Are you able to eat your strategy to an extended life? It’s a matter people often pose to experts like Laura L. Carstensen, PhD, a professor of psychology and the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity in Stanford, California — and an increasing number of research suggests the reply could also be yes.

In accordance with a chapter in Nutrition, Food, and Diet in Ageing and Longevity, published in October 2021, studies have found that diets corresponding to the Mediterranean food regimen, the Okinawa food regimen, the Nordic food regimen, and vegetarian diets promote longevity. It’s likely that these diets help protect your cells against aging due to the omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and other substances they contain.

But what does science say in regards to the connection?

Can Your Diet Ward Off Age-Related Diseases?

Researchers have found that eating — or not eating — certain forms 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 danger for chronic diseases related to aging.

For instance, you may lower your risk of heart attack by following a food regimen just like the Mediterranean food regimen or the Nordic food regimen, in line with a study published in BMC Medicine in June 2018. The Mediterranean food regimen 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 danger of pancreatic cancer, in line with research published within the Journal of Nutrition in March 2021.

Dr. Carstensen is a fan of the Mediterranean food regimen, 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 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 food regimen was linked with longevity in a big review published in Nutrients in June 2021.

Specific components of the Mediterranean food regimen 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 food regimen may gain advantage 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 accordance with 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 various chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, in a study published May 2021 in Ageing Research Reviews.

Alternatively, 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 essentially the most compelling evidence that food regimen 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 that will naturally reduce your calorie intake? Intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating. Intermittent fasting involves alternating times while you eat with times while you don’t, normally 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 food regimen, the blue zones food regimen, or the Nordic food regimen, all of which emphasize whole, plant-based foods, could put you on a path to an extended life.

A final word of caution: At all times take into accout that under-eating isn’t a healthy option for people, with some serious health risks involved. In accordance with research published within the Annual Review of Nutrition in September 2020, caloric restriction may lead to dietary deficiencies and will harm muscle and bone tissues (especially in elderly individuals who don’t have obesity). Discuss with a registered dietitian-nutritionist; he or she will 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 way in which she eats. Her responses have been edited for concision and clarity.

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

Laura Carstensen: Within the morning, I just have black coffee. I don’t wish to eat breakfast, and that helps me restrict my eating to an 8- to 12-hour window. I’ll normally have a salad for lunch, after which dinner may 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 every week.

That said, I 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 food regimen 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 usually are not good for you. For me, it’s not an excellent 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 food regimen you follow?

LC: Time-restricted eating is something that I believe is basically interesting. Numerous 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 contemplate it.

And the Mediterranean food regimen looks prefer it has essentially the most evidence for being healthful. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains appear to be really good for people. When you take a look at regions of the world where individuals are very long lived, most of them are eating something like a Mediterranean food regimen, so there’s good reason to think that’s an excellent approach.

EH: What’s your favorite healthy snack?

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

EH: If 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 just gravitate toward? Or one you avoid?

LC: I like to cook. We have now 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 quite a lot of vegetarian pasta dishes. And I believe grilling is a healthy strategy to eat, indoors or out.

EH: How do you treat yourself?

LC: If I desired to treat myself, I might go to a very good restaurant and eat all the pieces that I wanted. There’s something great about going to an excellent French or Italian restaurant where people really know cook. It’s a treat to give you the option to savor it, and I might 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’d never eat?

LC: I don’t eat organs like brain, kidney, or liver. They usually are 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 give you the option to do 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] once 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 just 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 need to be jogging or running. It may possibly be walking. And it doesn’t need to be 10,000 steps. You get the most important bang in 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 need to do greater than that, it’s fantastic.

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

LC: I believe the secret’s finding stuff you like so that you don’t feel deprived, and making them easily available in your world. Attempt to steer clear of things you already know you’re liable to eating that aren’t good for you — try to not have them in your sight or in your cupboard. After which enjoy life — considered one of the things that’s a very good predictor of longevity is happiness.