Eating More Legumes, Whole Grains and Nuts Could Add Nearly a Decade to Your Life, Study Finds

Moving from a typical diet to one with more whole grains, legumes and nuts could add up to 9.7 years to the life of a 40-year-old, and an optimised vegan diet up to 8.7 years, a seven-country modeling study projects.

Researchers led by Professor Lars Fadnes at the University of Bergen in Norway used meta-analyses on 15 food groups and death risk, national food intake data and Global Burden of Disease death rates for China, France, Germany, Iran, Norway, the UK and the US, adjusting for height, weight and physical activity. For 40-year-olds, gains from a longevity-optimised diet ranged from 6.2 years for Chinese women to 9.7 years for US men. An optimised vegan diet gave 5.2 to 8.7 years. The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

These are projections from modeling. The authors conclude in the paper:

These changes included more whole grains, legumes, and nuts and less red/processed meats and sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages. The largest gains from dietary changes would be in the United States.

It follows the same team's UK Biobank study suggesting a plant-rich longevity diet could add 10 years to your life, and last year's UK Biobank finding that healthy plant-based eaters have a 16% lower risk of early death.

Pass the lentils, we've got living to do!