Life Expectancy & Food Choices
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Health News Update: Life Expectancy & Food Choices 7.27.26
Hello everyone: You may not be aware of this, but you should know that while the overall life expectancy has increased over the past 50 years, this increase has slowed and actually reversed. In other words, we are not living as long. We are now experiencing a shorter lifespan and a much shorter health span. Our health span is defined as how long we remain free of any chronic condition or disease and right now research has revealed that our health span is anywhere from 9 to 16 years shorter than our lifespan. This fact is shown in readily available health statistics that 60% of U. S. adults have at least one chronic health malady, and 40% have more than one. So, what can you do about it?
“In conclusion, greater adherence to various healthy dietary patterns was consistently associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and longer life expectancy, regardless of longevity genes. Our results underscore the significance of adhering to healthy dietary patterns based on dietary recommendations for extending life expectancy, offering individuals the flexibility to adapt these dietary patterns according to their preferences and traditions.”
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads7559?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&_kx=DvmM8IKQSAudAGT9qfUNAWhOBpB85ROZa5OG_o2eIyU.RBPf56 healthy diets confer positive aging benefits
Bottom Line: You might not be thinking about how well and how long you may live every time you take a bite of food, but you should be. You can think about it this way by learning the definition of the word salutogenesis. Salutogenesis is those activities that result in the active production of health and resilience. Is the food you consume processed, or nutrient poor, or filled with additives, or fried, or have bad fats, or have sweeteners added, or covered in pesticides, or low in fiber, or low in plants? These choices do not promote health. Instead, you may want to choose foods that build health and resilience as those foods are shown to improve your healthspan, reduce your risk or speed recovery from a disease or condition, and extend your lifespan. The best example of a food plan that promotes salutogenesis is the Green Mediterranean diet/lifestyle pattern.
Why do I write articles on the over and over? Simply because we live in a society that consumes 70% of its daily calories from ultra-processed foods resulting in a lowering of life expectancy, a shortening of one’s health span, and an enormous burden of chronic diseases and health conditions that I see people suffering with every day. This is needless suffering and expense that you have significant power to correct. What is on your plate? Is it health or sickness?
More importantly, what may be holding you back from upgrading your food choices? It is so totally worth your time to learn to upgrade your food choices that there is no good reason not to do so…like, now! I have never seen anyone get worse from choosing foods and lifestyle patterns that upgrade their health…so take a look at your lifestyle and look into making those upgrades as soon as you can. This is like saving for retirement but instead of money we are adding to our health bank account so we can enjoy life to the fullest.
