Top 10 Nutrition Tips for Maximizing Healthspan
Nutrition for Maximizing Healthspan
When it comes to living a long healthy life, nutrition is a key component. We are not talking about dieting or a fad. We are talking about optimal nutrition for preventing diseases of aging. In this post I am going to talk about some of the problems that can result from certain patterns of eating, why nutrition advice can be so confusing, and round out with10 key components for a healthy eating plan for maximizing your health span.
Poor nutrition is a leading contributor to disease
An unhealthy eating pattern is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, depression, and dementia, to name a few. Amount and quality of protein, carbohydrate, and fat content as well as intake of calories, play important roles in regulating aging processes and longevity and development of age-associated diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cognitive impairment and dementia, and cancer.
The Global Burden of Disease study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest analysis of risk factors of death and disease in history. They determined that the leading cause of death in disability was the American diet followed by smoking. The leading dietary risk factors for death included a high intake of sodium, which caused 3 million deaths, a low intake of whole grains, which caused another 3 million deaths, and a low intake of fruit, which caused 2 million deaths. One study estimated that changing from a typical Western diet to an optimal diet rich in legumes, whole grains, and nuts, with lower red and processed meat was associated with a more than 10 year increase in life expectancy. If that wasn't enough, adopting a healthy eating plan may reduce the risk of depression by more than 30%.
Nutrition and diet advice over time
You've likely heard lots of advice about diet and nutrition over your lifetime. Even though it came from a good place, from experts, the constant advice changes has left most people confused. And with good reason. We've had a track record of not-so-good advice and fad products pushed by the food industry in America. Starting in the 1990s the food and Drug Administration pushed for a low-fat diet and fat became the enemy. We quickly saw the food market flood with low-fat products. To make these foods palatable they were stocked full of sugar and other sweeteners. While we have now made a slow, decades-long transition away from "fat as enemy," it morphed into "sugar as enemy." And this led to more recent fads like very low carb, gluten-free and keto diets, and the highly processed food-like products quickly followed suit.
I'll make an aside here to say that fat is not bad. Carbohydrates are not bad. Heck sugar is not bad. Within a certain context. Fat is a key essential macronutrient in every diet. Carbohydrates are essential nutrients in nearly every diet. Naturally occurring sugars do not need to be avoided (or you'd never be able to eat fruit!). So rather than cutting one food out completely and focusing on the quantity, the right approach involves looking at the quality. We all should strive to minimize highly processed foods that are chocked full of chemicals and words you can't read on the back of the packaging. While these items may be edible, it is far from resembling food (ie. flaming hot cheetos) and contributes to inflammation, metabolic disease, and cuts short our potential for longevity.
Why is nutrition advice so terrible?
So you might be wondering why nutrition advice is so terrible. It is extremely difficult to study nutrition. The evidence tends to be weak at best. Medical science's best evidence comes in the form of the randomized clinical trial. Nutrition studies are very difficult to randomize, and it is difficult to know if people actually adhere to the diet with which they are randomized. The best studies provide the food for the participants. You better be sure people love free food and are likely eating what's been given to them. But these are very expensive studies and usually only run short term if at all. There is no big pharma blockbuster drug at the end of nutrition study, so it's hard to find funding to run this rigorous style of research.
But, all is not lost. We do have plenty of people who do research in this area - it's just usually in the form of observational studies or animal models. To know if a reported outcome is valid, I consider three factors. First, I look for patterns across multiple research studies. If studies that are done in different populations, in different ways still reach a similar conclusions, it's more sound. Second, if there is a biological mechanism to why an outcome would be found, then it adds strength to the finding. Lastly, it also helps if the outcome passes the "common sense” gut check. If it sounds too good to be true, I get leary. Generally speaking, adjusting your diet based on a study that meets the above criteria is likely low harm and may be beneficial.
Optimizing nutrition for longevity
Based on current evidence, there are some dietary patterns that will increase your healthspan and prevent diseases of aging - those that lead to morbidity and mortality in Americans - like cancer, diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. All of the recommendations I am listing below have some research backing their involvement in promoting longevity. Some of the evidence is from rat models and other human studies. Some research points to direct links to the 9 hallmarks of aging, while others are based on clinical outcomes. Either way you look at the evidence, none of these recommendations are harmful, AND they are generally harmless. So why not give them a go when there is so much to support it is safe and effective?
Top 10 Nutrition Tips for Maximizing Healthspan
1. Berries
Berries have been found to offer protection against cancer, boost the immune system, and guard the liver and brain. An American Cancer Society study showed that those who ate the most berries were significantly less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. Fortunately for us in the Pacific Northwest, blackberries seem to have the highest antioxidant units, with over double that of strawberries and 10 times as much as an apple. Try to get one serving of a half cup of fresh or frozen every day.
2. Greens
Greens are high in chlorophyl and offer strong protection against major chronic disease, with studies showing a 20% reduction in heart attacks and strokes for every additional daily serving. The results of a clinical meta-analysis indicated a significantly reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease and slower progression of cognitive decline with the intake of green leafy vegetables.
3. Legumes
This category include things like soybeans, split peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc. Legumes contain phenolic phytonutrients and have been shown to reduce bad cholesterol. One study found an 8% reduction of risk of premature death for every 20 g increase in daily legume intake.
4. Nuts
Nuts and seeds are rich in L-arginine, the amino acid precursor for the production of NO, and are high in antioxidants and omega-3 levels. Walnuts seemed to reign supreme in terms of antioxidant and omega-3. According to the global burden of disease study, not eating enough nuts is associated with death. In another study, when long-time nut eaters were told to cut down on eating nuts, they lost much of their longevity benefit within five years. Only the group who started out eating nuts and continued to eat at least the same amount of nuts had a significant survival advantage.
5. Flaxseed
Flaxseed contains anti-cancer lignan compounds, which may be beneficial for breast and prostate cancer. It also has helpful effects on high blood pressure. Aim to get one tablespoon daily.
6. Caloric Restriction
Diets that enhance longevity typically Involve some form of restriction, either by time or calories (ie eating calorie light foods vs calorie dense foods could counts). There have been many studies across different animal and human models that shows caloric restriction extends lifespan. This practice appears to work by inhibition of the enzyme mTOR. mTOR inhibition slows down cell division and promotes autophagy, or clearing debris and damaged cells. The problem with implementing restriction is it can lead to hunger, stress, and binge eating. But following a simple rule of a moderate 11-12 hour eating window, along with eating calorie light foods (ie. high in fruits and veggies) seems to work for most people.
7. Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Other Vegetables
Lack of vegetables is our fifth leading dietary contributor to an earlier death. The diversity of fruits and vegetables consumed also seems to matter. The variety of intake was a better predictor of decrease inflammation in middle age adults, even after removing the effects of quantity. Eating different types of fruits and vegetables weekly was associated with an 8% reduction and type two diabetes. The latest American Heart Association guidelines added a recommendation to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to get maximal benefit.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale contain sulforaphane, a liver detox boosting compound. Various studies have looked into other benefits, and found cruciferous vegetables and other leafy greens may play a role in preventing DNA damage and metastatic cancer spread, activate defenses against pathogens and pollutants, help in lymphoma, breast and prostate cancer. Mushrooms (okay, technically not a vegetable) are also a big winner when it comes to health. They contain ergothionine AA, which plays a role in self protection.
8. Other fruits
We already talked about berries, but they are not the only fruit. Fruit contains different polyphenols phytonutrients, which come with many benefits. Eating fruit has actually been shown to lower your risk of developing diabetes. Citrus fruits such as tangerines, oranges, lemons, are very rich in vitamin C, or ascorbate, which in preclinical studies has been shown to enhance endothelial nitric oxide synthase, which would be beneficial for cardiovascular health.
9. Turmeric
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Turmeric is well known to have anti-inflammatory properties. Aim to get 1/4 teaspoon a day along with any other herbs and spices.
10. Whole Grains
People falsely think all carbohydrates are the enemy, but carbohydrates are essential for a balanced diet. This includes things like hot cereal like oatmeal, cooked grains like brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, bread, etc. Whole grains have been implicated in hormonal signaling relevant for longevity, and also contain healthy fibers to aid in digestion.
A final word on nutrition for longevity
Longevity-promoting diets include a few key components. First, they include some form of caloric restriction, either through intermittent fasting, an 11-12 hour eating window, or planned fast days. Second they are mostly plant-based or plant-forward, and emphasis whole foods and fresh ingredients rather than processed or refined foods. Lastly, there is variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and seeds and nuts and healthy fats (e.g., nuts). Fish and meat, especially red meat, are eaten less often.
While we are far from having all the answers when it comes to nutrition, I'm hoping that by giving you some guardrails, you can make the best choice for you and your body based on the information available today. In my experience, personal nutrition will be an evolving, constantly changing area, depending on the latest evidence as well as factors in your life that determine when and how you eat. Just remember it is best to avoid things that will be too extreme, or that sound too good to be true. Don't fall in a trap of something trendy that will likely be reversed by some new or updated information just a few years later.
Don't over think it. Keep it real food. Keep it simple.
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