Your midlife eating habits can influence longevity, for better or worse.
People often crave cut-and-dried solutions to health woes; perform these five exercises to fix your lower-back pain, meditate this long each day for better mental clarity, eat these 10 foods to bolster your immune system. But the reality is much more nuanced.
Case in point: New research published in Nature Medicine suggests there isn’t one overall “best” diet for longevity. Instead, the findings show that, in midlife, sticking with a diet that’s rich in plant-based foods and includes low to moderate amounts of certain animal-based foods is linked with a higher likelihood of healthy aging.
The Context
It’s not surprising, but how you fuel your body can significantly influence your lifespan and healthspan. Globally, diet is the top behavioral risk factor for non-communicable diseases and mortality. But being free of chronic disease is just one component of healthy aging; physical, mental, and cognitive well-being matter, too.
While other studies have examined the ties between diet and the risk of specific diseases or mortality, this new investigation looked at the relationship more holistically: “How does diet impact people's ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life as they age?" co-corresponding author Frank B. Hu, Ph.D., the Fredrick J. Stare professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a press release.
The Details
Using data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the researchers analyzed the midlife diets — and health outcomes — of more than 105,000 people. The participants ranged from 39 to 69 years old who, over the course of 30 years, regularly answered questions related to their eating habits, including their intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, alcohol, animal-based foods, sweetened beverages, trans fats, and sodium, among other foods.
Then, the team scored the participants based on how well their eating habits aligned with eight specific “healthy” diets, such as the DASH diet, alternative Mediterranean index diet, and healthful plant-based diet.
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The Key Findings
Of the studied group, 9.3 percent of participants (equating to more than 9,700 people) aged healthfully — meaning they had no major chronic diseases and maintained their physical, cognitive, and mental health by age 70.
Broken down by diet type, the study participants who had scored in the highest group (read: had the best adherence) for the alternative healthy eating index diet were 86 percent more likely to experience healthy aging at 70 than the folks who were in the lowest-scoring group. When the age was bumped up to 75 years old, the diet — designed to prevent chronic disease, rich in plant-based foods, and low in red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, sodium, and refined grains — also had the strongest link with healthy aging.
Still, participants who closely followed any of the eight healthy diets were more likely to grow older with positive physical, mental, and cognitive health. Simply consuming a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and unsaturated fats was linked with greater odds of healthy aging, the researchers found. (On the flip side, higher intakes of trans fats, sodium, sugary drinks, and red and processed meats were linked with lower odds.) Importantly, these connections were independent of physical activity level, smoking status, and other lifestyle factors.
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The Impact
These findings suggest that while certain diets may be more effective in promoting longevity than others, any eating pattern that’s rich in plant-based foods and contains lower amounts of red and processed meats, sodium, and trans fats could support healthy aging.
The Expert Insight
In a press release, lead author Anne-Julie Tessier, R.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Montreal, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute, and a visiting scientist at Harvard Chan School, stated: "Our findings also show that there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Healthy diets can be adapted to fit individual needs and preferences.”
The Caveat
Despite the promising findings, the researchers note that the participants were all health professionals, and the study would need to be conducted among a more diverse population in order to understand if the results could be applied to the general public. Still, given the other well-studied benefits of a plant-rich diet — for the planet and your risk of certain chronic diseases, to name a few — it may be worth the switch.