Mediterranean Diet And Extra Virgin Oil Are Two Key Changes To Make In Later Life

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New Study Reveals Health Benefits Of A Mediterranean Diet on Longevity

Updated November 16th 2023

Top Health Switches To Make In Later Life
Top Health Switches To Make In Later Life

Summary:

  • Adopting The Mediterranean Diet including extra virgin olive oil as a healthy fat will benefit your health in later life, according to new study.
  • Swapping processed foods for Omega-3 fatty acids such as extra virgin olive oil is one of best ways to keep inflammation in check as you age.
  • The Mediterranean Diet, rich in antioxidant-rich foods like the best olive oil and oily fish can reduce the signs of ageing and limit cellular damage.
  • The principals of The Mediterranean Diet stretch beyond nutritional choices to lifestyle habits such as regular exercise also.

Contents:

Switching to The Mediterranean Diet and swapping vegetable oil for extra virgin olive oil are two of the best changes you can make for your health in later life, according to a new report.

Key Health Switches To Make In Later Life

Talking to Sheer Lux, six experts have shared their advice on which small lifestyle tweaks can make all the difference to your energy, mood and weight as you age. And extra virgin olive oil plus The Mediterranean Diet have made the list. They say:

Swap Vegetable For Extra Virgin Olive Oil

“Keeping inflammation in check is key as you age, and one of the best ways to do this is to ensure you’re eating the right type of fats. Eating processed foods that offer little nutritional value leads to inflammation, which is at the root of most chronic diseases. The average Western diet tends to be high in inflammatory ultra-processed food and is deficient in omega-3 fats.

For example, vegetable oils like corn, canola, soybean and safflower oil are highly processed and linked to dementia, heart disease and cancer. Instead, use more olive oil, drizzle extra virgin olive oil on food and eat more oily fish like sardines, salmon, anchovies and trout. Plant-based sources of omega-3 are trickier to find – if you follow a plant-based diet, take an algae oil supplement.” – Nikki Hillis, women’s wellness educator

Eat A Mediterranean Diet

“A diet rich in colourful, organic fruit and vegetables, as well as complex carbs, healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil and lean protein, is proven to be one of the healthiest diets on the planet. Include antioxidant-rich foods daily to reduce the signs of ageing and limit cellular damage – broccoli, avocado, sweet potato, blueberries and pomegranate are particularly nutrient dense. Broccoli also contains a compound that boosts DNA repair cells.”

Nikki Hillis

The other key changes or habits the experts back are:

  • Stop Snacking
  • Cut Back On Cardio
  • Approach Probiotics With Caution
  • Use It Or Lose It
  • Don’t Rush Meals
  • Optimise Your Circadian Rhythm
  • Prioritise Protein
  • …But Spread It Out Over The Day
  • Protect Your Bones
  • Strengthen Family Ties
  • Try Something New
  • Get Your Hormones Tested

For the full article please see Sheer Lux and for  more from the experts visit CharlotteHunterNutrition.co.uk, NikkiHillis.com, ION.ac.uk, HelenPerks.com, TransitionZone.co.uk and WomenWise.Health

New Study Reveals Health Benefits Of A Mediterranean Diet on Longevity

Longevity With Mediterranean Diet
Longevity With Mediterranean Diet

If you want to boost your longevity the simple way, The Mediterranean Diet could add up to 13 years to your life according to a new study. The report, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, claims that a man eating a Mediterranean diet – often rich in the best olive oil – from age 20 could add 13 years to his life.  If a woman began eating optimally at age 20, she could increase her lifespan by just over 10 years.

The study also claims that choosing an eating plan with the health benefits of The Mediterranean Diet could also extend the life expectancy of older adults.

As reported by CNN,  by starting at age 60, a woman could still increase her lifespan by eight years. Men starting a healthier diet at age 60 might add nearly nine years to their lives.  And the benefits don’t stop there!

A plant-based eating style, such as an olive oil rich Mediterranean Diet, could even benefit an older generation, with both men and women in their 80s potentially gaining about 3.5 years of extra life from dietary changes.

Reported on CNN, Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine and nutrition, who was not involved in the study said:

“The notion that improving diet quality would reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death is long established, and it only stands to reason that less chronic disease and premature death means more life expectancy,”

Dr. David Katz

Katz, the president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine, has published research on how to use food as preventive medicine.

“What they define as an ‘optimal’ diet is not quite optimal; it’s just a whole lot better than ‘typical,'” Katz said, adding that he felt diet could be “further improved, conferring even greater benefits.”

“My impression is that their ‘much improved’ diet still allowed for considerable doses of meat and dairy,” Katz said, adding that when his team scores diet quality objectively, “these elements are at quite low levels in the top tier.”

“My impression is that their ‘much improved’ diet still allowed for considerable doses of meat and dairy,” Katz said, adding that when his team scores diet quality objectively, “these elements are at quite low levels in the top tier.”

How Can The Best Olive Oil Contribute To A Healthy Lifestyle?

A healthy lifestyle is one which helps to keep and improve your health and well-being. There are many different things that you can do to live a healthy lifestyle, such as following the principals of the Mediterranean Diet.

The Mediterranean Diet is based on the regular consumption of olive oil (as the main source of monounsaturated fat), plant foods (cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, tree nuts, and seeds), the moderate consumption of fish, seafood, and dairy, and low-to-moderate alcohol (mostly red wine) intake, balanced by a comparatively limited use of red meat and other meat products.  In addition, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing your stress are important contributing factors to a healthy lifestyle. However, a healthy lifestyle isn’t just about healthy eating and exercise, it also about taking care of the “whole you” – your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. And that means taking care of you from the inside out.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil And A Healthy Lifestyle Diet

Olive Oil And The Nordic Diet
Extra Virgin Olive Oil And A Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle diet can be achieved by maintaining a daily intake of healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, healthy (monounsaturated) fats like extra virgin olive oil, and omega-3 fatty acids.  The key unhealthy foods to avoid are red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fat, and sodium.

Healthy Lifestyle Benefits

As it turns out, healthy habits make a big difference. According to this analysis, people who met criteria for all five habits enjoyed significantly, impressively longer lives than those who had none: 14 years for women and 12 years for men (if they had these habits at age 50). People who had none of these habits were far more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Study investigators also calculated life expectancy by how many of these five healthy habits people had. Just one healthy habit (and it didn’t matter which one) … just one… extended life expectancy by two years in men and women. Not surprisingly, the more healthy habits people had, the longer their lifespan.

This is huge. And, it confirms prior similar research — a lot of prior similar research. A 2017 study using data from the Health and Retirement Study found that people 50 and older who were normal weight, had never smoked, and drank alcohol in moderation lived on average seven years longer. A 2012 mega-analysis of 15 international studies that included over 500,000 participants found that over half of premature deaths were due to unhealthy lifestyle factors. In summary these are poor diet, inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol intake, and smoking. And the list of supporting research goes on.

Healthy Lifestyle Exercise

This was defined as at least 30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous activity daily.

Healthy body weight

Defined as a normal body mass index (BMI), which is between 18.5 and 24.9.

Healthy Living & Smoking

There is no healthy amount of smoking. “Healthy” here meant never having smoked.

Healthy Living & alcohol intake

Measured as between 5 and 15 grams per day for women, and 5 to 30 grams per day for men. Generally, one drink contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol. That’s 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

Researchers also looked at data on age, ethnicity, and medication use, as well as comparison data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research.

Discover The Health Benefits Of Morocco Gold

How Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil Supports A Healthy Lifestyle

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is probably the most extensively researched foodstuff on the planet and it’s health benefits are evidence based. Extra virgin olive oil has an extensive list of phytonutrients; one of the most praised is its polyphenols. The amount of polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil is truly amazing!

Types Of Polyphenols In Extra Virgin Olive Oil

There are a number of different types of polyphenols in Extra Virgin olive oil, including oleuropein, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal and oleacein.  Each are considered extremely strong antioxidants, and are linked to a number of different benefits. For instance:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Healthiest Of Fats

According to the American Heart Association, dietary fats are an essential part of a healthy living diet, as fats provide energy, improve cell growth, absorption of nutrients, and create important hormones. Not only does olive oil consist mainly of healthy monounsaturated fats, but it is also the only fat that contains high levels of polyphenols. In conclusion this makes extra virgin olive oil without question the healthiest of all fats.

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