New research presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting in Chicago found that eating nutritiously in your forties can promote healthy aging and independence decades later. “Women who followed a healthy diet in midlife were significantly more likely to age healthily,” says study leader Dr. Anne-Julie Tessier is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
“We were surprised by the strength of this association, even after taking into account a number of other factors known to influence health, such as physical activity,” he said. Dr. Tessier and his colleagues analyzed data from 1986 on more than 106,000 women who were at least 39 years old at the start of the study and had no history of chronic disease.
Researchers found that women’s a healthy diet At age 70, it was 43-84% more likely than those who were physically and mentally unable to function well.
What you should include in your diet for longevity
Healthy aging was defined as living to age 70 or older with good self-reported cognitive and physical functioning, mental health, and absence of chronic disease by the end of the 2016 study. Only about 1 in 10 women (9.2%) met these criteria.
Reporting one or none of the 15 depressive symptoms, such as low energy and frequent boredom, was an indicator of good mental health, while one or none of the physical limitations, such as being unable to climb stairs or walking around the block, was considered good physical. operates.
Every four years during the study, participants filled out self-report questionnaires their eating habits. At the end of the study, a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy products was positively associated with an increased likelihood of healthy aging. On the other hand, higher intakes of trans fat, sodium, whole meat, red and processed meat showed an inverse relationship.