According to a recent study by Harvard researchers, you may live better in middle age if you eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats.
According to NBC News, research presented at a nutrition conference earlier this week suggests that eating well in your 40s can improve your chances of mental, physical and cognitive health decades later.
That’s because a healthy diet reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases early in life and helps maintain cognitive function in old age, according to research.
Harvard researchers analyzed 30 years of data on more than 106,000 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
The study required participants to fill out a food frequency questionnaire every four years from 1986 to 2010, said dietician Anne-Julie Tessier of the Harvard School of Public Health, lead author and research associate.
Each participant’s personal diet was tracked over time to see how well they matched the eight types of superfoods.
A diet that includes food quizzes:
The DASH diet
The meal plan developed by the National Institutes of Health is designed to prevent or lower blood pressure by focusing on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
Alternatives to Healthy Eating (AHEI)
This diet encourages more legumes, nuts and vegetables and less red and processed meat.
Planet Health Diet
A meal plan that reduces animal products and emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
Overall, researchers found that a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat milk was associated with healthier aging than people high in trans fats, sodium, red, and processed foods, meat
