Aging Well is a Lifelong Endeavor

Recent research investigating the relationships between multidimensional components of healthy aging and nutrition patterns highlights our need to prioritize health behaviors throughout our lives and the difficulty we are having in aging well. The data was collected over the span of thirty years, involving 105,015 health professionals, 70,091 women from the Nurses Health Study and, 34,924 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants completed a 132-question food frequency questionnaire starting in 1986 as a baseline measure, subsequently completing that same questionnaire every four years for a period of thirty years. The researchers looked at the relationships between eight different dietary patterns and healthy aging. The dietary patterns included: Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Alternative Mediterranean Index (aMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), the healthful plant-based diet (hPDI), the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), the empirically inflammatory dietary pattern (EDIP), the empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (EDIH) and ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption. Data was also gathered on cognitive, physical and mental health along with disease incidence throughout the study period.

The findings suggest that the Alternative Healthy Aging Index (AHEI) was the dietary pattern most strongly associated with aging well. The AHEI was developed by Harvard Health, emphasizing healthy eating practices to prevent chronic disease. Per day, the key components of AHEI include:

·       Five servings of vegetables

·       Four fruit servings

·       Five or six servings of whole grains

·       One serving of nuts or legumes

·       Choosing healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado

·       Weekly servings of fish and plant proteins

·       Things to avoid with the AHEI are refined grains, sweetened beverages, saturated fats, potatoes and red and processed meats.

The World Health Organization states that we must prioritize healthy aging by adopting preventative measures throughout the lifespan to optimize health and preserve functional ability. The researchers in this study also found that only 9% of the participants were considered a “healthy ager” by the age of 70. Based on previous research, the investigators defined healthy aging as arriving at 70 years of age without impairments cognitively, physically or mentally and having not been diagnosed with 1 or more of 11 major chronic diseases. The 11 represent the leading causes of disease-related mortality and include cancer, diabetes, myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The researchers found that up to age 70, 33% of the participants were able to maintain complete cognitive function, 28% maintained integral physical function, and 27% maintained vital mental health. Clearly, the World Health Organization is correctly emphasizing that we have much to accomplish from a whole-person, multi-faceted approach to aging well. We need to prioritize health-enhancing behaviors throughout the lifespan, gratefully aware that adopting healthy practices is a lifelong, moment-by-moment celebration of life with the extra special recompense of living a life well lived and a life--lived well.