In this blog post, we'll explore the fascinating connection between nutrition and longevity. We asked our nutritionist, Emma, to guide us through the science of how our dietary choices can significantly impact our lifespan and overall health.
Discover key insights on how to nourish your body for a longer, healthier life and learn actionable steps you can take to improve your longevity through mindful eating.
Watch the full video interview below!
What are the key components of a diet that promote longevity?
I guess it's not massively complicated, it's not rocket science! It's just thinking about eating whole nutrient-dense foods, think about colourful foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.
What we mean by lean proteins are less fatty proteins, so things like chicken and salmon as opposed to red meats. Or if you follow a plant-based diet beans and pulses - even if you don't follow a plant-based diet I would definitely recommend trying to incorporate these foods into your diet.
It's also really important to try to avoid processed foods, it can be difficult especially in this day and age but try and check the label and avoid foods that have added sugars and lots of added salts.
I think as well just try to be more mindful about your eating because that can also play a role in contributing to your overall wellbeing. Just take time to consider what you eat and sit and enjoy it rather than frantically rushing to eat it.
Are there any specific nutrients that are beneficial for healthy ageing?
Yes, definitely! Particularly things like antioxidants - so vitamin C and E. What these do in your body is they help to protect your cells from what we call oxidative stress so which is caused by inflammation and high levels of oxidative stress can contribute to ageing. Foods that are rich in vitamins like vitamin C and E are fruits and vegetables.
Other foods which are really important are things like omega-3 fatty acids so DHA and EPA so these are really great for your brain and for heart health.
Also as you get older, you want to preserve your bone and your muscle mass, so things like calcium and vitamin D are great for bone health and it's important to make sure you're getting enough protein for muscle mass.
Fibre is another really important nutrient for your gut microflora. It also helps to aid digestion. A healthy gut leads to a healthy body!
Are there any kind of common mistakes that people make when they're trying to eat healthy?
Yes definitely, I think historically there's always been this perception that calories are what drive health so a lot of people will probably tend to focus on low calorie foods rather than high quality foods so just because something is low in calories doesn't necessarily it's going to be beneficial for health.
When you think about food you want to think about it more holistically in terms of what it's providing. It's not just the calories that it's providing, it's all those other things like micronutrients such as the vitamin C and the vitamin E that we've just spoke about.
Avoiding things, so things like avoiding fats is definitely something that you see a lot. For example you might choose a product that's low in fat, but actually this is higher in sugar than the standard product as the fat has been substituted with sugar.
And then on the topic of sugar, foods that are highly processed often have high sugar contents. Also foods like fruit juices can actually lead to you consuming higher amounts of sugar than you'd expect.
We want to be thinking about good quality, good quality whole foods rather than foods that have been processed or that are advocating to be low in something because that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing for you.
Does hydration play a role in longevity at all?
Yes, definitely. Hydration is really important for all body functions ranging from digestion to cognition and how we feel. We all know that when we feel dehydrated, we can feel quite sluggish and tired and it can lead to headaches and yeah, feeling fatigued. So I definitely recommend drinking lots of water throughout the day.
It's also important because I think sometimes when we get dehydrated we might think that we're hungry so it helps to sort of regulate your eating patterns too.
Are there any links between gut health and longevity?
Yes, definitely. They say good health starts in the gut! It's an evolving space in the nutrition world in terms of our knowledge of how gut plays a role in long term health and wellbeing. But a lot of recent research suggests that good gut health supports better digestion, it supports better immunity and there's links between things like your skin health and also your mental health.
I mentioned earlier about eating lots of fruits and vegetables and also fibre and that they are great for your gut as well as great for you. So they're good ways to nourish that gut and microflora. But you can also eat probiotic rich food. So what I mean by probiotic is foods that contain live bacteria which are beneficial to your gut health and so things like yogurt and kefir and fermented vegetables and they can help to maintain a balanced gut.
Are there any specific kind of eating patterns that you would kind of recommend for supporting healthy ageing?
One that we've all been talking about for years and years is the Mediterranean diet and it is one of the most researched diets for longevity. It really emphasizes whole foods, plant-based foods, whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins while limiting processed foods and red meat.
If you're looking for recipe inspiration or wanting to do a meal plan then have a Google of Mediterranean diet recipes or Mediterranean diet food plan for the week and you'll be on track for good eating!
Final tips for healthy ageing
I think it's important to not sort of get too stressed about food and try to prioritise balance, variety and moderation. yeah just most of time try to eat real and whole foods as much as possible.
If you're going out with friends and you want to indulge and don't limit yourself because it is also important to have those social experiences and to enjoy yourself from time to time!
Staying active is also really important, so making sure that we're moving every day, so whether that's a walk or yoga or a gym class, just a little something every day just to keep your body strong is really important for ageing.
