How was your long Easter weekend?
Our youngest child went to a friends’ house while the older two didn’t bother to come home for Easter (too many better things to do, apparently).
So Lara and I did nothing except cook and garden all weekend.
It was AMAZING.
One of the side-benefits of a rapidly emptying nest!
Anyway, on Easter Monday I was taking a breather… sipping coffee, listening to a jazz record and flipping through my collection of health supplements and newspapers…
And I was amused to read a fun Easter-related story in The Times.
It was about a study into the food displayed on the table in Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting. You know the one… it depicts Jesus at the centre of a long table, where his disciples are seated.
Anyway, researchers analysed the nutritional makeup of the feast…. including a slice of lamb, bean stew, unleavened bread, olives and dates… and found that each plate had 449 calories.
They then compared it with a classic American Easter Sunday meal of devilled eggs, glazed ham roast, potatoes, green bean casserole, with roll, butter and carrot cake… which came to 1087 calories.
Most significantly, the nutritional balances were different, with the modern feasts having less fibre and much more fat, carbohydrates and protein.
Dr Safia Debar from the Mayo Clinic in London said:
“From a nutritional point of view, The Last Supper was simplified, organic, nutritional, with much smaller portions, proper food”.
Now, I’m not sure how scientific it is to compare an old painting with a speculative generalised American dinner…
But I’d hardly disagree with the message.
Having less food, with more fibre, more veg and fewer processed elements is always the best way to go.
New Study Reveals the Diet that Doubles Your Chances of Ageing Well
This is probably a case of me preaching to the choir here, but I’ll say it again…
If you want to stay sharper, stronger, and more independent as you get older, your diet is crucial.
I’m talking about reaching your 70s and 80s with your memory intact, high energy, good mental wellbeing and the ability to stay physically active.
And if you need any more encouragement to make lasting changes to how you eat, then this should do the trick…
Earlier this month, researchers confirmed yet again how influential your midlife diet is on how well you age – and how much you’re likely to enjoy (rather than endure!) your mature years.
The study in question – led by experts from Harvard, the University of Montreal and the University of Copenhagen – was published in Nature Medicine just a few weeks ago.
They looked at the long-term eating habits of more than 105,000 people for 30 years and pulled data from other reputable studies.
Anyone with major chronic illness at the beginning was excluded so this focused only on reasonably healthy middle-aged people.
Out of all the participants, just under 10% (9,771 people) achieved ‘healthy ageing’ by the time they reached 70.
That means:
• No major chronic illnesses
• Good cognitive function
• Strong physical health
• Stable mental wellbeing
And the largest factor behind the good health of that ‘lucky’ 10% was how closely they followed a specific eating pattern known as the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI).
This basically means lots of fruits and veg, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, healthy fats like olive oil, along with low-fat dairy and fish.
Eating this kind of diet gave test subjects an 86% greater chance of healthy aging at 70.
That’s quite the margin!
The researchers also looked at seven other healthy eating patterns, including:
• The DASH diet (great for blood pressure)
• The Mediterranean diet (lots of tomatoes, olive oil, fish and vegetables)
• The MIND diet (focused on brain health)
All of these showed positive links to healthy ageing too.
This list also included The Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) which focuses on foods that are good for both human and environmental health. It encourages mostly plant-based meals with small amounts of animal products.
One of the study’s authors, Dr Marta Guasch-Ferré, said:
“Dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods, with moderate inclusion of healthy animal-based foods, may promote overall healthy aging.”
And as you’d expect, the biggest problem in the modern diet is ultra-processed food. Those who at the most processed meats, sugary drinks and fast foods were 32% less likely to achieve healthy ageing.
Anyway, the upshot is…
If you want to improve your odds of keeping your mind sharp and your body strong, then what you put on your plate RIGHT NOW really matters.
This study is the latest bit of proof that diet doesn’t just affect your lifespan but how well you live in those later years.
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
