Eating for Longevity

Written By Jessica Zabow

Often when people think of living longer, they think of living longer with disease. This is because, in modern society, most of us have observed that advancing age is usually paired with greater disease burden - like diabetes and dementia. But there are two factors at play here: lifespan, or how long we live, and “healthspan” - how long we live AND thrive, without chronic diseases (1). Well it turns out, the longest living people in the world are doing both: living longer, while essentially avoiding common illnesses like heart disease and cancer.
Dan Beuttner headed a collaboration of National Geographic and the National Institute on Aging that set out to find the longest living people in the world (2). They did just that. And they termed where they live “The Blue Zones”.

Where People Get Old & Stay Young

There are five Blue Zones in the world:

  1. Loma Linda, California

  2. Nicoya, Costa Rica

  3. Sardinia, Italy

  4. Ikaria, Greece

  5. Okinawa, Japan

In the Blue Zones, occupants reached the ripe old age of 100 at a rate ten times that of the USA. By evading key diseases like obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, Blue Zone centenarians were able to evade death a lot longer. But these communities were not actively seeking to avoid disease or extend their lives - how they lived naturally, or serendipitously, facilitated such results (2). So what were the commonalities between the populations?

The Power Nine

Nine factors were found across (almost) all of the Blue Zones that are believed to contribute to their longevity and health success (2).

  1. Move naturally - they were not sedentary

  2. Living with purpose - “why I wake up in the morning”

  3. Downshifting - practices to reduce stress

  4. 80% rule - avoiding overeating (especially late in the day)

  5. Plant Slant - focusing on plant over animal foods

  6. Alcohol - 1-2 glasses with friends (Loma Linda community abstains)

  7. Belonging - faith community

  8. Loved ones - close family network

  9. Right tribe - healthy social circle

Like most things associated with health, our longevity is determined by a combination of our genes and environment (diet and lifestyle). However, our environment has a strong influence over our genetic expression. This is called epigenetics. The genetic component for lifespan is estimated at less than 30%(3)! So there is a whole lot of potential for us to extend our lifespans and healthspans through our daily choices.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Blue Zone centenarians ate and how this relates to longevity!

The Longevity Diet

Blue Zone diets contain very little processed foods, and are centred around legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas and split peas) and vegetables (2). Saturated fat, salt and added sugars - constituents that are very high in Western diets and are known to contribute to disease - are very low (2). Whole grains were a key component of the Blue Zone diets, whether they were eaten whole or in a traditional sour dough bread or corn tortilla, except in Okinawa where the sweet potato triumphed (2,4).

Legumes

Legumes were a cornerstone of all the populations, albeit different types depending on culture (2). Legumes have a raft of proven health benefits. They have been shown to increase longevity, reduce cardiovascular risk factors like LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure, improve cognitive health, and reduce diabetes (5,6,7,). In fact, legumes are SO GOOD at managing blood sugar, that the lentils eaten at lunch lower blood sugar following white bread eaten at dinner (8). This is known as the second meal effect. You can learn more about cardiovascular disease here.

Legumes even reduce the risk of certain cancers including colon, prostate and breast (9,10,11). It is possible that some of these benefits are due to legumes’ lowering of body weight and waist circumference, which are key risk factors of disease. However, legumes are also very high in fibre, and a special fibre that feed our good gut bacteria - resistant starch. Healthy gut bacteria are known to help us live longer and with less disease (12). For more on the gut microbiota, check out my blog here.

Whatever the mechanism, eating more legumes is a good idea! If you haven’t spent a lifetime eating these healthy foods like they do in the Blue Zones, try going “low and slow”, gradually increasing them in your diet, beginning with about a tablespoon a day.

Whole Grains

There are several components of whole grains, and their health benefits are conferred when the entirety of the grain is consumed (13). Refined grains have at least one component removed, usually only leaving the starch sans most of the fibre and many other important nutrients.

Whole grains are associated with reduced cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. This explains their protection against many diseases, and therefore extension of lifespan and healthspan. Whole grains, especially when intact or unmilled, also provide the blood sugar loving “second meal effect” as do our legume friends (8). To learn more about blood sugar management and Type 2 diabetes, check out my blog series here. Studies have also shown that whole grains are associated with improved longevity, however they are not as beneficial as legumes (5).

Benefits of whole grains and their products, including breads and cereals, were associated with reduced risk of many conditions including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and diabetes (14). However, their refined grain counterparts like white rice, and white flour products did not confer such benefits. So keep it whole!

Whole grains’ impressive beneficial health outcomes may be attributed to their fibre content, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals like magnesium, zinc, and folate (13). It is likely a synergy of many nutrients that catalyse improvements in and maintenance of good health and longevity.

Nuts

Nuts are high in healthy unsaturated fats, like monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, as well as fibres, many minerals, and antioxidants such as vitamin E (15). There are many positive health outcomes associated with nut consumption, including healthier body weight, blood pressure, glucose management, and heart health. This may be explained by their to effects in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and improving blood sugar and insulin resistance - among other benefits! Seeds also confer very similar benefits to nuts, however, are not studied in such detail.

One study found that nut consumption seven or more times a week was associated with a 20% reduced risk of dying - so make sure you make them a daily snack (16). Reduced mortality may be due to nuts’ effect on cardiovascular risk. High nut consumers were found to have 35-50% lower rates of heart disease (17). This is possibly due to their cholesterol-lowering effects as well as their vitamin E content.

Nuts, with their generous amount of healthy unsaturated fats make a great swap for foods high in unhealthy saturated fats. A food substitution study on three large cohorts of men and women found that when 5% of energy of dairy fat (high saturated fat foods like butter, cream, and cheese) was replaced with polyunsaturated fat like those found in nuts, a 24% reduction in heart disease risk ensued (18). That’s a delicious and convenient way to slash disease risk, but also highlights the importance of nutritional nuance.

THE TYPE OF FAT MATTERS.

Just like the type of protein, carbs, and other food constituents also matter. The food matrix - the multidimensional make up of our food - matters most. Whether that be for disease risk, longevity, or any other health outcome. In fact, in the same aforementioned study, a swap of dairy fat for SIMPLE carbohydrates like refined grains and sugars produced no difference in heart disease risk, whereas whole grain consumption (a COMPLEX carb) led to a whopping 28% reduction in risk!

I hope that upon reading this article you feel inspired to include more of these life-extending and life-thriving foods in your daily diet. It is our dietary pattern that matters most. Adding these foods to a diet high in highly processed foods and junk food may not get you the best outcomes! But centring your whole diet around these foods, and including more whole plants like vegetables and fruits, will give you the best chance to see the best results … and get the most years in your life, and life in your years!

 

Written by Jessica Zabow
Clinical Nutritionist (BHSc)
& Yoga Teacher (RYT500)

 
 
 

References:

  1. Garmany, A., Yamada, S., & Terzic, A. (2021). Longegity leap: Mind the healthspan gap. Regenerative Medicine, 6(57), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-021-00169-5

  2. Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones: Lessons from the world's longest lived. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066

  3. McEwen, L.M., Morin, A.M., Edgar, R.D., MacIsaac, J.L., Jones, M.J., Dow, W.H., Rosero-Bixby, L., Kobor, M.S., & Rehkopf, D.H. (2017). Differential DNA methylation and lymphocyte proportions in a Costa Rican high longevity region. Epigenetics & Chromatin, 10(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13072-017-0128-2

  4. Willcox, D.C., Willcox, B.J., Todoriki, H., Suzuki, M. (2009). The Okinawan diet: Health implications of a low-calorie, nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich dietary pattern low in glycemic load. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 28(4), 500S-516S. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2009.10718117

  5. Fadnes, L.T., Okland, J-M., Halland, O.A. & Johansson, K.A. (2022). Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modelling study. PLOS Medicine, 19(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889

  6. Becerra-Tomas, N., Papandreou, C., & Salas-Salvado, J. (2019). Legume consumption and cardiometabolic health. Advances in Nutrition, 10(4), S457-S450. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz003

  7. Mazza, E., Fava, A., Ferro, Y., Moraca, M., Rotundo, S., Colica, C., Provenzano, F., Terracciano, R., Greco, M., Foti, D., Gulletta, E., Russo, D., Bosco, D., Pujia, A., & Montalcini, T. (2017). Impact of legumes and plant proteins consumption on cognitive performances in the elderly. Journal of Translational Medicine, 15(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-017-1209-5

  8. Higgins, J..A. (2012). Whole grains, legumes, and the subsequent meal effect: Implications for blood glucose control and the role of fermentation. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2012(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/829238

  9. Li, J., & Mao, Q. (2017). Legume intake and risk of prostate cancer: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Oncotarget, 8(27), 44776-44784. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.16794

  10. Bigman, G., Adebamowo, S., & Adebamowo, C.(2020). Matched case-control study of beans intakes and breast cancer risk in urbanised Nigerian women. Current Developments in Nutrition, 4(2), 310-310. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa044_009

  11. Zhu, B., Sun, Y., Qi, L., Zhong, R., & Miao, X. (2015). Dietary legume consumption reduces risk of colorectal cancer: Evidence from a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Scientific Reports, 5(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08797

  12. Badal, V.D., Vaccariello, E.D., Murray, E.R>, Yu, K.E., Knight, R., Jeste, D.V., & Nguyen, T.T. (2020). The gut microbiome, aging and longevity: A systematic review. Nutrients, 12(12), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12123759

  13. Lilloja, S., Neal, A.L., Tapsell, L., & Jacobs Jr, D.R. (2013). Whole grains, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension: Links to the aleurone preferred over indigestible fibre. International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 39(3), 242-258. https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.1077

  14. Aune, D., Keum, N., Giovannucci, E., Fadnes, L.T., Boffetta, P., Greenwood, D.C., Tonstad, S., Vatten, L.J., Riboli, E., & Noras, T. (2016). Whole grain consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause and cause specific mortality: Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. British Medical Journal, 353(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2716

  15. Machado de Souza, R.G., Machado Schincaglia, R., Pimentel, G.D., & Mota, J.F. (2017). Nuts and human health outcomes: A systematic review. Nutrients, 9(12), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9121311

  16. Bao, Y., Han, J., Hu, F.B., Giovannucci, E.L., Stampfer, M.J., Willett, W.C., & Fuchs, C.S. (2013). Association of nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality. The New England Journal of Medicine, 369(21), 2001-2011. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1307352

  17. Fraser, G.E., & Shavlik, D.J. (2001). Ten years of life: Is it a matter of choice? Archives of Internal Medicine, 161(13), 1645-1652. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.161.13.1645

  18. Chen, M., Li, Y., Sun, Q., Pan, A., Manson, J.E., Rexrode, K.M., Willett, W.C., Rimm, E.B., & Hu, F.B. (2016). Dairy fat and risk of cardiovascular disease in 3 cohorts of US adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 104(5), 1209-1217. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.116.134460




Jessica Zabow
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