July 24, 2024 – The eating habits you adopt in your 40s can significantly impact how you are feeling in your 70s and beyond – each physically and mentally.
A healthy weight loss program not only reduces the chance of many chronic diseases, but additionally contributes to healthier aging, allowing you to enjoy a superb quality of life and live independently for longer.
For example, recent studies have shown that eating healthier in quite a lot of diets can lead to higher longevity in old age. Several well-known diets were higher at promoting healthy aging, including diets much like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Mediterranean weight loss program, and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) weight loss program.
People who ate healthier diets in midlife, particularly those whose diets were wealthy in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, “were significantly more likely to age healthily,” said Dr. Anne-Julie Tessier, a research associate in nutrition on the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who presented the study in July on the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.
On the opposite hand, healthy aging was less likely in people whose diets were high in trans fats, sodium, and meat on the whole, and beef and processed meat specifically.
Tessier and his colleagues examined data from greater than 106,000 people between 1986 and 2016. And even after accounting for aspects similar to physical activity and tobacco and alcohol use, they found an overall link between healthy weight loss program and healthy aging that also prolonged to physical health, considering ability and mental health.
“Traditionally, research and dietary guidelines have focused on preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease,” she said. “Our study provides evidence that dietary recommendations should not only consider disease prevention but also promote overall healthy aging as a long-term goal.”
Help your brain with food
A high-quality weight loss program that closely follows government recommendations. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 – may lead to higher brain function and fewer decline in mental abilities in old age.
In a study of three,000 people followed for 7 many years, those with the very best cognitive abilities – or the most effective considering skills – tended to eat more vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains over time. They also consumed less sodium, added sugar and refined grains.
Overall, only 8% of individuals with poor quality diets had high cognitive abilities later in life, while only 7% of individuals with prime quality diets had low cognitive abilities. At age 68 to 70, people within the group with the very best cognitive abilities had higher working memory, processing speed and cognitive performance, while people within the group with the bottom cognitive abilities showed signs of dementia.
The earlier you begin, the higher. Diet quality in childhood and adolescence appears to influence dietary decisions later in life, compounding the consequences on brain health over time. Still, it's not too late to make changes now—many individuals within the study showed regular improvements into maturity.
“Adjusting diets at any age to include more high-quality foods and to be more consistent with current dietary recommendations will likely improve our health in many ways, including our cognitive health,” said Kelly Cara, who recently received her doctorate in dietary sciences from Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Cara and her colleagues have shown that a weight loss program wealthy in plant-based foods and high in antioxidants and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may also help the brain by improving blood flow and oxidative stresswhich might damage cells and cause inflammation and disease.
“Diets high in whole or less processed plant food groups, including green leafy vegetables, beans, whole fruits and whole grains, may provide the best protection,” she said.
Nourish your heart and mind
Changing eating habits in midlife appears to enhance overall body health.
In 5,000 women participating in New York University's Women's Health Study, a blood pressure-lowering weight loss program also led to fewer reports of memory loss or other signs of cognitive impairment – even many years later.
Research has long found that hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, especially in middle age. But on this study, women who followed the DASH weight loss program of their late 40s were less prone to experience cognitive problems of their late 70s, similar to forgetting recent events, shopping lists or familiar streets.
“Our data suggest that it is important to start a healthy diet in midlife to prevent cognitive decline in old age,” said Yixiao Song, lead writer and epidemiologist on the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The study was published in October within the magazine Alzheimer's and dementia.
Song mentioned key components of the DASH weight loss program similar to fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, that are high in potassium, calcium and magnesium and low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar. Between ages 40 and 60, changing habits to enhance hypertension, diabetes and obesity may reduce the lack of brain cells in old age and the chance of Alzheimer's disease, she said.
“The DASH diet may not only prevent high blood pressure but also cognitive problems,” Song said. “Midlife may provide an opportunity to make lifestyle changes to improve cognitive function later in life.”
Choose your food rigorously
Rather than specializing in a selected weight loss program, it's necessary to take a look at the components of a healthy meal and determine what's best for you and your needs. In general, protein intake in midlife appears to be the important thing to healthier living as you age – however the source of protein matters.
Based on data from greater than 48,000 women within the Nurses' Health Study, women who consumed more protein, particularly from plant sources, developed fewer chronic diseases and were less prone to suffer from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, cognitive decline and mental impairment. They ate more protein, which is present in fruits, vegetables, bread, beans, grains, legumes, peanut butter and pasta.
That's the important thing, said Andres Ardisson Korat, PhD in science and lead writer. Korat is a scientist on the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. The research was published in January in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Women who consumed more plant-based proteins were 46% more prone to remain healthy as they aged. Women who consumed more animal-based proteins were 6% less prone to remain healthy as they aged.
Higher levels of plant protein have been related to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity, and better levels of animal protein have been related to higher cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and insulin-like growth factor, which has been present in quite a few cancers.
The differences could also be due primarily to the ingredients within the plant foods slightly than the protein itself, Ardisson Korat said. Plants contain more fiber, micronutrients and polyphenols, which lead to higher health. And protein in dairy products (similar to milk, cheese, ice cream, pizza and yogurt) shouldn’t be necessarily linked to higher health in old age, raising questions for future studies, he said.
In general, nevertheless, Ardisson Korat recommends a midlife weight loss program of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, in addition to some fish and animal proteins for iron and vitamin B.12.
“Dietary protein intake, particularly plant proteins, in midlife plays an important role in promoting healthy ageing and maintaining positive health status in old age,” he said.