Diet Discipline: The True Health Span Booster
“Dietary interventions can not only delay diseases but actually eliminate a major portion of chronic diseases in mice, monkeys, and even humans to extend longevity.”
~ Dr. Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute, University of Southern California.
The human lifespan or average life expectancy, a benchmark of population health, is increasing thanks to the continued progress of medical sciences and access to healthcare. However, an increased lifespan doesn’t necessarily lead to enhanced healthspan. It seems that the health span, an important indicator of one's longevity, is decreasing.
Longevity depends majorly on two factors – one’s dietary choices and the overall physical mobility of that individual. Before discussing ways to improve these two key factors to enhance longevity, let’s look at the risk elements which reduce longevity. Cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders and cancers play a critical role in reducing longevity. One can mitigate these risks by adopting a customised healthy diet and exercise regimen, thus boosting longevity.
According to a research report published in The Lancet in 2019, healthy eating habits could avert one in five deaths globally. As per another report, smart dietary decisions can reduce risk of death by 36 per cent while poor dietary choices can increase the risk by 67 per cent.
How one can define a longevity-enhancing smart diet? The popular diet fads with fancy names will never be able to fit into the bracket of authentic smart diet, no matter how vocal and aggressive the proponents of those fad diets are in promoting and endorsing those. Fad diets promising calorie reduction, instant results, etc. often end up causing more harm than good.
Adoption of a dietary regimen delivers the desired results if one makes sure intake of suitable nutrients in adequate quantities. Fancy diets may work for certain individuals, but not for all. As a thumb rule, one can follow a few basic dos and don’ts to mitigate the risks of various diseases to boost longevity. Here are those: avoid refined carbs - eat whole food, consume less or no sugar and avoid additives and preservatives, eat a lot of vegetables, keep the body hydrated and try fasting. Apart from following the above said time-tested guidelines, one needs to factor in a few more parameters in the diet plans.
The gut microbiome which contains friendly microbes plays an important role in ensuring longevity. Eating gut-friendly foods favourable for the growth of healthy organisms is a step in the right direction.
Overnutrition is a key factor that elevates the risks for many lifestyle diseases capable of adversely impacting longevity. Some of us make unhealthy diet choices by consuming exorbitant amounts of sugar, meat, fat, salt, calories, etc. Eating in moderation is the key to overcoming this menace. The best way is to take a leaf out of the book of centenarians who have achieved longevity by consuming moderate and less calorie food.
Diets with protective properties like cancer-fighting, heart-healthy and anti-aging are capable of improving longevity. Antioxidants, bioflavonoids, polyphenols, retinol, lycopene, carotenoids, and isoflavones are a few protective elements available in vegetables and fruits that come with longevity-boosting properties.
Chronic inflammation kicks in with the advancement of age. This can lead to a variety of diseases that can affect longevity. An anti-inflammatory diet plan which comprises rainbow-coloured vegetables and fruits, omega 3-rich foods and food with phytonutrients such as sulforaphane etc. help in reducing the inflammation in the body.
Fasting also plays an important role in enhancing the process such as autophagy by which our body can repair and or remove unhealthy cells. Moreover, it plays an important role in cellular senescence which in turn decreases the rate of shortening of telomeres. (Telomeres are the end-cap structure found in our chromosome, the faster it shortens, the faster we age).
Adopting a healthy diet, smart enough to make you live longer is all about knowing what works best for you, too. Some people show allergies to some healthy food choices and many of those intolerances to some food seem unnoticed. It’s because one may be genetically prone to develop reactions to some food. Keeping yourself away from those sources and identifying better options is the key to tackling it.
To conclude, longevity-enhancing smart diet is more than just the right food but eating them in the right amounts and in the right time too.
