Eating what’s best for the planet can lengthen your life, study says | CNN (2024)

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Closely following a planet-friendly diet of mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the risk of premature death by nearly one-third in people, while also dramatically cutting the release of greenhouse gases devastating the planet, a new study found.

“Eating more whole plant foods, less animal foods, and less highly processed foods is better for people and planet alike,” said Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study.

Shot of a vegan meal preparation with lots of vegetables and fruits on a domestic kitchen Wesley Soares Ferracini/Moment RF/Getty Images Related article This type of plant-based diet helps battle diabetes and weight gain, study says

“In this paper, we see that same message amplified: adhering to a dietary pattern conducive to the health of the planet and sustainability is associated with meaningful reductions in all-cause mortality,” he said in an email. Katz is the founder ofthe nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine

Food production plays a major role in the climate crisis. Raising livestock for human consumption, for example, uses an enormous amount of agricultural land and contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss and water pollution, experts say.

Animals that chew their cud can emit noxious gases with an astounding impact on the environment. Burps and poofrom cattle, sheep and goats generate methane, a greenhouse gas80 times more powerful than carbon dioxidein warming the planet in the span of 20 years, according to the UN Environment Programme.

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One adult cow, for example, can belch or fart up to 500 liters of methane a day. Add them up, and they can generate nearly 15% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, experts say.

Eating a planet-healthy diet, however, cut land use by 51%, greenhouse gas emissions by 29% and fertilizer use by 21%, while also extending the lives of people, according to the study.

“Changing how we eat can help slow climate change, and fortunately what’s healthiest for the planet is also best for us,” said corresponding author Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

“For every major cause of death we looked at, there was a lower risk in people with better adherence to the planetary health diet,” Willett said.

Eating what’s best for the planet can lengthen your life, study says | CNN (4)

The planetary diet asks you to fill half your plate at each meal with fruits and vegetables.

A diet for people and the planet

In 2019, the EAT-Lancet Commission, composed of 37 leading scientists from 16 countries, created a diet with dual goals — maximizing human health while reducing the environmental impact of feeding billions of people.

The resulting meal plan stressed a higher consumption of a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and other plant-based proteins while reducing meat and dairy to small portions.

The study, published Monday in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed dietary data gathered from more than 200,000 women and men to see how it matched up against the Eat-Lancet dietary guidelines.

Overhead view of a large group of healthy raw food for flexitarian mediterranean diet. The composition includes salmon, chicken breast, canned tuna, cow steak, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, dairi products, olive oil, eggs and legumes. High resolution 42Mp studio digital capture taken with SONY A7rII and Zeiss Batis 40mm F2.0 CF lens fcafotodigital/iStockphoto/Getty Images Related article This diet with exercise reduces dangerous belly fat and more, study says

All the people were enrolled in long-term government studies — the Nurses’ Health Study I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study — and had no major diseases when the research began. Every four years for 34 years, study participants filled out dietary questionnaires, providing researchers with an enormous amount of data.

Researchers then scored the diets based on the intake of 15 food groups. Foods that are good for the planet take fewer overall resources to grow and include whole grains, tubers, vegetables, whole fruits, legumes, soybean foods and unsaturated plant oils, such as olive oil.

Foods that require a large use of land, such as cattle, and to a lesser extent sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, were also measured, as was intake of added sugar, which has many known health risks.

While other studies have looked at the impact of the planetary health diet, none has matched the scope of this study, Willett said. “This is a substantially larger and much longer study which has repeated assessments of diet over more than three decades, which allows more statistical precision,” he said.

The top 10% of people who followed the Eat-Lancet planetary diet were 30% less likely to die prematurely from any cause than those in the bottom 10%, the study found.

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In addition, those who most closely followed the planetary diet had a 28% lower risk of neurodegenerative mortality, a 14% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 10% lower risk of dying from cancer and a 47% lower risk of dying from a respiratory disease, which applied to nonsmokers as well, Willett said.

“The findings show just how linked human and planetary health are. Eating healthfully boosts environmental sustainability — which in turn is essential for the health and well-being of every person on Earth,” he added.

Eating what’s best for the planet can lengthen your life, study says | CNN (2024)

FAQs

Eating what’s best for the planet can lengthen your life, study says | CNN? ›

Eating a planet-healthy diet, however, cut land use by 51%, greenhouse gas emissions by 29% and fertilizer use by 21%, while also extending the lives of people, according to the study.

How healthy eating can lengthen your life? ›

Participants who improved the health of their diet by 25% could reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by a range of 6% to 13% and dying from cancer by 7% to 18%, he said. There was up to a 7% reduction in risk of death by neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia.

What food shortens your life the most? ›

Some ultra-processed foods carried more of a risk than others, Loftfield said: “Highly processed meat and soft drinks were a couple of the subgroups of ultra-processed food most strongly associated with mortality risk.”Diet drinks are considered ultra-processed food because they contain artificial sweeteners such as ...

What is the planetarian diet? ›

The flexible diet emphasizes plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes and allows for adaptation to dietary needs, personal preferences, and cultural traditions. Image credit: Courtesy of the EAT-Lancet Commission Food, Planet, and Health Report.

What is the best breakfast for longevity? ›

Eat a breakfast that contains multiple food groups

A healthy breakfast on the longevity diet might contain whole grains, nuts, and fruit. Longo himself likes to have friselle, a whole-grain bread from Italy, with a nut spread containing almond and cocoa, as well as an apple.

What are the 5 things to do everyday to live longer? ›

The researchers calculated that people who adhered to five things—drink no more than one glass of alcohol per day (two for men), maintain a healthy body weight, eat a high-quality diet, abstain from smoking, and exercise at a moderate-to-vigorous pace (think a brisk walk, at least) for 30 minutes or more a day—had a ...

What body type lives the longest? ›

Researchers also discovered that “shorter, smaller bodies have lower death rates and fewer diet-related chronic diseases, especially past middle age.” The lifespans of shorter people appear to be longer than their taller counterparts, the paper says.

What diet can add 10 years to your life? ›

Those who ditched sugary drinks and processed meats in favor of a diet rich in whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and moderate amounts of fish (the so-called longevity diet) added an extra 10 years to their life expectancy.

What food adds 33 minutes to your life? ›

The results

Of all the included foods, a beef hotdog in a bun was associated with the greatest loss of life per serving (−36 minutes), whereas a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich was associated with the greatest extension of life per serving (+33 minutes).

What are the 5 foods to avoid for a long life? ›

Here are eight foods that you should cut down on (or avoid eating altogether) as you get older, and why:
  • Raw or undercooked eggs, meat and poultry. ...
  • Grapefruit. ...
  • High-sodium foods. ...
  • Caffeine. ...
  • Sodas and sugary drinks. ...
  • “Sugar-free” drinks. ...
  • Alcoholic beverages. ...
  • Foods with empty calories.

What is Einstein's diet? ›

For one, it's out of the question that the source of his smarts was a meatless diet. Einstein was only a strict vegetarian for the last couple years of his life, decades after many of his most important scientific breakthroughs. There are countless records of Einstein eating meat, well into adulthood.

What is the best diet for the Earth? ›

Scientists say a diet that emphasizes plants — primarily whole grains, plant protein sources and unsaturated plant oils — with modest, optional amounts of protein from animal sources is healthy and sustainable for people and the planet.

What is the NASA diet? ›

Crew members choose their menus and can repeat days at their discretion. They plan a breakfast, lunch and dinner; snacks are listed with the meals. Types of food available include rehydratable, thermostabilized, irradiated and natural form items. Rehydratable items include both foods and beverages.

What one food could you survive on the longest? ›

What Is the Most Complete Food? It is argued that the single, most complete food a human needs to survive is human breast milk. Other foods may be nutritious but inevitably lack certain vitamins, minerals, etc.

What foods have the longest life? ›

What are the foods with the longest shelf life?
  • Canned produce. ...
  • Grains & legumes. ...
  • Honey. ...
  • Sugar & salt. ...
  • Distilled spirits. ...
  • Dehydrated milk. ...
  • Dried spices.

What food makes you live to 120? ›

The researcher eats a plant-rich diet that includes seafood three times a week. Fish is one source of protein, though his main source comes from legumes, including chickpeas or lentils or black beans. He also recommends lots of whole grains, vegetables and generous amounts of olive oil — 3 tablespoons per day.

What food is best for long term survival? ›

Rice and varieties of beans are nutritious and long-lasting. Ready-to-eat cereals, pasta mixes, rice mixes, dried fruits, etc. can also be included to add variety to your menus. Packaged convenience mixes that only need water and require short cooking times are good options because they are easy to prepare.

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