2023-07-24 10:01:42
Eating more sustainable, planet-friendly foods could also help you live longer, healthier lives, according to new research. A team of scientists reveals what they are by proposing “a new score that incorporates the best current scientific evidence regarding the effects of food on both health and the environment”, explains Linh Bui, Department of Nutrition Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
The authors found that people who ate a more environmentally sustainable diet were also 25 percent less likely to die during a follow-up period of more than 30 years than people with a less sustainable diet. What are the foods identified as friends of longevity and the planet? Whole grains, fruits, non-starchy vegetables, nuts and unsaturated oils, which are among other foods protagonists of the Mediterranean diet. While among the foods that according to studies could have the most negative impact on the environment and health, eggs and red and processed meats are listed, for example.
“The results confirmed our hypothesis that a higher ‘diet for the health of the planet’ score was associated with a lower risk of mortality,” said Bui, who presented the findings at the ‘Nutrition 2023’ meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. According to existing evidence, plant-based foods are associated with both a lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes and stroke, as well as reduced impacts on the environment in terms of factors such as water use, land use, nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. With the new study, the researchers aimed to create a tool that policymakers and public health practitioners could use to develop strategies to improve the health of populations and tackle the climate crisis.
“A sustainable food model – says Bui, a PhD student at the US university – should not only be healthy, but also consistent with regards to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental parameters”. To create their ‘Planetary Health Diet Index’ (Phdi), the researchers reviewed existing research on relationships between various food groups and health outcomes based on the Eat-Lancet Reference Diet which takes into account the environmental impacts of food production practices. They then applied the index to analyze outcomes among more than 100,000 participants in 2 large cohort studies conducted in the United States. The dataset included more than 47,000 deaths during a follow-up period spanning more than three decades from 1986 to 2018.
Overall, they found that people in the top quintile (the top fifth of participants) for Phdi—those with the highest scores on Diet Allied to Health and the Planet—had a 25 percent lower risk of dying from any cause than those in the bottom quintile. Higher Phdi scores were associated with a 15% lower risk of death from cancer or cardiovascular disease, a 20% lower risk of death from neurodegenerative disease, and a 50% lower risk of death from respiratory disease.
Further research, the authors point out, could help clarify any barriers that make it difficult for some sections of the population and groups to adhere to a sustainable food model. “We hope researchers can tailor this index to specific food cultures and validate how it is associated with chronic disease and environmental impacts,” Bui concludes.
#Foods #score #reveals #longevity #planetfriendly #foods #study