Healthy diets for healthy aging

Subjects

“We used data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study to examine the midlife diets and eventual health outcomes of more than 105,000 women and men of ages 39–69 over the course of 30 years. Participants regularly completed dietary questionnaires during the follow up, which were scored for adherence to eight healthy dietary patterns. Each of these diets emphasizes high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts and legumes, and some also include low to moderate intake of healthy animal-based foods such as fish and certain dairy products,” explains Tessier.

Adherence to each healthy dietary pattern and consumption of individual dietary factors was assessed in relation to long-term measures of cognitive, physical and mental health in old age, as well as living to old age free from chronic disease. Strikingly, the team found that across the eight dietary patterns analyzed, participants in the highest versus lowest quintile for adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index were 86% more likely to achieve healthy aging and be free from chronic disease at the age of 70. They also showed that lower consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with increased likelihood of healthy aging.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution