4 ways of eating to optimize healthspan.
In the U.S., the average life expectancy is 76 years, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. That’s between five to 10 years less than what it is in many other countries around the world including Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Australia. The reasons for this are complicated. For example, wealthier countries with higher standards of living and widespread access to quality medical care rank high. But diet and lifestyle habits without a doubt play a big role in how long we can expect to live too.
There’s an endless amount of diets out there to choose from. Which one is best?
Robin Werner, MS, RD, CND, a Tier 3 trainer at Scarsdale, wants to emphasize that there’s no one perfect eating plan for everyone. “The dietary choices one makes is a very personal, individualized decision. There is no ‘one size fits all’ way of eating,” she says. She explains that the eating plan someone chooses to follow varies based on their personal taste preferences, cultural background, what makes them feel physically and mentally their best, and what their individual health goals are.
That said, most people would agree that longevity is at least part of their health goals and when it comes to living longer, the science is clear that some ways of eating are more effective than others when it comes to adding years to your life.
The 4 best diets for longevity
Werner says that when it comes to longevity, the diets that science-backed research supports the most are the Mediterranean diet, Blue Zones diet, DASH diet, and plant-based diet. Each eating plan is summed up below:
Mediterranean diet: A primarily-plant based diet focusing on leafy greens, legumes, nuts, fruit, whole grains, fish, and olive oil.
Blue Zones Diet: Inspired by the five places in the world where people regularly live to be over 100 in good health, this eating plan is 90 percent plant-based and emphasizes minimally processed, whole foods, moderate amounts of fish, and minimal amounts of eggs and sugar.
DASH diet: Centers around vegetables, fruit, carbs, low-fat dairy, lean meats, and nuts and seeds.
Plant-based diet: A diet where meat is minimized and that centers around whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and nuts and seeds.
Werner points out that all four diets are primarily plant-based and emphasize whole foods while minimizing anything overly processed or high in sugar. Live with these principles in mind and you’re on track to add years to your life—no matter how exactly you put it into practice.
What science says about these diets and longevity
There are literally hundreds of scientific studies on these four diets—as well as many others that have become popular in recent years—and the results are pretty telling. Many studies have found that people who follow the Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of chronic disease and an increased lifespan. Researchers found that the DASH diet lowered people’s risk of a heart attack (of all income levels) which is especially noteworthy because heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S.
As for the Blue Zones diet, Werner reiterates that this way of eating is modeled after how the world’s populations with the greatest longevity eat. Though these regions are in completely different parts of the world, they have the exact same eating principles in common. Pretty interesting, right?
Werner adds that the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, and Blue Zones diet can all be considered forms of a plant-based diet since meat is eaten minimally. “Research shows that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, [high blood sugar levels], and cholesterol levels. They may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates,” reads one scientific article published in The Permanente Journal.
It bears repeating that there’s no one perfect way of eating for everyone. There are different ways of putting a diet consisting mostly of plant-sourced, minimally processed foods into practice. One other major reason why these diets are likely so effective is because they’re easy to put into practice long-term, unlike many restrictive diets.