A new study published in PLOS Medicine found that eating plants, grains, fish, and avoiding red meat could extend a person’s lifespan up to 13 years.
According to EcoWatch, a change in diet will give significant health gains no matter the person’s age. Scientists especially praise the Mediterranean diet, which consists of whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits, seafood, dairy, and poultry.
The Mediterranean diet has been rated as the best diet five years in a row, and some reports say it could even protect from the impact of air pollution.
“A woman who began eating the optimized diet at 20 could extend her lifespan by slightly more than 10 years, while a man who began at the same time could extend his by 13 years, CNN reported. However, there were still benefits to eating healthier later in life. A man who began the optimized diet at 60 could add nearly nine years to his life and a woman, eight.”
The researchers created a tool called Food4HealthyLife, which anyone can use to calculate how a change in diet would impact life expectancy.
This doesn’t mean people have to stop eating red meat completely. Small changes will also have an effect, such as having a meatless Monday.
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