A new study presented this week at the American Academy of Nutrition annual meeting in Chicago finds that starting a nutritious diet in your 40s could promote healthy aging and independent living decades later.
“People who maintained a healthy diet in midlife, particularly one high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, were significantly more likely to experience healthy old age,” said study author Angelie Tessier, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “We were surprised by the strength of this association, even when accounting for several other factors known to influence health, such as physical activity.”
Dr Tessier and her colleagues analysed data on more than 106,000 women going back to 1986. At the start of the study, the subjects were over 39 years old and free of chronic illnesses.
The researchers observed that women who followed healthy diets from their 40s onwards were 43 to 84 percent more likely to be in good physical and mental health at age 70 than those who did not.
Healthy aging was defined as surviving to age 70 or older, with good self-reported cognitive, physical and mental health, and no chronic disease, by the time the study was completed in 2016. Only one in 10 women (9.2%) reached this criterion.
Reporting one or fewer depressive symptoms out of 15 items, such as feeling low on energy or often feeling bored, was considered a measure of good mental health, and reporting one or fewer physical limitations, such as being unable to climb one flight of stairs or walk one block, was considered good physical functioning.
During the study, participants completed questionnaires every four years providing information about their dietary habits. At the end of the study in 2016, higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes and low-fat dairy products were positively associated with a higher probability of healthy aging, while higher intakes of trans fat, sodium, whole meat, red meat and processed meat were inversely associated with a higher probability of healthy aging.
It’s never too late to recharge with good nutrition
“The dietary choices we make in midlife have a lasting impact on our health and well-being in later life,” says Dr. Assar, who was not involved in the study. “A nutritious diet can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cognitive decline, contributing to healthier aging. Continuing to eat a healthy diet can also lead to increased energy levels, improved physical function and enhanced mental clarity in later life.”
While the study focuses on positive health effects gained over decades, Assar stressed that it’s not too late to reap the health benefits of better nutrition.
“While developing healthy eating habits early is ideal, making proactive changes to your diet at any age can have huge health benefits,” she says.
These benefits include improved energy levels and mood, increased longevity, improved quality of life, and reduced inflammation.
Assar adds that healthier eating habits could help older adults improve certain chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, no matter what age they are.
Alternative Healthy Eating Index Tops
Tessier and her team looked at eight different nutritious eating programs. The best performing program was the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, developed at Harvard University. The researchers found that this eating pattern had the strongest correlation with healthy aging: People who followed this diet most closely were 84 percent more likely to achieve healthy aging than those who followed the pattern least closely.
The researchers also found a strong correlation between:
The researchers found the link between sustainable diets and healthy aging particularly intriguing.
“This diet, which minimizes animal foods and emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, has emerged as one of the key dietary patterns associated with healthy aging,” Tessier says. “This is particularly exciting because it suggests that it is possible to have a diet that benefits both human health and environmental sustainability.”
The researchers noted that they didn’t look at the difference between how long people followed healthy diets and how healthily they aged, nor did they look at the likelihood of chronic disease or death associated with following a particular diet.
Because this study focused on eating habits in middle age, future research could focus on the potential effects of switching to healthier eating habits later in life, Tessier said.
