Category Archives: Longevity

No, according to this anecdotal article at NYT. For instance…

“Then there is Jerome Rodale, founder of the publishing empire dedicated to health. In 1971, Dick Cavett invited Mr. Rodale onto his TV show after reading a New York Times Magazine article that called him “the guru of the organic food cult.” Mr. Rodale, 72, took his chair next to Mr. Cavett, proclaimed that he would live to be 100, and then made a snoring sound and died.”

Told ya so!

A couple PhD nutritionists with the University of Arizona Cancer Center reviewed the literature in favor of the healthy Mediterranean diet in 2017. They agree with me that the health claims hold up to scrutiny. From the abstract:

A large body of research data suggests that traditional dietary habits and lifestyle unique to the Mediterranean region (Mediterranean diet, MD) lower the incidence of chronic diseases and improve longevity. These data contrast with troubling statistics in the United States and other high income countries pointing to an increase in the incidence of chronic diseases and the projected explosion in cost of medical care associated with an aging population. In 2013, the MD was inscribed by UNESCO in the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans included the MD as a healthy dietary pattern. Therefore, specific objectives of this article are to provide an overview of the nutritional basis of this healthful diet, its metabolic benefits, and its role in multiple aspects of disease prevention and healthy aging.

Source: Mediterranean Diet and Prevention of Chronic Diseases

Steve Parker, M.D.

Two diet books in one

Loss of skeletal muscle is one hallmark of the aging process. Look around and you’ll see it everywhere. That muscle loss, in turn, contributes to dependency and falls. But as always, remember that correlation is not causation. So the study results may not hold up over time. And we don’t know if they apply to men. Click the link below for all the juicy details.

“To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to demonstrate an association between a comprehensive range of dietary fat intake and fat-free mass.”

Source: Dietary Fat and Fatty Acid Profile Are Associated with Indices of Skeletal Muscle Mass in Women Aged 18–79 Years | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

From the Journals of Gerontology:

Consuming a Mediterranean diet rich in minimally processed plant foods has been associated with a reduced risk of developing multiple chronic diseases and increased life expectancy. Data from several randomized clinic trials have demonstrated a beneficial effect in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, atrial fibrillation and breast cancer. The exact mechanism by which an increased adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet exerts its favorable effects is not known. However, accumulating evidence indicates that the five most important adaptations induced by the Mediterranean dietary pattern are: (1) lipid lowering effect, (2) protection against oxidative stress, inflammation and platelet aggregation, (3) modification of hormones and growth factors involved in the pathogenesis of cancer, (4) inhibition of nutrient sensing pathways by specific amino acid restriction, and (4) gut microbiota-mediated production of metabolites influencing metabolic health. More studies are needed to understand how single modifications of nutrients typical of the Mediterranean diet interact with energy intake, energy expenditure, and the microbiome in modulating the key mechanisms that promote cellular, tissue, and organ health during aging.