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From the Journals

Which Diet Best Supports Healthy Aging? 30-Year Study Reveals Clear Winner

Researchers have identified the Alternative Healthy Eating Index as the most effective dietary pattern for promoting healthy aging, with plant-based foods and moderate healthy animal proteins supporting cognitive, physical, and mental health into later years.

Conexiant

A comprehensive 30-year analysis of eight dietary patterns has identified specific eating habits strongly associated with healthy aging, with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index showing the strongest correlation.

In the study, published in Nature Medicine, investigators from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the University of Montreal, and the University of Copenhagen followed 105,015 participants from two large prospective cohorts—the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study—from 1986 to 2016. They examined how adherence to eight established dietary patterns could affect a multidimensional definition of healthy aging.

After 30 years of follow-up, 9.3% (n = 9,771) of the participants achieved the investigators' criteria for healthy aging, defined as reaching age 70 years without major chronic diseases while maintaining intact cognitive, physical, and mental health.

The eight dietary patterns examined included:

  • Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)

  • Alternative Mediterranean Diet Index (aMED)

  • Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)

  • Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND)

  • Healthful Plant-Based Diet Index (hPDI)

  • Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI)

  • Reversed Empirical Dietary Index for Hyperinsulinemia (rEDIH)

  • Reversed Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern (rEDIP).

"For each dietary pattern, higher adherence was associated with greater odds of healthy aging and its domains," the study authors reported. "The odds ratios [OR] for the highest quintile vs the lowest ranged from 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35–1.57; [hPDI]) to 1.86 (95% CI = 1.71–2.01; [AHEI])," they detailed.

After the investigators shifted the age threshold for healthy aging to 75 years, the AHEI diet showed an even stronger association, with an OR of 2.24 (95% CI = 2.01–2.50).

The investigators also analyzed specific foods and nutrients, finding that "higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy products were linked to greater odds of healthy aging, whereas higher intakes of trans fats, sodium, sugary beverages and red or processed meats (or both) were inversely associated," they indicated.

Notably, the investigators revealed that higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods was associated with a 32% lower risk of healthy aging.

The associations between dietary patterns and healthy aging were generally stronger in women compared with men as well as in participants who smoked, had a body mass index greater than or equal to 25 kg/m², or had below-median physical activity levels.

"Our findings suggest that dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods, with moderate inclusion of healthy animal-based foods, may enhance overall healthy aging, guiding future dietary guidelines," concluded lead study author Anne-Julie Tessier, PhD, and her colleagues.

The study examined the role of diet in supporting cognitive, physical, and mental health in aging, beyond disease prevention.

Disclosures can be found in the study.