We know that diet has a great influence on health, but for the first time, researchers have measured the precise impact of certain foods on quality of life. They published their study in the journal PLOS Medicine on Tuesday, February 8. Conclusion: we gain 10 years of life if we adopt good eating habits at 20. And even by changing the diet later, you can also extend your life expectancy.
The four Norwegian scientists have defined three types of diet. The Western-type diet, still the majority today in Europe, the United States but also in China: a high intake of refined cereals, meat and sugar. The intermediate diet: more vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts like walnuts and almonds, less red meat, processed meat and sugary drinks. The third model, the “optimal” diet, further accentuates the share of plants. It does not contain a gram of red meat, or processed meat.
>> There is a link between high consumption of red meat and cancer, according to a study
The team of researchers then made projections for populations living in the United States, China and Europe, with similar results. Thus, by adopting the optimal menu, a European aged 20 can gain 10 years of life expectancy (13 years for men, 10 years for women). With the intermediate diet, which does not completely eliminate red meat, the gain drops to seven years for men and five years for women.
But let those over 20 be reassured, Norwegian researchers show that a change in diet has an effect on the quality of life throughout life. The optimal diet allows a 40-year-old European to live six years longer than if he continued to follow a classic Western diet (five years longer for a European). At age 60, the gain is nine years (eight years for women). At age 80, we can hope to gain three years of life expectancy (for both men and women).
“Today the consumption of pulses has completely collapsed compared to what it was 50 or 60 years ago”, regrets on franceinfo Béatrice de Reynal, nutritionist. She invites you to eat “lentils, chickpeas, etc” sall possible forms. “In compote, mashed, whole, grated, in soup, everything is good. You don’t have to eat them raw or cook them yourself, you can buy them frozen, canned, in jars and of course on the counter. costs.”
According to this nutritionist, today we consume too much meat in France. “You should eat meat or fish only once a day and not twice as we traditionally did in the past. And above all, reduce the size of the portion of meat. The recommended amount for a healthy adult is 100 to 120 grams, the equivalent of a small minced steak, and not a rib steak”. However, “nothing should be removed” of his diet, says Béatrice de Reynal. “It takes everything, but we have to rebalance”.