Apart from the apple, what foods can really keep the doctor away?
Norwegian researchers from the University of Bergen answer it.
Their work, published on Tuesday February 8 in the journal
PLOS Medecine
, identifies the "optimal diet" to adopt from the age of 20 and which could save 10 years of life.
A diet rich in legumes (peas, lentils, soy), whole grains (oats, corn, rice) and nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios), combined with a reduced consumption of red meat and processed products, can gain 10.7 years for a woman and 13 years for a man.
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To reach these conclusions, the research team used figures from the
Global Burden of Disease
study , which analyzes the causes of morbidity in the United States, China and Europe.
It is estimated that poor nutrition is 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.
Pulses are popular here.
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 you to reduce or even avoid all consumption of red meat and more particularly processed meat, 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.
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