According to a recent Norwegian study, the consumption of a daily portion of legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables from the age of 20, can have a significant impact on longevity.
Apart from the apple, what food can really keep the doctor away? Norwegian researchers from the University of Bergen answer it. Their work, published Tuesday, February 8 in the review PLOS Medecine, identify the “optimal diet” to adopt from the age of 20 and which might save 10 years of life. A rich diet in legumes (peas, lentils, soya), in Whole grains (oats, corn, rice) and nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios), associated with a reduced consumption of red meat and processed products, can save 10.7 years for a woman and 13 years for a man.
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Lower risk of heart disease and cancer
To reach these conclusions, the research team used the figures from the study Global Burden of Disease, which analyzes the causes of morbidity in the United States, China and Europe. Poor nutrition is believed to be the cause of 11 million premature deaths per year. These results were then crossed with other recent meta-analyses to determine the impact of several types of food on longevity.
legumes are popular there. A daily ration of 200 grams would increase life expectancy by more than two years in people over 20 years old. Same observation for a daily intake of 225 grams of whole grains, rich in soluble fiber, and for a nut intake of 25 grams per day, a source of essential minerals.
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The ideal, according to scientists, is to supplement these foods with a significant portion of fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, they invite us to reduce, or even avoid, any red meat consumption and more particularly processed ones, such as bacon, sausages or charcuterie. If we do not manage to completely remove it from the plate, the researchers estimate that the gain in longevity drops to seven years for men and five years for women.
According to Lars Thore Fadnes, professor of public health at the University of Bergen and lead author of the study, longevity increases thanks to this “optimal diet” because it probably contributes to “a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and of cancer”.
Never too late for new eating habits
Are all these gains canceled out if you are well over your twenties and have consumed more refined grains and processed foods in the past than green vegetables? Scientists assure it, it is possible to rectify the situation. “For older people, the gains are smaller but still substantial,” the study summarizes. A reasoned diet extends the life expectancy of a 40-year-old woman by 5 years (6 years for a man). After 60 years, the gain is 8 years for a woman (9 for a man) and beyond 80 years, it goes down to 3 years, all sexes combined.