It’s that time again when you read how eating to healthier diet it means you will live longer. However, this time there is research to support how life expectancy increases for those who follow a diet composed mainly of vegetables, fruit, vegetablesnuts and unprocessed white meats and reduce or avoid red and/or processed meats.
Although this finding PLOS MedicineThe study of is unlikely to be surprising, it is noteworthy that Adapting the diet can increase life expectancy well into old age. Similar findings are attributable to people living in China and Europe. (one)
The expected number of years added to a person’s life is greater when an “optimized diet” – consisting of foods that add no “mortality gain” – is consumed at a younger age. For example, if a 20-year-old American man were to adopt an optimized diet instead of a “typical Western diet,” that he has higher amounts of processed meats, refined grains, and prepackaged foods and beverages with much added sugarthey they could add up to 13 years to your life. A 20-year-old American woman is potentially add almost 11 years to his life. Similarly, an 80-year-old American man or woman could still expect add almost four more years to their lives switching from a western diet to an optimized diet.
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Diets: Western vs. Feasible vs. optimized
Below is the daily amount of each type of food used in the study methodology for a Western diet, an optimized diet, and what they called the “feasibility approach diet” as plus a “middle ground” between the two diets above . Allowances were based on 1,932.4 calories for the Western diet, 1,876.2 calories for the feasible diet and 1,820 calories for the optimized diet:
Whole grains (for example, rye bread, whole wheat cerealwhole grain rice)
- Western – 50 grams
- Feasible — 137.5 grams
- Optimized — 225 grams
Vegetables (for example, sweet peppers, mixed leaf salad, avocadotomato, etc.)
- western — 250 grams
- Feasible — 325 grams
- Optimized — 400 grams
fruit (for example, apples, bananas, oranges, kiwis, berries, etc.)
- western — 200 grams
- Feasible — 300 grams
- Optimized — 400 grams
Walnuts
- Western: zero grams
- Feasible – 12.5 grams
- Optimized — 25 grams
vegetables (for example, beans, lentils, peas, etc.)
- Western: zero grams
- Feasible — 100 grams
- Optimized — 200 grams
- Western – 50 grams
- Feasible — 125 grams
- Optimized — 200 grams
- Western – 50 grams
- Feasible – 37.5 grams
- Optimized — 25 grams
Milk/Dairy products
- Western — 300 grams
- Feasible — 250 grams
- Optimized — 200 grams
refined grains
- western — 150 grams
- Feasible — 100 grams
- Optimized — 50 grams
- western — 100 grams
- Feasible — 50 grams
- Optimized: zero grams
processed meat
- Western – 50 grams
- Feasible — 25 grams
- Optimized: zero grams
Sugary drinks
- western — 500 grams
- Feasible — 250 grams
- Optimized: zero grams
Additional Vegetable oils
- Western – 25 grams
- Feasible — 25 grams
- Optimized — 25 grams
Below is the expected longevity (in years) gained by following an optimized diet, starting at the designated ages:
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Of note, these longevity gains are for those who would transition from a Western diet to the feasible or optimal diets. Those who already follow an optimal diet are already more likely to live longer than their counterparts who follow a Western diet, according to the study. Another way to think of this is a western diet functionally reduces life expectancy compared to an optimal diet.
Larger takeaways
Unfortunately for carnivoresis PLOS Medicine One study suggests that eating less red and processed meat could lead to greater gains in life expectancy. If you drop those delicious cheeseburgers and deli sandwiches are too inconvenient; after all, a longer life expectancy is presumably better if the extra years are enjoyed; even reducing a diet more than is feasible or optimal can have positive effects on longevity. Benefits are not all or nothing. So the next time you have the chance to opt for whole grains over your favorite sugar-laden alternative, go for it. When dining out and the options are sea or land, opt for the sea food.
For more information on the methodology and meta-analysis used in PLOS Medicine‘s research, you can read the full study on your website.
Reference
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Fadnes, L., Økland, J., Haaland, Ø. and Johansson, K. (2022). Estimation of the impact of food choices on life expectancy: a modeling study. PLOS Medicine, 19(2), e1003889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Antonina Vlasova
