New Study Shows That Eating Well at 40 Could Impact Your Health at 70
Numerous diets have made their way into the collective consciousness as means of slowing down the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s. We’ve featured a number of these diets on our blogs. But eating right isn’t just for those who are battling cognitive decline. It’s for anyone who wants to be healthy and active at the age of 70, according to a recent study on diet and nutrition.
If you eat well now, you may live better later. According to the study, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats in midlife can improve the chances of good mental, physical, and cognitive health decades later.
The study was presented at a major nutrition conference. It builds on years of research that a daily diet filled with highly nutritious food can reduce the risk of developing common chronic diseases and help maintain cognitive functioning as we age.
Harvard researchers analyzed 30 years of data on over 106,000 participants. The study included 70,467 women and 36,464 men. The study began in 1986. All participants were at least 39 years old at the beginning of the study and free of chronic disease. The participants filled out an extensive food frequency questionnaire every four years from 1986 to 2010. The researchers tracked every participant’s personal diet over time to see how well they matched to ideal dietary patterns. These included specialty diets like the DASH diet, which is a diet meant to lower blood pressure by focusing on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
The research found the strongest correlations between the alternative health eating index (AHEI) and healthier aging. The AHEI closely follows U.S. dietary guidelines by encouraging more legumes, nuts, and vegetables, coupled with lower amounts of red or processed meats.
Overall, the researchers found that the higher the intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy, the greater your chances of aging well. Those whose diets consisted more of trans fats, sodium, red, and processed meats had a lower chance of healthy aging.
What is healthy aging?
The researchers defined healthy aging as surviving to at least 70 and having good cognitive function, mental health, physical function, and being free of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and most cancers.
After analyzing 30 years’ worth of data, the researchers found that approximately half of the participants had died with only 9% surviving to the age of 70 or older free of chronic diseases and with unimpaired cognitive health. However, those participants who adhered to the aforementioned diet had the best chances of aging well.
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Source:
nbcnews.com/health/aging/diet-at-40-better-health-later-rcna159814
