Which Diets Benefit Health and Longevity?

As we know, life expectancy is continuing to increase around the world, and as growth-oriented individuals with nothing better to do but live we want to keep this continuation. Cost-effectiveness and lack of side effects are also priorities. So the question is, what diet and lifestyle factors are most conducive to longevity and health? Despite many variations in the lives of longer-lived people, research has recently found consistent patterns that can mean a difference in lifespan of several or more years.

Source: G.steph.rocket (CC: 4.0)

What should we eat? The healthiest diets showed a similar pattern: high intake of vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and fish, with low processed food intake. The worst were high in sugar, altered fats, processed food, refined foods and oversized portions. This is similar to the Mediterranean diet, which actually also involves eating more slowly, socialising and using local, fresh ingredients. In France, where the average life expectancy is a couple of years longer than the USA, smaller portion sizes are common. Wine also contains antioxidants such as resveratrol, and cheese made from raw milk often has anti-inflammatory substances and probiotics. The Okinawans have the greatest proportion of centenarians (people aged 100 and over) in the world, and their traditional diet is very high in the antioxidant-rich sweet potato. Unfortunately, many have switched to a Western diet, and their health is suffering for it. Anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric and chilli can greatly improve health outcomes in India and other regions of the world (lower living standards, such as reduced sanitation access, mean that their life expectancies are still poorer). For those who can afford it, the traditional diet in Chad is also very healthy, rich in a wide range of fish, fruits, vegetables and other plant foods. Once again, it is the poor living standards, such as clean water, sanitation and electricity access, that compromises their life expectancy.

Other individual factors that significantly affect life expectancy are smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption. Research on 14,000 people found that avoiding obesity and smoking led to an increased life expectancy of 4-5 years that were free of disability. This runs contrary to the popular (and ageist) belief that living longer drains society with a larger proportion of infirm people. For men and women who were not overweight, never smoked and drank alcohol moderately, they lived an average of 11 and 12 years longer respectively than overweight smokers who drank excessively. They even beat the national statistics for Japan, which is only bested in life expectancy rankings by Hong Kong. Once again, they did not spend this many more years with disabilities. Smoking reduced life expectancy without increasing years with disability; alcohol abuse impacted both and so did obesity, but it had the greatest effects on years with disabilities.

And now for another study tying it all together, where over 4000 people over 60 were assessed on several factors: non-smoking; alcohol intake of under 30 grams daily; exercise at least weekly; low intake of processed meat; weekly fish intake; daily consumption of fruit and daily consumption of vegetables. Over a follow-up time of about 11 years (5000 days), the all-cause mortality risk was reduced by 65-75% for those who fit 6-7 out of these 7 criteria, compared to those who fit one or none. This was after controlling for educational level and body mass index (BMI), which can also affect health and longevity. Overall, longevity doesn't necessarily call for high-tech, cutting-edge science to save you, there are things you can do today.