Healthy Diet Changes Can Add Up To 13 Years To Life Expectancy-Study Finds

According to a recent study published in the Journal PLOS Medicine, changing what you eat could add up to 13 years to your life, thereby increasing your life expectancy. In order to know what better decisions one needs to make about diet, evidence-based methods are required. So, this study is an evidence-based approach to making better decisions about diet.

Impact of Food Choices on Life Expectancy

Researchers used modeling methodology to estimate what might happen to a man’s or woman’s life expectancy when a “typical Western diet” is swapped with an “optimized diet”. A typical Western diet usually consists of red meat, processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined grains. Whereas an optimized diet focuses on a higher intake of whole grains, legumes, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The main purpose of the study was to predict how dietary choices affect life expectancy.

According to the study, a sustained change from a typical Western diet to the optimal diet by a 20-year-old man or woman would increase the life expectancy by 13 years and 10 years respectively. The findings were not limited to young adults only. The study also said that the life expectancy of 60-year-old men and women could increase by 8 years. And for an 80-year-old, dietary changes could lead to gaining 3.5 years of extra life.

The optimal diet, as defined in the study, is consuming larger amounts of legumes, whole grains, and nuts followed by less consumption of red meat and processed meats. While the study proved that consuming these food groups could lead to an increase in life expectancy, there were certain limitations. The study limitations entail the uncertainty of the effect of eggs, white meat, oils, and individual factors along with other changes in lifestyle. Also, the effect of energy restriction on longevity was not considered.

Optimal Diet

The study model had several strengths. The researchers used existing meta-analyses and data from the Global Burden of Disease study. It is a database that tracks 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories around the world. Thus, the data from the Global Burden of Disease Study showed that the gains in life expectancy by changing western diets with optimal diets could translate into more than a decade for young adults.

Though it may sound easy to make healthier choices, however, it is easier said than done. According to a report by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only a few people are close to meeting their daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables. Consumption of other food groups such as whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds is far below their daily recommendations as well. The study proved that there are several health benefits of adding these food groups to your diet as it led to a longer life expectancy. Moreover, these are a good source of essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Also, these groups are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases.

Moving on, the optimal diet comprises a lower intake of red and processed meats. This is because red and processed meats are associated with diseases such as coronary heart disease and bowel cancer. Eventually, this has a negative effect on health. Experts are of the view that replacing red and processed meats with lean poultry, fish, and plant proteins is one way to improve a diet quickly.

How to improve your diet

Mediterranean diet is one of the best ways to improve diet. Research supports the use of the Mediterranean diet as a healthy eating pattern for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, increasing quality of life, and healthy aging. The diet may also support healthy weight loss when combined with caloric restriction. Moreover, according to a recent report on the ranking of diets, the Mediterranean diet was ranked at the top of the list. Other diets that can help to improve your health and lifestyle include DASH Diet, Flexitarian Diet, and Vegetarian Diet.

Conclusion

A sustained dietary change gives considerable health gains for people of all ages. Gains in life expectancy are predicted to be greater when dietary changes are initiated earlier in life. Moreover, the methodology to estimate the life expectancy of the population could be useful for clinicians, policymakers, and laypeople to understand the impact of various food choices.