Want to improve healthy ageing by up to 46%? Try this lifestyle tip
Science shows that a reliable source of healthy ageing is literally right under our nose – on our plate.
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Key points
- There is good scientific evidence to show us how to live more healthily across our entire lives.
- One answer is literally right under our nose, and on our plate.
- Food has a little-mentioned essential task: it supplies the building blocks for your brain to function well.
- In terms of brain health across the lifespan, one diet stands out: the Mediterranean diet.
Growing older comes with joys and challenges. While research shows that emotional wellbeing typically improves as we get older, physical ailments can dull some of the “gold” in our golden years.
Humans have long sought antidotes to time’s effects on the body. China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, famously tasked his officials to find a potion to live forever.
Whilst science today cannot promise an elixir of immortality, there is good evidence to show us how to live more healthily across our entire lives.
And science tells us that one source of healthier ageing is literally right under our nose:
On our plate.
Food for thought
We often hear about how food affects cholesterol, the number on the scales or risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes.
But food also has another essential task: it supplies the building blocks for your brain to function properly.
In fact, food impacts the structure and function of your brain in multiple ways:
Nutrients from food are needed to make neurotransmitters; the chemicals our brain cells need to send signals.
Food affects the level of inflammation in our brain, which is a risk factor for depression and dementia.
Certain foods can stimulate your brain to grow new cells, a process called “neurogenesis”.
Food also affects the gut microbiome, which influences our brain function through the gut-brain axis.
Given the incredible ways in which food can impact your brain, this begs an important question:
What foods are good for your brain health? While food trends come and go, there’s one diet that stands out and is backed by decades of research:
The Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet is not really a “diet” and the good news is that you never have to count calories. It is a traditional way of eating in areas around the Mediterranean Sea, where local people tend to live longer, healthier lives compared to those in Western countries.
Free webinar:
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Learn how the fascinating world of neurobiology connects your gut and brain from experts at UniSC’s Thompson Institute. Get evidence-based tips for supporting good gut health and therefore brain and mental health at this Brain Science for Wellbeing series webinar.
It’s on Wednesday 5 November.
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What are the benefits of the Mediterranean diet?
A 2020 paper in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition found that following a Mediterranean dietary pattern in mid-life was linked to a 36-46% improved likelihood of healthy ageing.
This relates to factors including wellbeing and ability to perform everyday functions and reduced risk of disease and cognitive decline.
In addition to healthy ageing benefits, the Mediterranean diet has also been shown to:
Help with better memory, thinking skills, and mood
Reduce dementia risk
Decrease inflammation in the brain (which protects brain health)
Lower risk of depression
Support good gut health.
This is why in the lifestyle interventions for healthy brain ageing at the Thompson Institute, the Mediterranean diet plays a starring role.
Putting it in practice
One of the best parts of the Mediterranean diet is that it’s not a restrictive diet. It’s really a lifestyle – centred on eating plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, healthy fats, wholegrains, and legumes.
And while it does involve reducing intake of red meat and processed foods, this isn’t to say that you must cut them out entirely, or never eat the foods you really love. After all, the Mediterranean lifestyle also values the importance of eating socially and with joy!
Here’s a snapshot of what the Mediterranean diet looks like:
Plenty and varied vegetables (half your plate), fruit (three per day) and legumes (such as baked beans, hummus, pulse pasta, lentils and split peas)
Extra virgin olive oil (building up to three tablespoons a day)
Moderate intake of low-fat, low-sugar dairy foods – this could mean making reduced fat Greek yoghurt a regular snack
Reducing red meat to one or two meals per week
Eating fish at least twice per week
Choosing wholegrain carbohydrates
Eating socially
Enjoying home cooked meals using basic ingredients.
Some ideas for moving toward a Mediterranean style of eating:
Make extra virgin olive oil your oil of choice in everyday cooking (it’s safe to bake and pan fry with, plus you can drizzle it over salads, cooked vegetables, cooked pasta, or even cooked rice – yum!)
Incorporate fruit and vegetables into your snacks
Reduce red meat in favour of other proteins, like legumes, seafood, eggs or chicken breast
Swap white bread for multigrain bread or high-fibre white breads
Switch white rice for basmati brown rice or quinoa
Try a new vegetable or fruit to increase variety
Use avocado instead of butter to spread on salad sandwiches
Add an extra colour to your plate (e.g. purple cabbage as well as white cabbage in coleslaw)
Turn off the TV during mealtimes, so you can eat more mindfully
Invite friends, neighbours or family over for a home cooked meal and enjoy the time-honoured tradition of connecting with people while you eat
Buy (or hire from your local library) a Mediterranean cookbook and try a new recipe.
If all of this sounds like a lot, please remember that you don’t need to do everything at once.
Try picking just one or two things and build slowly– small changes can make a big difference over time. And your brain, body and wellbeing will be better for it.
Which change will you make today?
