While it isn’t the fountain of youth, researchers say they’ve discovered an antioxidant that could help you live 30 percent longer–and better yet, it’s all natural.
Reporting in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers say that people whose diet was rich in a type of antioxidant called polyphenol were 30 percent more likely to live longer than people whose diet lacked this key antioxidant.
Though studies in the past have examined a person’s intake of certain antioxidants through self-reported questionnaires, this is the first study to use both questionnaires and examination of nutritional biomarkers. In this study, nutritional biomarkers, or TUP, measured the intake of polyphenols.
“The development and use of nutritional biomarkers enables to make a more precise and, particularly, more objective estimation of intake as it is not only based on participants’ memory when answering questionnaire,” says Cristina Andrés Lacueva, who helped research the study. “This methodology makes a more reliable and accurate evaluation of the association between food intake and mortality or disease risk.”
What Researchers Discovered About Living Longer
Examining over 800 men and women from Italy, researchers questioned them about their dietary intakes–specifically the foods they ate that were typically high in polyphenols, which include fruits, vegetables, coffee, nuts, and legumes.
“TUP is an independent risk factor for mortality among community-dwelling older adults, suggesting that high dietary intake of polyphenols may be associated with longevity,” says researchers. “In the multivariable Cox model, participants in the highest tertile of TUP at enrolment had a lower mortality rate than those in the lowest tertile.”
These findings are important, as polyphenols, like all antioxiants, carry potent anticarcinogenic and antiinflammatory effects that may ward off many diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. And for those who reported eating more foods that contained this key antioxidant, their mortality rate was lower.
“[The] results corroborate scientific evidence suggesting that people consuming diets rich in fruit and vegetables are at lower risk of several chronic diseases and overall mortality,” says Raúl Zamora Ros, who helped author the study. This evidence is also supported by nutritional biomarkers–in this case, they tested the participants’ total urinary polyphenol concentration–which showed they were being truthful about their high antioxidant intake.
So what does this mean for Americans? Easy: Eating healthy can help you live longer. As for which foods you should eat for a longer (and healthier) life span, go simple–foods such as fresh fruits, berries, leafy vegetables, beans, and nuts could extend your life by as much as 30 percent.
“A polyphenol-rich diet includes at least 650 milligrams a day,” says Sarah B. Weir, a senior writer for Yahoo! Shine. “Polyphenols are found in thousands of combinations in hundreds of different foods, and for maximum benefit, its helpful to eat a variety over the course of the day to keep blood levels high. Consume produce when it’s fresh, because the beneficial compounds deteriorate with age.”
Readers: What are some ways you ensure your diet is rich in polyphenols?
Sources:
Polyphenols Linked To a Longer Life – Nutrition.org
Study: Certain Antioxidant Decreases Mortality Rate – ScienceDaily.com
Eat Healthy, Live Longer? – Shine.yahoo.com
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