several of these ingredients.
The well-liked eating regimen has even been connected in a recent study to a decreased mortality risk in cancer survivors.
The study found that individuals with any kind of tumour who adhered closely to the Mediterranean diet in the year before they were enrolled in the trial lived longer and had a lower risk of cardiovascular death than those who did not.