Can Your Diet Ward Off Age-Related Diseases?

Researchers have found that eating — or not eating — certain sorts of foods can affect your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes that may, in turn, affect how long you’re more likely to live. While no single food goes to ensure you will live to see 100, research has found that certain eating patterns contribute to an extended life span by lowering the chance for chronic diseases related to aging.

For instance, you would lower your risk of heart attack by following a weight loss plan just like the Mediterranean weight loss plan or the Nordic weight loss plan, in line with a study published in BMC Medicine in June 2018. The Mediterranean weight loss plan may reduce your risk of breast cancer, in line with a study published in Nutrients in March 2018. Eating mostly plants and whole foods may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, in line with a review published in Nutrients in September 2020. And whole grains may lower the chance of pancreatic cancer, in line with research published within the Journal of Nutrition in March 2021.

Dr. Carstensen is a fan of the Mediterranean weight loss plan, an eating plan that mimics the dietary habits of the long-lived residents of the Mediterranean region, with a concentrate on whole, plant-based foods, healthy fats, nuts and legumes, and lean protein. “I really like salads and fish, so it’s easy for me, and there’s good reason to think it’s good for you,” she notes. Research backs her up: The Mediterranean weight loss plan was linked with longevity in a big review published in Nutrients in June 2021.

Specific components of the Mediterranean weight loss plan may impact certain health conditions. For instance, eating more plant protein (and fewer animal protein, especially processed pork) may reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular conditions, in line with a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. Research published within the journal Gut in June 2020 suggested that the Mediterranean weight loss plan may benefit the gut microbiome, making you less frail as you age and improving your cognitive function. And plant-based foods slow the onset of diabetes and heart disease, in line with research published in Antioxidants in March 2021.

Could Limiting Your Calories Lengthen Your Life?

Research shows that obesity shortens your life span. In response to research published in Obesity Reviews in April 2020, obesity shortens the life spans of ladies by 7.1 years and men by 5.8 years after age 40. And obesity was linked with numerous chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, in a study published May 2021 in Ageing Research Reviews.

However, preliminary research in animals has shown that restricting calories — a practice that may aid weight reduction — can slow aging. “In animal studies, when calorie intake is substantially reduced, the animals not only live longer, they seem like healthier,” Carstensen says. “Which means there’s something about what we’re eating or not eating that’s influencing our health. That’s probably the most compelling evidence that weight loss plan matters.”

Research published in Molecular Cell Biology in September 2021 supports Carstensen’s opinion, calling dietary restriction with adequate nutrition “the gold standard” for promoting an extended, healthy life.

One popular eating approach which will naturally reduce your calorie intake? Intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating. Intermittent fasting involves alternating times whenever you eat with times whenever you don’t, often on a every day or weekly basis. While significantly more research is required, more studies have focused on this practice lately. For instance, research published in Nature Aging in January 2021 found that intermittent fasting may improve longevity and health span by promoting healthy cell aging and reducing risk aspects for some diseases.

Carstensen practices time-restricted eating herself — she has nothing but black coffee within the morning, and limits the time she eats to an 8- to 12-hour window every day.

While more research is required, the links between what you eat and the way long you reside are intriguing. The Mediterranean weight loss plan, the blue zones weight loss plan, or the Nordic weight loss plan, all of which emphasize whole, plant-based foods, could put you on a path to an extended life.

A final word of caution: All the time bear in mind that under-eating isn’t a healthy option for people, with some serious health risks involved. In response to research published within the Annual Review of Nutrition in September 2020, caloric restriction could lead on to dietary deficiencies and will harm muscle and bone tissues (especially in elderly individuals who don’t have obesity). Refer to a registered dietitian-nutritionist; he or she will be able to assist you be sure you’re working toward your health goals while meeting your dietary needs.

Carstensen on Her Diet for Healthy Aging

Here’s what Carstensen said about how her work on longevity has influenced the best way she eats. Her responses have been edited for concision and clarity.

On a regular basis Health: What does a typical day of eating appear like for you?

Laura Carstensen: Within the morning, I just have black coffee. I don’t prefer to eat breakfast, and that helps me restrict my eating to an 8- to 12-hour window. I’ll often have a salad for lunch, after which dinner is likely to be pasta pomodoro, a very good spinach broccoli soup, a red lentil soup I make, grilled salmon or chicken, or a quesadilla. I eat vegetarian a few times per week.

That said, I really like food, and there isn’t a food group that I don’t eat. I enjoy nearly any form of food. I even have probably tried every advisable weight loss plan and exercise routine and failed at most of them. Within the last 5 to 10 years, I began leaning toward things that I actually enjoy and never buying things that I enjoy that should not good for you. For me, it’s not a superb idea to ever buy potato chips and put them in my cupboard. In the event that they’re not there, it doesn’t matter, but in the event that they’re there, I’ll eat too lots of them.

EH: Why is that this the weight loss plan you follow?

LC: Time-restricted eating is something that I believe is basically interesting. Lots of the biologists I do know who’re studying longevity are on time-restricted diets of 1 kind or one other. I believe it is sensible that when you eat in fewer hours, you eat less, and also you give your body a rest from having to process what you’re ingesting. I believe there’s enough evidence on time-restricted eating for people to think about it.

And the Mediterranean weight loss plan looks prefer it has probably the most evidence for being healthful. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains appear to be really good for people. Should you have a look at regions of the world where individuals are very long lived, most of them are eating something like a Mediterranean weight loss plan, so there’s good reason to think that’s a superb approach.

EH: What’s your favorite healthy snack?

LC: I don’t really snack in any respect through the day. I’ll have a glass of wine and nuts or [whole-grain] crackers after I get home from work. I used to eat cheese and crackers, but it surely was way an excessive amount of cheese, so I switched to plain crackers or nuts.

EH: Once you’re feeling run-down, which foods or drinks do you depend on to spice up your energy?

LC: I’m really bad at desirous about food as fuel. I drink coffee within the morning. Within the afternoon, if I used to be winding down and drained, I’d probably have green tea. It’s simply enough of a stimulant to make me feel awake but not agitated.

EH: Is there a cooking method or technique that you simply gravitate toward? Or one you avoid?

LC: I really like to cook. We’ve little or no processed food in the home, so from salad dressings to soups, I make those things. I cook with olive oil — that’s my default. I make a number of vegetarian pasta dishes. And I believe grilling is a healthy approach to eat, indoors or out.

EH: How do you treat yourself?

LC: If I desired to treat myself, I’d go to a very good restaurant and eat every little thing that I wanted. There’s something great about going to a superb French or Italian restaurant where people really know easy methods to cook. It’s a treat to have the opportunity to savor it, and I’d eat anything I wanted at a time like that. I’m not big on deprivation in any respect.

EH: What’s one healthy food you would like you ate more of?

LC: I wish I liked smoothies with kale and carrots and that form of stuff. I just don’t. It’s an excessive amount of liquid for me.

EH: Are there any foods you’ll never eat?

LC: I don’t eat organs like brain, kidney, or liver. They should not appealing.

EH: What’s your strategy when eating out?

LC: I don’t eat out fairly often, so I treat myself to whatever I would like. But when I ate out every night, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to try this!

EH: Wine with dinner: Yes or no?

LC: Absolutely. Wine before dinner after which with dinner, so two glasses. I feel the research [and the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans] after they say women must have just one glass of wine; but I even have two glasses [when I choose to drink wine], and I believe I’m okay.

EH: What’s one small change you’ve made — dietary or otherwise — to assist promote longevity?

LC: Probably time-restricted eating. It’s something I learned from my geroscience colleagues, and I attempted it, and I felt higher. I used to place half-and-half in my coffee and eat five almonds within the morning, since a trainer had told me years ago that you simply needed to eat very first thing within the morning to activate your digestive system. I gave that up, and it was easy for me.

EH: What’s one small change anyone could make to assist them to live an extended, healthier life?

LC: Get some form of exercise. It doesn’t should be jogging or running. It might be walking. And it doesn’t should be 10,000 steps. You get the largest bang to your buck in the primary mile, and the evidence suggests you’re not getting way more of a health profit after 7,500 steps, though if you must do greater than that, it’s advantageous.

EH: Any final thoughts on the link between eating selections and longevity?

LC: I believe the hot button is finding belongings you like so that you don’t feel deprived, and making them easily available in your world. Attempt to avoid things you realize you’re at risk of eating that aren’t good for you — try to not have them in your sight or in your cupboard. After which enjoy life — one in every of the things that’s a very good predictor of longevity is happiness.