Mediterranean Diet Increases Longevity

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals the Mediterranean diet can increase a woman’s lifespan as much as 15 years and a man’s up to eight years. The Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables, fruits, olive oil, fish, and nuts and low in red meat and milk products. Experts believe the Mediterranean diet is one of the the healthiest in the world.

Researchers followed 120,852 men and women ages 55 to 69 for more than 10 years. Diet and lifestyle questionnaires were obtained from the participants.

The researchers found that those who ate a Mediterranean diet combined with exercise, no smoking, and healthy weight maintenance substantially lowered the risk of premature death.

A study, published in the journal AGE, shows the Mediterranean diet can increase lifespan in aging adults by about 20 percent.

Researchers analyzed data from the 40-year H70 Swedish study. The study compared 70-year-old adults who eat a Mediterranean diet with those who eat more meat and animal products.

“This means in practice that older people who eat a Mediterranean diet live an estimated 2 to 3 years longer than those who don’t,” says study author Gianluca Tognon, scientist at the University of Gothenburg, in a news release. “The conclusion we can draw from these studies is that there is no doubt that a Mediterranean diet is linked to better health, not only for the elderly but also for youngsters.”

A third study published in the British Medical Journal found certain foods in the Greek Mediterranean diet may increase longevity. The Greek Mediterranean diet includes olive oil as the principal fat, high quantities of vegetables, herbs and fruits, goat’s milk dairy products, legumes, oily fish, and a daily optional glass of wine.

Researchers followed 10,655 Greek men and women for more than eight years. Diet and lifestyle questionnaires were obtained from the participants.

They researchers found that a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and olive oil, moderate alcohol consumption (mainly wine during meals), and lower intake of meat were linked to increased longevity.