TRENDING SCIENCE: Want to add over 10 years to your life?

We are what we eat. Our physical, mental and even emotional well-being is directly linked to what we eat and drink. According to a new study published in the journal ‘PLOS Medicine’, changing what we eat could add up to 13 years to our lives. The sooner we start, the better of course.Researchers from Norway used existing data from many studies and data from the Global Burden of Disease study, a database that tracks 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories worldwide. They developed a calculator called Food4HealthyLife to estimate what might happen to a person’s life expectancy if they replaced a Western diet comprising red meat and processed meat with an optimised diet that involves eating less red and processed meat and more fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.

“For example, an average 40-year-old woman from the United States or Europe who has eaten a typical Western diet, is likely to gain around ten years by optimizing her diet from that age,” explained lead author Prof. Lars Fadnes of the University of Bergen in a press release. “Even a quite feasible diet modification is estimated to translate into gains of around six life years.”

Prof. Fadnes added: “The Food4HealthyLife calculator enables instant estimation of the effect on life expectancy of a range of dietary changes and could be a useful tool for clinicians, policy makers, and the general population.”The research shows that the largest gains in longevity were found from eating more legumes that include beans, peas and lentils, whole grains that are the entire seed of a plant, and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios.

If a woman began eating properly at 20, she could increase her life expectancy by just over 10 years. A man eating the healthier diet from 20 could add 13 years to his life. Following a healthier diet could also lengthen the lives of older adults. By starting at 60, a woman could still increase her life expectancy by 8 years. Men starting a healthier diet at 60 might add almost 9 years to their lives.

The study concludes: “Understanding the relative health potential of different food groups could enable people to make feasible and significant health gains.”

We all want to live longer, healthier lives. The key is to make these long-term diet changes. We can’t turn back the clock, but we can drain its batteries.