What to eat to be in amazing shape when you’re 70
Only one in ten of us are in good shape at 70. But forget fancy supplements and fasting – this is the way to join the healthy elite.
Nutrition
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Eating well in midlife could affect how healthy you are in your seventies.
A study published this week outlined the dietary habits that will help adults to reach older age without chronic disease.
Forget fancy supplements, superfoods and fasting, say the team from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, University of Copenhagen and University of Montreal, the way to stay healthy and join an “elite” band of agers is simple: eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad.
More than 105,000 people aged 39 to 69 took part in the study, in which their self-reported diet patterns were analysed every four years between 1986 and 2010 and again in 2016. Participants were asked specifically how often they ate foods from a list of more than 130 items, with researchers then evaluating how closely their diet adhered to one of eight healthy eating plans including the Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, fish and nuts; the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), containing wholegrains, nuts and beans and designed by Harvard nutrition experts to reduce chronic disease; the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), which emphasises plant-based foods; and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet, which focuses on berries, beans and healthy fats.
“All of the healthy diet protocols looked at in this study are based on whole, nutrient-dense foods, plant-biased but not exclusively plant-based, and contain mostly moderate amounts of lean animal protein,” says Dr Linia Patel, a researcher in the department of clinical sciences and community health at the Universitaa degli Studi di Milano in Italy and a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association.
Three decades after the study began, those taking part were measured for markers of healthy ageing, defined as living to their 70th birthday without a chronic condition or impairment such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Typically, fewer than one in ten people reach this milestone in rude physical, mental or cognitive health. The results, published in Nature Medicine, found that 9771 of the study participants, or 9.3 per cent, aged healthily by the time they turned 70. Those sticking to any one of the healthy diet patterns consumed relatively more fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and pulses and so fared much better than those with higher intakes of ultra-processed foods, salt and sugar, who had a 32 per cent lower chance of healthy ageing.
Of the eight approaches assessed, the healthiest diet was the AHEI, which entails eating at least one serving of fish a week and at least five servings of vegetables, four of fruit, five to six of wholegrains and one of nuts or pulses every day. Those most closely matching the AHEI approach were found to be at an 86 per cent greater likelihood of healthy ageing, and at a 2.2 times greater chance of being healthy at 75 years compared with those with diets high in processed foods.
A diet free of animal-based foods had the weakest association with healthy ageing, but was still better than diets high in salt, sugar and saturated fats. Lean animal protein – such as fish and poultry – and dairy were consumed by some, although not all, of the elite eaters.
Here are the foods the study showed we should (and should not) be eating regularly to age well:
GET AT LEAST FIVE A DAY OF FRUIT AND VEG
If you are not getting the five a day of fruit and veg recommended by the UK government – and according to the BDA most adults get only four daily portions – that is a starting point. But if you are, you can raise the bar even higher. Guidelines for the AHEI approach suggest pitching for five servings of vegetables a day, with an extra focus on green leafy vegetables and less focus on potatoes and starchy veg. On top of that it suggests consuming four servings of fruit a day, “an amount that might help protect against cardiovascular disease and some cancers”, with berries, apples and pears all on the target menu. Fruit juice should be limited because it lacks the beneficial fibre found in the whole fruit.
EAT UP TO SIX SERVINGS OF WHOLEGRAINS A DAY
The five to six daily servings of fibre-rich wholegrains recommended in the AHEI diet sounds a lot.
However, this can include: oats, which are rich in beta-glucan, a soluble fibre that has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels; quinoa, which is a source of quercetin and kaempferol, powerful antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties; and rye, a good source of B vitamins and rich in lignans, a type of polyphenol compound that has immune-supporting benefits. Other wholegrains include brown and wild rice, barley, buckwheat and “ancient grains” such as freekeh.
CONSUME A TABLESPOON OF OLIVE OIL A DAY
All the healthy eating plans in the latest study favoured olive oil and plant oils over saturated animal fats. Patel says that prioritising unsaturated fats such as plant oils can help to improve blood cholesterol levels and support a healthy heart.
Olive oil’s particular benefits stem from the mono-unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, it contains, which reduce inflammation in the body.
EAT PULSES AND LEGUMES 2-3 TIMES A WEEK
One serving of protein and fibre-rich pulses or legumes – chickpeas, beans and lentils – a day produced the greatest health gains in the latest study. A previous study by Harvard scientists in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that adopting the PHDI diet – cutting down on meat and dairy in place of a diet including plenty of legumes and pulses – led to lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
And Patel was an author of a paper in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that showed how eating just a 40g portion of dried pulses (about three tablespoons when cooked) a week reduced the risk of colon cancer by 21 per cent compared with those who ate no pulses. “Ideally we should eat beans, peas and lentils 2-3 times a week,” Patel says. “However, once a week produces big health gains so is better than none.”
EAT FATTY FISH AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK
The AHEI, Mediterranean and MIND diets recommend eating at least one serving of fish a week while the NHS says that most of us should be aiming for two portions of fish a week, at least one of which should be the fatty variety. Oily fish such as mackerel and sardines provide vitamins A and D and are a source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid that have anti-inflammatory properties and may help cognitive health. “Essential fatty acids such as omega-3s cannot be made in the body and must be provided in the diet,” Patel says. “Oily fish is a very good source, although you can also get these in walnuts and pumpkin seeds.”
CUT DOWN ON ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS AND AVOID PROCESSED MEAT
In the new study participants with a higher intake of ultra-processed foods, especially salty, high-fat foods and sugary and diet drinks, had a 32 per cent lower chance of healthy ageing.
The original version of this story appeared on The Times.
Originally published as What to eat to be in amazing shape when you’re 70
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