It's a no-brainer that maintaining a healthy diet can reduce your risk of disease, but what, exactly, constitutes a "healthy" diet? To get more clarity on the topic, nutrition researchers analyzed 30 years' worth of data that tracked the eating patterns of 105,000 middle-aged adults. Broadly speaking, their findings suggest that consuming more plant-based foods and fewer processed foods make up the "optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging." But more specifically, they found that following eight diet plans in middle age can help you reach age 70 without chronic disease.
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What is chronic disease?
To put this research in context, let's first look at the bigger picture. According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature, 80 percent of older adults have at least one chronic health condition. For their purposes, the researchers looked at markers for 11 chronic diseases:
- Cancer (except for non-melanoma skin cancers)
- Diabetes
- Myocardial infarction
- Coronary artery disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
- Kidney failure
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Parkinson disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
To define "healthy aging," the researchers also looked at cognitive function, mental health, and physical function (ability to perform basic physical tasks such as climbing stairs or carrying groceries).
The healthiest people followed similar eating patterns.
Over the 30-year study period (1986-2016), participants in their 40s, 50s, and 60s reported how often they ate 130 different foods. The following foods were associated with "greater odds of healthy aging":
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Unsaturated fats
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Low-fat dairy products
On the other hand, these foods "were inversely associated":
- Trans fats
- Sodium
- Sugary beverages
- Red and processed meats
"Our findings suggest that dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods, with moderate inclusion of healthy animal-based foods, may enhance overall healthy aging, guiding future dietary guidelines," concludes the study.
"This suggests what you eat in midlife can play a big role in how well you age," Anne-Julie Tessier, an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Montreal and the lead author of the observational study, told The Washington Post.
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Specifically, eight diets are linked to a reduced risk of chronic disease.
More so than the general foods, the researchers "examined the association between long-term adherence to eight healthy dietary patterns." Those that they recommend to stave off chronic disease are:
1. Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)
This is an eating plan created by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that builds on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Healthy Eating Index to more specifically target reduced risk of chronic disease.
2. Mediterranean Diet
A popular diet for longevity and weight management, the Mediterranean Diet emphasizes foods rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats while limiting saturated fats and excess salt and sugar. The diet includes fish, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
3. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH diet)
The DASH diet is similar to the Mediterranean Diet, but it "allows more dairy and meat (mainly poultry) and focuses strongly on reduced sodium intake," as Best Lifepreviously reported. It's commonly recommended to those with cardiovascular issues.
4. Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND diet)
The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet that's been shown to help prevent cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's disease.
5. Healthful plant-based diet (hPDI)
The hPDI diet follows a scoring system that gives high points to plant-based foods and negative points to animal-based foods.
6. Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI)
PHDI is another diet that emphasizes "high-quality plant-based foods," such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and unsaturated plant oils, and encourages "low to moderate amounts of animal-sourced foods, and low intakes of saturated fats, refined grains, and sugar," as explained in a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
7. Empirically inflammatory dietary pattern (EDIP)
Foods in the EDIP diet are chosen based on their anti-inflammatory properties.
8. Empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (EDIH)
Foods in the EDIP diet are chosen based on their insulin-lowering properties.
"What most of these diets had in common was that they were rich in fruit and vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fat, nuts, legumes and then low in processed meat, sugars and trans fat," said Marta Guasch-Ferré, an adjunct associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an author of the study, in a statement to NBC News.
However, those participants who followed the Alternative Healthy Eating Index had an 86 percent greater likelihood of reaching age 70 disease-free, the highest of any diet. It consists of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and healthy fats.
"It’s not just about living longer but also maintaining good health in the later stages of life," Guasch-Ferré concluded.
