Eat your greens - for a long, healthy life: study
| Apr 8, 2019, 14:15 IST
’Finish your greens!’’ – remember when your mother badgered you with that sentence? Yes, us too! Clearly, she was on to something. According to a group of researchers, consuming vegetables, fish, fruits and whole grains have a strong link to a longer, healthier life. The researchers were able to conclude this after having conducted one of the largest surveys of data on dietary habits and longevity on a global scale.
The researchers also added that their study also helped them conclude that people who skimped on such healthy foods were more likely to die before their time. The study went on conclude that one-fifth of the deaths all over the globe have an association with poor diets (diets there were shot on fresh vegetables, seeds, nuts but a surplus of sugar, salt, and trans fats)
The study, that was published in the British Journal also said that 11 million deaths in 2017 could have been avoided with just a change in eating habits. Most of these, with a staggering number of 10 million was because of cardiovascular disease.
"These numbers are really striking," said Dr. Francesco Branca, a top nutritionist at the World Health Organisation, who was not involved in the study. "This should be a wake-up call for the world."
The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – it thoroughly covered global eating habits from 1990 to 2017. Consumption was tracked in 15 categories that included milk, processed meat, seafood, sodium, and fibre.
The researchers’ main focus is to communicate people to add healthier food to their diets rather than reducing their consumptions of fats.
Dr. Nita Gandhi Forouhi, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine who wrote a commentary that accompanied the study, said: "Let's not just focus on the things we should be cutting out of our diet because, to be honest, we've tried that for a while."
That being said, the study is not completely fool-proof and has a few limitations. There were notable gaps in diet-related data from poorer nations and some of the deaths, the researchers noted, could have been attributed to more than one dietary factor, leading to an over-estimation of the burden of diseases attributable to diet.
But despite its limitations, nutrition and health experts who’ve read the report said its key findings were irrefutable.
Professor Corinna Hawkes, director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, said: "This further builds the evidence-based around the fact that diet is killing us."
The researchers also added that their study also helped them conclude that people who skimped on such healthy foods were more likely to die before their time. The study went on conclude that one-fifth of the deaths all over the globe have an association with poor diets (diets there were shot on fresh vegetables, seeds, nuts but a surplus of sugar, salt, and trans fats)
The study, that was published in the British Journal also said that 11 million deaths in 2017 could have been avoided with just a change in eating habits. Most of these, with a staggering number of 10 million was because of cardiovascular disease.
"These numbers are really striking," said Dr. Francesco Branca, a top nutritionist at the World Health Organisation, who was not involved in the study. "This should be a wake-up call for the world."
The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – it thoroughly covered global eating habits from 1990 to 2017. Consumption was tracked in 15 categories that included milk, processed meat, seafood, sodium, and fibre.
The researchers’ main focus is to communicate people to add healthier food to their diets rather than reducing their consumptions of fats.
Dr. Nita Gandhi Forouhi, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine who wrote a commentary that accompanied the study, said: "Let's not just focus on the things we should be cutting out of our diet because, to be honest, we've tried that for a while."
That being said, the study is not completely fool-proof and has a few limitations. There were notable gaps in diet-related data from poorer nations and some of the deaths, the researchers noted, could have been attributed to more than one dietary factor, leading to an over-estimation of the burden of diseases attributable to diet.
But despite its limitations, nutrition and health experts who’ve read the report said its key findings were irrefutable.
Professor Corinna Hawkes, director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, said: "This further builds the evidence-based around the fact that diet is killing us."