Longevity trends are all the rage right now. From anti-aging skin treatments to cold plunging to fad diets, the health and wellness industry is constantly pushing new products and regimens at us that reportedly boost our lifespans. But what if healthy aging were as simple as tweaking your carbohydrate intake? Scientists now say the key to living a long, healthy life isn’t omitting carbs from your diet, but prioritizing certain types over others.
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Certain kinds of carbs contribute to healthy aging, per new research.
Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) say the secret to healthy aging is consuming dietary fiber, high-quality carbohydrates, and total carbohydrates during midlife, which is typically defined as the ages between 40 and 60. Their findings were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Better known as complex carbohydrates, high-quality carbs contain important vitamins, minerals, and fibers, per Cleveland Clinic. They take longer to break down, and as a result, they’re not as likely to spike blood sugar levels. On the other hand, total carbs are made up of fiber, starch, and sugar.
"We’ve all heard that different carbohydrates can affect health differently, whether for weight, energy, or blood sugar levels. But rather than just look at the immediate effects of these macronutrients, we wanted to understand what they might mean for good health 30 years later," Andres Ardisson Korat, lead study author and HNRCA scientist, said in a news release. "Our findings suggest that carbohydrate quality may be an important factor in healthy aging."
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Researchers studied the correlation between carb intake and blood sugar levels and chronic diseases.
The study was extensive. Researchers first pulled 47,000 female patient records from the Nurses’ Health Study, spanning 32 years’ worth of data. The study concluded in 2016, at which point all participants were between the ages of 70 and 93.
Every four years, women answered food-frequency questionnaires about their total carbohydrates, refined carbohydrates, unrefined carbohydrates, and dietary fiber intake. Researchers also inquired about their intake of carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Additionally, they measured participants’ glycemic index and glycemic load to see how certain carbs triggered blood sugar levels.
Of the 47,000 participants, only 3,706 women met the requirements for healthy aging. In the case of this study, healthy aging was defined as having good mental health, a lack of cognitive and physical function impairments, and the absence of 11 major chronic diseases. These included cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, angina, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, kidney failure, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Fiber and (certain) carbs can increase your chances of healthy aging.
Their findings prove that consuming total carbs, complex carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and dietary fiber in midlife years fuels healthy aging in later years.
In the study, women who followed this diet experienced up to a 37 percent greater likelihood of better mental and physical health between the ages of 70 and 93. By contrast, those who consumed refined carbs and starchy vegetables exhibited 13 percent lower odds of healthy aging.
"Our results are consistent with other evidence linking consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes with lower risks of chronic diseases, and now we see the association with physical and cognitive function outcomes," said study author Qi Sun, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Examples of high-fiber foods include whole grains like oats, brown rice, and quinoa; flax seeds and chia seeds; berries; pears, apples, and mangoes; broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach; and lentils and chickpeas.
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The takeaway:
This study shows that incorporating healthy carbs and dietary fiber into our diets now can help offset unhealthy aging in our 70s, 80s, and 90s.
"Studies are starting to find an association between food choices in midlife and quality of life in later years. The more we can understand about healthy aging, the more science can help people live healthier for longer," said Ardisson Korat.
However, they note that this study does come with its limitations. Additional research in this field is needed with more diverse cohorts.
