The close relationship between nutrition in middle age and healthy aging is revealed by a Harvard study, presented at the annual conference of the American Nutrition Association “NUTRITION 2024” in Chicago.

The research was based on data on over 106,000 people over a 30-year period. Participants were at least 39 years old and free of chronic diseases at the start of the study and provided information about their diet via questionnaires every four years.

As the researchers found, people following healthy diet from their age 40 years old and then, they had 43-84% more likely to have one healthy aging at the age of 70 years oldcompared to those who did not eat a healthy diet.

Healthy aging is defined not only as absence of diseases, but also the ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life as we grow older, so it includes physical health, cognitive function and mental health.

Good food

In terms of food, it found that higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, low-fat and unsaturated-fat dairy products were associated with greater odds of healthy aging, while higher intakes of trans fat, sodium, red and processed meat was associated with lower odds of healthy aging.

Anne-Zilly Tessier, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, who presented the research findings, notes that one finding that stood out was the association between healthy aging and planetary diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant-based proteins and healthy fats.

This diet was associated with a 68% greater likelihood of healthy aging and the Mediterranean diet with a 67% greater likelihood of healthy aging compared to those who did not follow a healthy diet.