Young adults who switch from a typical Western diet with a lot of sugar, white flour, red meat and fast food to a healthier diet at the age of 20 might increase their life expectancy by more than a decade. Even older adults can gain several more years by eating better.
Switching to a healthier diet brings a considerable gain in life expectancy at the age of 20, as researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have calculated: women in the US would live on average just under eleven and men even 13 years longer. The most beneficial is the consumption of more legumes, with an increase of 2.2 (women) and 2.5 years (men), followed by whole grains and nuts. Less red and processed meat increases life expectancy by 1.6 years for women and 1.9 years for men. Those who change their diet only at the age of 60 still gain an average of eight (women) to almost nine years (men) in their lifetime – even with 80-year-olds, an average of 3.4 years would be added. This is reported by researchers in the journal “PLOS Medicine”.
The scientific calculation tool, which Food4HealthyLife Calculator, the researchers have also published online, so that everyone can calculate for himself how many years of life he might gain by a changed diet.
Nutrition is very important for health: it is estimated that 11 million deaths occur annually due to dietary risk factors. “Understanding the health-promoting potential of different food groups might enable people to achieve realizable health advances,” the authors write. They recommend the Food4HealthyLife calculator as a useful tool for doctors, policy makers and laypeople to understand the health effects of dietary patterns and choices.
Source: DOI journal.pmed.1003889
