Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — A new study finds that the risk of early death from any cause can be reduced by nearly 20%, just by eating more of the foods you choose from among four healthy dietary patterns.
People who strictly followed a healthy eating pattern that focused on consuming more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes were less likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and neurodegenerative diseases.
The results of the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, show that “there is more than one way to eat well and derive the associated health benefits,” according to Dr. David Katz, a lifestyle medicine specialist who was not involved in the study.
Study co-author Dr. Frank Ho, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, and chair of nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said people often get bored with one way of eating. We have a lot of flexibility in terms of creating our own healthy diets, which can be adapted to individual food preferences, health conditions, and cultures.”
He continued, “For example, if you eat a healthy Mediterranean diet, and after a few months you want to try something different, you can replace it with the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) or a semi-vegetarian diet, or you can follow the American Dietary Guidelines and create a healthy eating plate.” your”.
Long term study
The study tracked the eating habits of 75,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and more than 44,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over 36 years. None of the men and women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, and very few smoked. All of them filled out eating questionnaires every four years.
“This is one of the largest and longest-running cohort studies examining recommended dietary patterns and long-term risks for premature mortality and other major diseases,” Hu said.
He and his team scored the participants based on how well they followed four healthy eating patterns that aligned with current dietary guidelines in the United States.
One of them, the Mediterranean diet, which stresses eating fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and a high amount of olive oil, Hu said, “focuses on healthy fats, especially monounsaturated fats, in addition to to plant foods, and alcohol consumption in moderation.
The following diet is based on a healthy vegan diet, which also focuses on eating more plant products, but scores negative points for various animal products and any type of alcohol.
“You can imagine that vegans are likely to be at the top of this diet ranking, and those who eat a lot of animal products or foods high in processed carbohydrates will be at the bottom of this list,” he noted.
The Healthy Eating Index tracks people if they follow the US Dietary Guidelines, which emphasize healthy plant-based foods, frown on red and processed meat, and discourage consumption of added sugar, unhealthy fats and alcohol, Hu said.
He added that the Alternative Healthy Eating Index was developed at Harvard University and uses “the best available evidence” to include foods and nutrients strongly associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease.
“We explicitly included nuts, seeds, and whole grains, as well as consuming less red and processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages.” “Alcoholic drinks are allowed in moderation,” he continued.
Results by disease
After recording each person’s eating pattern, the participants were divided into five groups, from highest to lowest adherence to one or more eating patterns.
Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts specializing in evidence-based lifestyle medicine, said, “The top quintile (in the list) of diet quality compared to the bottom quintile was associated with a decrease of nearly 20% for all causes.” Death”.
Hu said the study also found a lower risk of dying from some chronic diseases if people improved their diet over time.
He noted that participants who improved the health of their diet by 25% may have reduced their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by between 6 and 13%, and from cancer by between 7 and 18%. There was also a reduction of up to 7% in the risk of dying from neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia.
“The reduction in deaths from respiratory diseases is actually much greater, which reduced the risk by 35-46%,” Hu explained.
The study relied on participants’ self-reports of food preferences, and therefore only showed an association, not a direct cause-and-effect, between eating habits and health outcomes. However, the fact that the study asks about diets every four years in such a long time frame adds value to the findings, according to Hu.
What is the conclusion of this large and long-running study?
“It is never too late to adopt healthy eating patterns, and the benefits of a healthy diet can be significant in terms of reducing overall premature mortality and the various causes of premature death,” Hu said.
People also have a lot of flexibility in creating their own healthy eating pattern. But the common principles, like eating more plant-based foods and fewer red and processed meats, added sugar and sodium, should be there, no matter what kind of diet people want to follow.