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Eat Smart, Age Well: Diets That Promote Healthy Aging
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Eat Smart, Age Well: Diets That Promote Healthy Aging

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Your diet today shapes your health tomorrow! Harvard researchers reveal how plant-based foods & fewer processed meals boost healthy aging.

Highlights:
  • Eating a plant-based diet with minimal ultra-processed foods increases the likelihood of healthy aging and longevity
  • Diets like Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), rich in whole foods, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and cognitive decline
  • There is no one-size-fits-all diet, but personalized nutrition can help maintain mental, physical, and cognitive well-being
Maintaining a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods with a low to moderate intake of healthy animal-based foods and lower intake of ultra-processed foods was linked to a higher likelihood of healthy aging, revealed a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, and University of Montreal (1 Trusted Source
Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging

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). Healthy aging is defined as reaching age 70 free of major chronic diseases and with cognitive, physical, and mental health maintained. The study is one of the first to look at various midlife food patterns in connection to healthy aging in general.
Prior research has examined food habits in relation to particular illnesses or life expectancy. Our approach considers a variety of factors, posing the question, "How does diet affect people's capacity to live freely and have a high quality of life as they age?," said co-corresponding author Frank Hu, chair of the Harvard Chan School's Department of Nutrition and Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology.

The study is published in Nature Medicine.


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Midlife Diet Choices Shape Long-Term Health

The researchers looked at the midlife diets and long-term health outcomes of over 105,000 men and women aged 39–69 over a 30-year period using data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The eight healthy dietary patterns- the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), the Alternative Mediterranean Index (aMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), the healthful plant-based diet (hPDI), the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), the empirically inflammatory dietary pattern (EDIP), the empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (EDIH), and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) were rated by the researchers based on the participants' regular completion of dietary questionnaires. All of these diets place a strong emphasis on eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, and legumes. Some of them also call for consuming little to no nutritious animal items, like fish and some dairy products. The consumption of ultra-processed foods, which are industrially produced and frequently contain artificial chemicals, added sugars, sodium, and harmful fats, was also evaluated by the researchers.

9,771 participants, or 9.3% of the sample group, aged healthily, according to the study. Healthy aging and its various aspects, such as mental, physical, and cognitive health, were associated with following any one of the recommended dietary patterns.


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Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) Diet: A Key to Healthy Aging and Longevity

The AHEI, which was created to prevent chronic diseases, was the most popular healthy diet. Compared to those in the lowest quintile of the AHEI score, those in the top quintile had a 2.2-fold higher chance of healthy aging at 75 years of age and an 86% higher chance of healthy aging at 70 years of age. The AHEI diet is characterized by a diet low in processed and red meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, sodium, and refined grains and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and healthy fats. The PHDI, which prioritizes plant-based meals and minimizes animal-based foods, is another popular diet for healthy aging that takes into account both human and environmental health.


Ultra-Processed Meats and Sugary Beverages Accelerate Aging

Reduced odds of healthy aging were linked to higher use of ultra-processed meals, particularly processed meat and sugary and diet beverages.


Plant-Based Foods and Moderate Amount of Animal-Based Foods Support Healthy Aging

Co-corresponding author Marta Guasch-Ferré, an adjunct associate professor of nutrition at Harvard Chan School and an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Public Health, stated that research on healthy aging is crucial because maintaining an active and independent lifestyle is important for both individuals and public health. According to our research, eating a diet high in plant-based foods and a moderate amount of nutritious animal-based foods may assist shape future dietary recommendations and encourage general healthy aging.

No One-Size-Fits-All Diet for Healthy Aging

"Additionally, our results demonstrate that there is no one-size-fits-all diet," said lead author Anne-Julie Tessier, an assistant professor in the University of Montreal's Department of Nutrition, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute, and a visiting scientist at Harvard Chan School. He said that healthy diets may be tailored to meet the needs and tastes of each individual.

Best Diets for Healthy Aging
Among the study's drawbacks was the fact that only health professionals made up the study population. The researchers pointed out that additional information regarding the findings' generalizability may be obtained by repeating the study among groups with different socioeconomic backgrounds and ancestries.

Reference:
  1. Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03570-5)

Source-Medindia


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