A new study linking a reduced risk of early death to dietary habits has been published in the scientific journal JAMA.

Research shows that we can reduce our risk of premature death from any cause by almost 20% simply by eating more of the four food groups we selected.

Cereals, fruits/vegetables, nuts and legumes

In particular, people who more closely followed any of the healthy eating patterns that focus on eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes were significantly less likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and neurodegenerative disease.

The results of the study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, show that, according to lifestyle expert Dr. David Katz, “there is more than one way to eat well and reap the health benefits.” study.

People often get bored with one way of eating, says study co-author Dr. B. Frank Hu, “so (that’s) good news. This means we have a lot of flexibility to create our own healthy eating patterns that can be tailored to individual dietary preferences, health conditions and cultures,” he said.

For example, if we are on a Mediterranean diet and want to try something different in a few months, we can switch to the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) or switch to a semi-vegetarian diet,” says the nutritionist. and Epidemiology, Hu, and Chair of the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. Chana, T.H. “Or we can follow the US dietary guidelines and create our own healthy food plate.”

Long study of history

The study examined the eating habits of 75,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and more than 44,000 men in the Health Workers Study over a period of 36 years. None of the men or women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, and few of them were smokers. All completed dietary questionnaires every four years.

“This is one of the largest and longest cohort studies looking at dietary habits and long-term risk of premature death and death from major diseases,” says Hu.

He and his team rated participants on how closely they followed a healthy diet that is in line with current U.S. dietary guidelines.

mediterranean diet

One of them, he says, is the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and plenty of olive oil. “This diet emphasizes healthy fats, especially monounsaturated fats, in addition to plant foods and moderate alcohol,” he added.

Next comes a healthy plant-based diet, which also focuses on eating more plant-based foods, but does not favor animal-based foods.

The special diet program discourages eating unhealthy plant foods like potatoes and their by-products, Hu said.

“So we can imagine that vegetarians are probably at the top of this diet,” he says, “and people who eat a lot of animal products or high-carb foods will be lower on that scale.”

Proper nutrition and longevity

Scientists say that a long life depends on proper nutrition. Let’s see how to get started:

The Healthy Eating Index tracks whether people are following the US’s main dietary guidelines, which emphasize healthy plant-based foods, discourage red and processed meats, and discourage added sugar, unhealthy fats and alcohol, Hu said.

The Alternative Healthy Eating Index was developed at Harvard and uses “the best available data” to include the foods and nutrients most strongly associated with a lower risk of chronic disease, Hu said.

“We’ve included nuts, seeds, whole grains, and cut down on red and processed meats and sugary drinks,” he adds, saying moderate drinking is allowed.

After each person’s dietary pattern was scored, the participants were divided into five groups, ranging from highest to lowest adherence to one or more dietary regimens.

“The group with the highest nutritional quality compared to the lowest was associated with about a 20 percent reduction in all-cause mortality,” says Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts committed to evidence. Medicine based on lifestyle.

It’s never too late

The study also showed that the risk of dying from certain chronic diseases is reduced if people improve their diet over time, Hu said.

Participants who improved their diet by 25% were able to reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 6-13% and their risk of dying from cancer by 7-18%. The risk of dying from a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia has dropped by 7%.

“The reduction in mortality from respiratory disease was actually much larger, reducing the risk by 35% to 46%,” he adds.

Conclusion

“It’s never too late to switch to a healthy diet, and the benefits of a healthy diet can be significant in terms of reducing overall premature death and various causes of premature death,” says Hu.

“People also have a lot of flexibility when it comes to creating their own healthy eating regimen. But the general principles—eat more plant-based foods and fewer servings of red meat, processed meats, added sugar and sodium—should be there no matter what kind of diet we want to create.”