Eat better, live longer? How food affects our life expectancy
We all know that chips, sweets and soft drinks are not good for us. Nevertheless, we are magically drawn to fatty, salty and sweet foods - and it is perfectly fine to include them in your diet from time to time. What is important is what ends up on your plate. A study by the University of Bergen (Norway), based on data from the renowned British research database UK Biobank, has now shown the life-extending effects of a healthier diet.
Live longer through a healthy diet? Can it be that simple? The representative study, which examined the eating habits of 465,000 participants, came to a pretty impressive result: The researchers were able to prove an extension of life expectancy by around 9 years - this applies to adults who switch from an unhealthy diet to the guidelines recommended in the British Eatwell Guide.
Healthy or unhealthy – what exactly does that mean?
The Eatwell Guide's nutritional recommendations are based on a handful of simple principles: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, carbohydrates preferably in the whole grain version, plus pulses, lean meat and fatty fish, and a few low-fat dairy products. Salt and saturated fats should be used sparingly. That doesn't actually sound that complicated - but according to the data, just 0.1% of British adults follow the guide.
After adjusting the data and parameters, the research group led by Prof. Lars Fadnes was able to show that the life expectancy of a 40-year-old man increases by an average of 8.9 years if he follows the nutritional recommendations. For a woman of the same age, it is 8.6 years. But even a 70-year-old person - and this is really good news - can increase his life expectancy by around 4 years with this diet.
Which foods have the greatest influence on life expectancy?
The researchers also looked at the influence of the various food groups and wanted to know which of them had the greatest impact on the calculated life expectancy. In short: those who eat a lot of whole grain products and nuts and largely avoid red meat and soft drinks are already using the right "levers" for their health, because these measures appear to have the greatest influence on the overall risk of death.
The researchers also note that these results should always be viewed with a (naturally small) pinch of salt - because so few people currently follow the guidelines of the Eatwell Guide that the data for "healthy eaters" is less robust than that for "unhealthy eaters". Nevertheless, the study clearly calls for cross-population and long-term measures to improve the diet of the British.
Socioeconomic factors also play a role
Is healthy eating more of an issue for the wealthier classes? This is what the spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, Dr. Linda Patel, points out: She points out that although the benefits of a healthy diet are well known, the actual choice of food is strongly influenced by socioeconomic status.
"We know that beans and lentils are not necessarily expensive, but for some reason people don't use them. Why don't people use them? What are the barriers? These are the kinds of questions we need to ask to understand how we can translate these research findings into practical policy," Dr Patel underlines.
Perhaps it could be summed up like this: It is not enough to make recommendations for healthy eating – these recommendations must also be prepared in such a way that they are affordable and easy to implement for everyone.
Small steps for every day
If you've been part of the "Franzbrötchen" team so far and are now wondering how you can change your eating habits overnight, we can reassure you: you don't have to. Instead of setting strict rules that you won't stick to anyway, start small. Maybe put wholemeal pasta in your cart the next time you go shopping. Or introduce vegetarian days of the week. Or take nuts instead of chocolate bars with you as a snack on the go. And as soon as you've anchored one step in your routine, you can move on to the next. You can be sure: this will get you to your goal.
Would you like to find out more? Then we recommend the following content: