According to a recent Harvard study, eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats in your middle years may improve your quality of life in later years.
The study revealed that eating healthily in your 40s can increase the likelihood of having good mental, physical, and cognitive health decades later. It was presented at a significant nutrition conference earlier this week, according to News.
This is because, according to the study, adopting a nutritious diet early in life may reduce the chance of acquiring chronic illnesses and aid in maintaining cognitive function as you age.
Thirty years of data from approximately 106 000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study were analyzed by Harvard researchers.
Beginning in 1986, the study comprised 36,464 men and 70,467 women who were at least 39 years old and free of chronic illness at the start of the investigation.
The study’s primary author and research associate, dietician Anne-Julie Tessier of the Harvard School of Public Health, stated that every four years from 1986 to 2010, participants had to complete a detailed meal frequency questionnaire.
Every participant’s individual diet was monitored over time to see how closely it aligned with eight dietary patterns that are particularly high in nutrients.
They contrasted the food surveys with the following diets:
The diet known as DASH
A diet plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with the goal of preventing or lowering blood pressure was created by the National Institutes of Health.
