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As the old mantra goes, “you are what you eat”, and never has this been more profound when seeking the best foods for longevity. Certain foods interact differently in the body which can either help or hinder your lifespan. With this in mind, what is the best diet to help boost your longevity?
Excess carbohydrate intake places a large metabolic load on the body.
When the body constantly has high levels of blood sugars to deal with over time, this leads to weight gain, poor metabolic health and an increased risk of heart disease.
Excess insulin from consuming too many carbohydrates over time can lead to many health problems.
Besides leading to obesity because our body is constantly in fat storage mode, excess insulin can also lead to insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, metabolic syndrome and even cancer.
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This was compared with control groups given only 13 percent to 17 percent from fat, with carbohydrates making up the bulk of the difference.
The mice on higher-fat diets were found to have longer lives, lower midlife mortality rates, and showed to perform better on cognitive functioning tests.
Dr Eric Verdin, president and chief executive officer of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing and senior author of one of the papers, said: “The two studies reinforce each other because they both show the same global effect on health span.”
Reduce diabetes risk
Managing carbohydrate intake is often recommended for people with type 2 diabetes because carbohydrates turn to sugar and, in large quantities, can cause blood sugar spikes.
The lower intake of carbohydrates can help to eliminate large spikes in blood sugar, reducing a person’s need for insulin.
Research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes can slim down and lower their blood sugar levels significantly by following a low-carb diet.
One study on participants with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-carb diet not only lost weight, but also needed less insulin medication with some even putting their condition into remission.
For an added boost to longevity and a significant reduction in disease risk, adding more plant-based foods will also help.
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, was based on an analysis of food intake information from more than 10,000 middle-aged U.S. adults who were monitored from 1987 through 2016 and did not have cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.
They then categorised the participants’ eating patterns by the proportion of plant-based foods they ate versus animal-based foods.
Overall, the study reported that people who ate the most plant-based foods had a 16 percent lower risk of having a cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks, stroke, heart failure and other conditions helping to boost longevity.
The highest consumption of plant-based foods was also associated with a 32 percent lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease and 25 percent lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who ate the least number of plant-based foods.
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