ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — According to the CDC, the average life expectancy in the US has dropped for a second year in a row from 77 years to 76. While COVID was a main factor for the drop in life expectancy, chronic health issues like heart disease also played a part. Now new research shows you may be able to reduce your risk for early death by as much as 20 percent. live longer
Heart disease, cancer, dementia. These are all leading causes of death in the US.
Richard Seidman, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer at L.A. Care Health Plan says “There’s a growing body of evidence that shows that healthy nutrition and medically tailored meals can significantly improve overall health outcomes.”
In a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found people can reduce their risk for early death by nearly 20 percent by following diets focused on eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. Researchers followed 119 thousand men and women over 36 years. Those who improved their diet over time were associated with lowering their risk of dying from neurodegenerative diseases like dementia by seven percent, heart disease by up to 13 percent, and cancer by as much an 18 percent. So, what foods should you focus on for a longer life?
Doctor Seidman says, “There’s so much evidence that the more we eat that’s plant-based, that’s not processed, so fresh from garden to kitchen is the direction to lean in.”
So, eat more whole foods like fruits, veggies, and grains. And cook more yourself for a longer and healthier life.
By cooking more at home, you can control the ingredients in your food and reduce your risk for heart disease and early death. Seventy percent of the sodium that Americans eat come from overly processed foods or meals that are eaten out. A diet high in sodium is linked to high blood pressure and poor heart health.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929#alzheimers-disease
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/health/live-longer-diet-wellness/index.html
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/want-improve-heart-health-cardiologists-221500357.html
EAT TO LIVE LONGER
REPORT #3080
BACKGROUND: A healthy diet throughout life helps prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases and conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars, and salt/sodium. Also, many people do not eat enough fruit, vegetables, and other dietary fiber such as whole grains. The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced, and healthy diet will vary depending on individual characteristics such as age, gender, lifestyle, and degree of physical activity; cultural context; and locally available foods. Eating at least 400 g, or five portions, of fruit and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCDs and helps to ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fiber.
(Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet)
FACTS OF A HEALTHY DIET: Healthy dietary practices start early in life. Breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer, later in life. Energy intake, or calories, should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake. Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake is part of a healthy diet. Keeping salt intake to less than 5g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population.
(Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet)
BREAKTHROUGH RESEARCH IN MEAL TIMING: Promising research suggests that it is not only the type of food consumed, but also the timing of meals that can profoundly affect life and health-span. The study reveals the promising potential of strategic meal timing to promote anti-aging effects. Preliminary studies have found that time-restricted feeding can improve cardiometabolic health in rodents and humans, while caloric restriction has been associated with elongated lifespan. A team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas conducted a study on mice controlling both their caloric intake and the timing of their meals. The subjects were split into six groups to determine whether meal timing had an independent effect on lifespan. One group served as the control cohort, while the remaining five consumed meals on varying feeding schedules. Results showed mice on the calorie-restricted diet that only ate during the day or the inactive phase of their circadian cycle and spent the remaining 12 hours fasting overnight had a median lifespan of 959 days, nearly 20% longer than the controls. Researchers are discussing the possible development of drugs that could target circadian genes to mimic the anti-aging effects of calorie-restricted, strategically-timed dietary patterns.
(Source: https://www.worldhealth.net/news/breakthrough-research-finds-meal-timing-key-longevity/)
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