Health Update: Healthy Aging and Lower Disease Burden Depends on Your Food
Hey there everyone:
You might wonder why I frequently write about food choices, and the answer is pretty straightforward. Inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human ailment, including aging. A primary driver of non-purposeful and degenerative inflammation just happens to be our food choices. In my experience, I have not seen any chronic illness or health condition satisfactorily dealt with when food choices have not been optimized and individualized according to your unique needs. No amount of supplements can overcome poor dietary choices that do not support health This fact is why I write these blogs. My mission is to assist you in reaching your health goals and information is critical for you in order to make informed and wise decisions. So, here is some more of the constantly evolving knowledge base for you to chew on (pun intended):
“Introduction: The number of United States adults >60 y is expected to nearly double by 2060. However, increased longevity has not resulted in extended health span because of the occurrence of chronic diseases and impairments in physical and cognitive function among older adults. Diet is an important modifiable factor of several chronic diseases, frailty, premature death, and successful or healthy aging, which are relevant to this vulnerable population.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings from this large prospective study suggest that dietary protein intake, and especially the consumption of plant protein, in middle-aged female nurses, may be related to higher odds of healthy aging. Plant protein intake was favorably associated with several domains of health status of older adults, including good physical function and good mental health status. Our study contributes evidence to the role of protein in the etiology of healthy aging and adds specific insights to the importance of protein sources and relevant etiologic windows in midlife, which may contribute to providing recommendations regarding the amount of protein intake to promote healthy aging.”
https://ajcn.nutrition.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0002-9165%2823%2966282-3
Bottom Line:
The data related to plant vs. animal protein is still emerging and so far, from reviewing a good number of articles it seems the growing consensus is more plant protein and less animal protein. This debate is not settled yet, still lots of issues to explore which means that we have to see what works for each of us. For the majority, it seems the literature is pointing to less animal and more plant-based protein sources. This does not mean to completely stop animal sources, just to lessen the amount and choose from the highest quality sources of animal-based foods. This could mean simply to avoid processed meats of all types and stick to choosing organic grass-fed pasture raised sources. For some it may mean going vegetarian or even vegan…you have to do what works best for you.
If you have a chronic health condition of any type, and you do eat animal-based foods, take a look at how much you consume and try an experiment: simply eat less meat or animal-based foods and see what happens. You could also reduce or stop all processed foods…in my experience, most people feel better doing these two dietary upgrades. Some people feel no change, a few may feel worse…the only way to know is to try it out and see how that works for you. But whatever you try, do not go low protein. Depending on your age and activity level, the starting level of protein can be calculated by this formula:
Your weight divided by 2.2 = your weight in Kilograms.
Multiply your weight by 0.8 = total grams of protein per day.
If you are older than 50 or are very physically active, multiply your Kg weight by 1.0 or 1.1.
As a final note, the literature is pointing to the fact that not only global health is tied to food choices, but that planetary health and wellness are as well. There are moral and ethical debates raging about this topic, so the more informed you are the better choices you can make. Here is a link about this emerging topic:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1523119113
“What we eat greatly influences our personal health and the environment we all share. Recent analyses have highlighted the likely dual health and environmental benefits of reducing the fraction of animal sourced foods in our diets.”
