How to live longer: The best diet hailed by health experts to increase life expectancy

While we can’t control what happens around the world, we can control what we put in our mouths. When it comes to what is best to eat, numerous studies have proven time and time again that one particular way of eating will not only significantly reduce the risk of serious diseases and some cancers, but will also help to increase life expectancy. Leading health experts are all in agreement that following a vegan, vegetarian or plant-based diet will help one achieve a longer life expectancy.

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Vegan, vegetarian or plant-based diets tend to be rich in nutrients which help to protect against illnesses and also boost lifespan.

Many people who follow this eating pattern also make healthy lifestyle choices including regular exercising and avoiding processed foods which all aid in increasing life expectancy.

On average, people who follow this way of eating live longer and have longer life expectancies than meat-eaters with fewer health issues along the way. But why is this?

The Western diet and lifestyle which includes consumption of processed foods such as burgers and little to no exercise are often viewed as two of the main contributors to rapid ageing and disease.

Vegans and vegetarians live longer and have lower mortality rates.

They also tend to have healthier gut profiles with a reduced abundance of pathogenic gut bacteria and greater abundance of protective species.

Those who followed this way of eating also had lower blood pressure, lower incidence of heart disease, lower overall cancer incidence and have a lower risk of developing diabetes.

Vegan, vegetarian and plant-based diets eliminate all animal-based foods including meat, dairy and eggs.

This usually results in a diet which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Numerous researches suggest that diets loaded with these plant foods help to increase life expectancy.

Moreover, these diets tend to pack plenty of fibre, plant protein and antioxidants.

Diets rich in these nutrients are believed to safeguard against obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease which in turn promote increased life expectancy.

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In a study with the National Library of Medicine, cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence in vegetarians was analysed.

The study noted: “The objective of the present analysis was to investigate cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence among vegetarians and nonvegetarians.

“Participants were from the UK, Germany, USA, the Netherlands and Japan.”

The study concluded that all-cause mortality in vegetarians was 9 percent lower in nonvegetarians with the mortality from ischemic heart disease being significantly lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians.

“Our results suggest that vegetarians have a significantly lower ischemic heart disease mortality and overall cancer incidence than nonvegetarians,” it added. 

Vegan, vegetarian and plant-based diets contain the best types of food to eat.

Fruit and vegetables contain protective bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, polyphenols, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Whole grains are rich in phytochemicals, trace minerals and protein with whole grains helping to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Plant-based proteins such as beans, legumes and pulses help to lower LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol which reduces cancer risk and nuts and seeds contain a variety of vitamins and minerals which reduce risk of cancer mortality. 

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