A new large -scale study has monitored the eating habits and the health of people from average age to 70 years. This is what they discovered.
Follow one mainly vegetable diet -And to do without red meat and ultra-prompt foods- it is related to a Best physical and mental health in old ageAccording to a new analysis of the area. The study, published in the magazine “Nature Medicine”, monitored some 105,000 people in the United States For 30 years.
The results of the Associated Health Eight diets and eating habitsAmong these, the Mediterranean diet, which underlines the olive oil, fish and walnutsAnd the food plan approaches the diet to stop hypertension (Dash), which limits the sodium to help control blood pressure.
About 70 years, the diets of the healthiest people included Abundant fruitsvegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, beans and other legumes e “Moderate” levels of food of animal originLike low fatty fats. They have avoided sodium foods, ultra elaborate such as sugary drinks, red or transformed meats and fats that are usually found in fried foods.
“It may not be a superfood or a diet that saves us all, but there are different ones Diets that could improve our health“He told Marta Guasch-Ferré of ‘Euronews Health’, the main author of the study and associated teacher who studies the relationship between lifestyle factors and chronic diseases at the University of Copenhagen. The healthiest diets, he added,” can be variable. “
Less than one person out of ten years in a healthy way
Although the Diet and health research It is not new, the authors of the study say that their analysis is one of the first to find the relationship between the different eating habits in the middle age and in Healthy aging in general.
In the study, it was considered that people age well if they arrived At 70 years old without chronic diseases Important, if their brain function was still good and if they had mental health and “intact” physical skills.
Compared to other research on healthy aging, Guasch-Ferré has said that it is a more complete vision that takes into account the quality of life and not just how long people live.
Do we want to live more or do we want to live better?
However, according to the analysis, Less than one in ten people meets the requirements to age healthy. Although the study was conducted in the United States, Guasch-Ferré said that probably the results They are also valid in Europe.
However, the study has some limitations. Although researchers have tried to take into account factors like The socio -economic stateother problems such as genetics, The environment and access to health care They could also play a role in Nexus between diet and health.
Even so, Guasch-Ferré says that the results could serve to adapt the dietary guidelines and help to encourage people so that Make healthier decisions when eating. “Of course, healthy aging is not limited to the diet,” he says. But “any improvement in the diet can help”.