Living a long and healthy life is a goal of most individuals. There are lifestyle choices you can make to increase your chances of living such a life. One factor which plays a significant role in your body’s ability to thrive throughout your life is your diet.
There is no one single food which is the elixir of long life and a whole diet approach is best. This is because no one single food can give your body all the macronutrients and micronutrients needed to work optimally. Saying this, new research has linked the role of six foods to a reduced risk of dying from any cause and lower risk of developing vascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. These foods are fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, and dairy (mainly whole fat).
Researchers used a combined analysis from 4 international prospective cohort studies from 80 different countries and two case-control designed studies from 62 different countries. A total of 244, 597 individuals were included in the research. The countries included high-, low- and medium-income countries. The median follow-up period was 9.3 years. Researchers developed a healthy diet score based on the 6 foods mentioned above. These 6 foods were associated with lower risk of death.
Results showed that the participants with a 20% higher intake of the 6 foods contained in the healthy diet score were associated with a 6% lower risk of cardiovascular disease risk and 8% lower risk of death from any cause. Furthermore, the participants scored equal, or less than one point compared to a diet score of equal or greater than five points there was a significantly lower risk of death, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke.
Putting these findings into amounts. The healthiest style of eating, which promoted the least risk of dying from any cause, heart disease and stroke contained:
- 563.1g of fruits and vegetables daily
- 48g of legumes a day
- 28.3g of nuts
- 26.1g of fish
- 185.5g of diary a day
- 54.5g of red meat a day
- 22.1g of poultry a day
Over a week this diet provides a variety of nutrients for your body and is moderate in red meat and poultry. This diet contains approximately 56% carbohydrates, 27% fat which is made up of 8.9% saturated fat and 25% from unsaturated fat and 17.2% protein.
The style of eating linked to a greater risk of death, heart disease and stroke had a much different macronutrient composition with 66% of the diet made up of carbohydrates, contained 20% fat which was made up of 6.3% saturated fat and 10.7% unsaturated fat and 13.5% protein. This diet contained:
- 24.1g red meat a day
- 10.3g of poultry a day.
- 130.6g fruit and vegetables a day
- 6.1g fish a day
- 3.9g nuts
- 21g legumes a day
- 31.2g dairy a day
These findings suggest that moderation in all foods including red meat and full fat dairy could be a promoter to longevity and reduced risk of vascular disease. For example, red meat is not recommended in excess amounts, but including moderate amounts in the diet can provide a matrix of nutrients which promote health and longevity of your body.
The results also provide support that fish also is important to promote longevity. Those with lower risk of vascular disease and death from any causes consuming 26.1g of fish daily compared to 6.1g daily in the less healthy style of eating. These findings hold true to the recommendations to include 100g of cooked seafood 2-3 times a week as part of an overall balanced diet. Seafood not only provides your body with essential polyunsaturated omega-3 fat but a matrix of additional health benefits. These include providing your body with a complete source of protein, micronutrients such as iron, vitamin B12, choline, and zinc, to name only a few.
These findings also suggest that ensuring you are eating enough of the essential whole foods to be more important than strictly limiting a food group based on its saturated fat content. For example, excluding dairy fat in its whole fat form may not be warranted for overall health and longevity. This is due to the matrix of health benefits this food contains above simply saturated fat. More research is still needed to adjust recommendations around full fat dairy and heart disease, where low fat is currently still recommended.
Take home message: It may be important to focus more on eating enough of the health promoting foods rather than focusing on restricting the less healthy choices to help your body to thrive and increase your chances of living a long and healthy life.
Reference:
- Andrew Mente and others, Diet, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in 80 countries, European Heart Journal, Volume 44, Issue 28, 21 July 2023, Pages 2560–2579, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad269
