Healthy Lifestyle

Which Diets Were Best In 2025?

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Which Diet Should You Choose For Good Health?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Question MarkMany of you started 2026 with goals of losing weight and/or improving your health. In many cases, that involved choosing a new diet.

And for many of you the “bloom” has already gone off the new diet you started so enthusiastically January 1st.

  • Perhaps the diet isn’t working as well as advertised…
  • Perhaps the diet is too restrictive. You are finding it hard to stick with…
  • Perhaps you are always hungry or constantly fighting food cravings…
  • Perhaps you are starting to wonder whether there is a better diet than the one you chose January 1st…
  • Perhaps you are wondering whether the diet you chose is the wrong one for you…

If you are rethinking your diet, you might want to know which diets the experts recommend. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it sounds. The diet world has become just as divided as the political world.

Fortunately, you have an impartial resource. For 15 consecutive years US News & World Report has invited a panel of experts with different points of view to evaluate popular diets. They then combined the input from all the experts into rankings of the diets in various categories.

They did not rank diets this year but said that little has changed since their last rankings in 2025.

If you are still searching for your ideal diet, I will summarize the US News & World Report’s “Best Diets In 2026”. For the full report, click on this link.

How Was This Report Created?

Scientists-ConversingUS News & World Report recruited panel of 69 nationally recognized experts in diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes, and heart disease to review the most popular diets. This year they reviewed 38 diets in 21 different categories based on the most common reasons for choosing a specific diet.

Of course, fad diets come and go. Each year they drop diets that are no longer popular and add ones that are either new or have recently surged in popularity.

The panel rated diets based on:

  • Nutritional Completeness: The best diets include a variety of nutrient-dense foods that provide essential carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
  • Health Benefits and Risks: These diets are evidenced-based, promote health benefits, reduce disease risks, and focus on high-fiber, nutrient-rich, and antioxidant-packed foods.
  • Proven and Sustainable: These diets are supported by a large body of evidence that they protect against chronic disease and promote a long, healthy life. These diets also provide clear guidelines on what to eat more of and what to eat less of while allowing flexibility to suit personal preferences, including flavors, cultural cuisines and budget. Because these diets are adaptable, they are more sustainable in the long run and less likely to promote a rigid eating approach.

US News & World Report converted the experts’ ratings to scores 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest). They then used these scores to construct 21 categories of Best Diets rankings. I have included the following 8 categories in this Health Tips Blog.

  • Best Diets Overall ranks diets on several different parameters, including whether all food groups are included in the diet, the availability of the foods needed to be on the diet and the use of additional vitamins or supplements.

They considered if the diet was evidence-based and adaptable to meet cultural, religious, or other personal preferences.

In addition, the criteria also included evaluation of the prep and planning time required for the diet and the effectiveness of the diet for someone who wants to get and stay healthy.

  • Best Plant-Based Diets used the same approach as Best Diets Overall to rank the plans emphasizing minimally processed foods from plants that were included in this year’s ratings.
  • Best Healthy Weight-Loss Diet ratings were generated by combining the safety of the weight loss program and the likelihood of the plan to result in successful long-term weight loss and maintenance of weight loss.
  • Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets were scored on their effectiveness for someone who wants to lose weight in three months or less.
  • Best Diabetes Diet ratings were calculated equally from the effectiveness of the diet for someone who wants to lower risk factors for diabetes, the nutritional quality of the diet, and research evidence-based support for the diet.
  • Best Heart-Healthy Diet ratings were calculated equally from the effectiveness of the diet for someone who wants to lower risk factors for hypertension and other forms of heart disease, the nutritional quality of the diet, and evidence-based support for the diet.
  • Best Diets for Inflammation were diets of whole, minimally processed foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, nuts, seeds, beans, fatty fish and lean proteins that have been shown to decrease inflammation. 
  • Easiest Diets to Follow represents panelists’ averaged scores for the relevant lifestyle questions, including whether all food groups are included and if the recommended foods are readily available at the average supermarket.

Which Diets Were Worst In 2025?

Emoticon-BadI did not include the worst diets in each category I listed below, but the US News & World Report article gave clear guidelines on what to avoid when choosing a healthy diet. In their words:

  • Avoid processed foods and sugary snacks: Sure, they taste great, but these can leave you with energy crashes and cravings that lead to overeating.
  • Watch out for “diet” foods: Just because something says “low-fat” or “diet” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. These foods often have added sugars or artificial ingredients. It is worth checking the label.
  • Skip extreme restrictions: Cutting out entire food groups or drastically slashing calories might work short term, but it’s hard to stick with and usually leads to burnout or regaining weight.
  • Focus on progress, not perfection: The best weight-loss strategies are about balance and flexibility, not rigid rules. Life happens, so it’s better to aim for consistency over time than to stick to an overly strict plan you can’t keep up with.
  • Focus on lifestyle change, not a quick fix: Healthy weight loss isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about building a lifestyle you enjoy and change sustain. Small changes, like adding more veggies to your meals or choosing water rather than sodas, may not seem like much, but they add up to lasting results over time.
  • Consistency over time beats perfection: An occasional slice of cake or pizza with friends won’t ruin your progress.

Which Diets Were Best In 2025?

Are you ready? If this were an awards program, I would be saying “Envelop please” and would open the envelop slowly to build suspense.

However, I am not going to do that. Below I have listed the top 5 diets in each of the 8 categories I have chosen (If your favorite diet is not on the list and you would like to see where it is ranked, you will need to subscribe to US News & World Report).

Finally, I have excluded commercial diets from this review. I have focused on whole food diets based on foods you can easily find in your local grocery store or farmer’s market.

Best Diets Overall

The best overall diets were:

#1: Mediterranean Diet. The Mediterranean diet has been ranked #1 for 10 consecutive years.

#2: DASH Diet (This diet was designed to keep blood pressure under control, but you can also think of it as an Americanized version of the Mediterranean diet.)

#3: Flexitarian Diet (A flexible semi-vegetarian diet).

#4: MIND Diet (A combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets with foods selected that support brain health).

#5: The Mayo Clinic Diet (A 12-week program based on evidence-based behavioral science to establish life-long healthy eating habits).

Best Plant-Based Diets 

plant-based diets vegetablesThe top diets in this category were:

#1: Flexitarian Diet.

#2: Mediterranean Diet.

#3: Vegan Diet (a plant-based diet that eliminates all animal products).

#4: MIND Diet

#5: Ornish Diet (A low-fat, plant-based diet designed by Dr. Dean Ornish as part of a heart-healthy lifestyle program that has successfully reversed atherosclerotic buildup in some patients).

Best Healthy Weight-Loss Diets

The top diets in this category are proven. They are associated with lower weight and a reduced risk of chronic Weight Lossdiseases in long-term clinical studies. The top diets are:

#1: Mediterranean Diet

#2: Volumetrics Diet (A diet based on the caloric density (calories per serving) of foods).

#3: Mayo Clinic Diet (A diet designed to establish lifelong healthy eating habits).

#4: Flexitarian Diet.

#5: DASH Diet.

Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets

weight lossOnce again, the report emphasized the dangers of quick weight loss diets. If you choose one of these diets to achieve a quick weight loss goal, the authors recommend you use these diets as a stepping stone toward a healthier lifestyle rather than a final solution.

Here are the rapid weight loss ratings:

#1: Keto Diet (A very low carb, high fat diet designed to produce ketosis in your body).

#2: South Beach Diet (A low carb, high protein approach to weight loss).

#3 Atkins Diet (The grandfather of the keto diet).

#4: Volumetrics Diet.

#5: Keyto Diet (A low-carb version of the Mediterranean diet).

Best Diabetes Diets

The key criteria for the best diabetes diets were that they were well-balanced, healthy diets that were designed to Diabetes and healthy diekeep glucose levels within the normal range throughout the day.

They are whole food diets that cut back on added sugars and refined carbs. The top diets in this category are: 

#1: Mediterranean Diet

#2: Flexitarian Diet

#3: MIND Diet

#4: DASH Diet.

#5: Mayo Clinic Diet.

#7: Vegan Diet.

Best Heart-Healthy Diets

strong heartThe top diets in this category were:

#1: DASH Diet

#2: Mediterranean Diet

#3: MIND Diet.

#4: Vegan Diet.

#5: Flexitarian Diet.

#6: TLC Diet. (The TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change) diet was designed by the NIH to lower LDL cholesterol levels naturally.

Best Diets for Inflammation

The top diets in this category are:Flames

#1: Mediterranean Diet.

#2: Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet.

#3: Flexitarian Diet.

#4: DASH Diet.

#5: MIND Diet.

#7: Vegan Diet.

Easiest Diets to Follow

EasyThe authors of this report considered easy diets to be ones that:

  • Fit into your lifestyle, letting you enjoy indulgences while still being wholesome and nutritious – whether you’re eating out or at home. They focus on building long-term habits, not quick fixes, making them easier to stick with daily.
  • Focus on filling, tasty meals instead of strict restrictions.

They only listed four diets that were healthy, based on whole foods that were readily available, offered easy to follow recipes, and fit the criteria listed above.

#1: Mediterranean Diet (For those who enjoy Mediterranean foods).

#2: Flexitarian Diet (For those who enjoy flexible, semi-vegetarian meals).

#3: DASH Diet (For those who prefer American foods).

#4: MIND Diet (For those who could go either Mediterranean or American and are concerned with brain health).

Which Diet Should You Choose For Weight Loss?

1) If you are looking for rapid weight loss, any whole food restrictive diet will do.

  • In previous year’s evaluations both vegan and keto diets ranked near the top of the rapid weight loss category. Keto and vegan diets are both very restrictive, but they are polar opposites in terms of the foods they allow and restrict.
    • The keto diet is a meat heavy, very low carb diet. It restricts fruits, some vegetables, grains, and most legumes.
    • The vegan diet is a very low-fat diet that eliminates meat, dairy, eggs, and animal fats.
  • Whole food, very low carb diets like Atkins and keto are good for rapid weight loss, but they rank near the bottom of the list for every healthy diet category.
    • If you choose to lose weight on the Atkins or keto diets, switch to a healthier diet once you reach your desired weight loss.

2) If you are looking for healthy weight loss or just a healthy diet, the Mediterranean diet tops the list year after year, followed closely by the DASH, MIND, and flexitarian diets.

  • They are all whole food, primarily plant-based diets, that are backed by dozens of clinical studies showing that they are associated with a healthy weight and low risk of chronic disease long term.

Of course, GLP-1 drugs are the “elephant in the room” when we talk about weight loss. GLP-1 drugs work, but:

  • They are associated with concerning side effects such as:
    • Anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. This is particularly concerning for anyone who has a tendency for anxiety or depression.
    • Muscle loss. This is particularly concerning for seniors who are already prone to age-related muscle loss.
    • Rarer side effects include increased risk of pancreatitis, kidney problems, and some cancers.
  • Unless they are coupled with dietary and lifestyle changes, their effects are temporary. The weight comes roaring back as soon as they are discontinued.
    • This is a concern because of their expense and side effects. Long-term use of these drugs:
      • Increases the cost of healthcare which increases health insurance costs for all of us (a topic which is in the news lately).
      • Increase the risk of side effects.

Which Diet Should You Choose For Good Health?

Food ChoicesWith rapid weight loss out of the way, let’s get back to the question, “Which Diet Should You Choose For Good Health?”

The Mediterranean diet tops the list year after year, followed closely by the DASH, MIND, and Flexitarian diets. But how do you choose between them? My recommendations are:

1) Choose a diet that fits your needs. That is one of the things I like best about the US News & World Report ratings. The diets are categorized. If your main concern is diabetes, choose one of the top diets in that category. If your main concern is heart health… You get the point.

2) Choose diets that are healthy and associated with long term weight loss. If that is your goal, you will notice that primarily plant-based diets top these lists. Meat-based, low carb diets like Atkins and keto are near the bottom of the lists.

3) Choose diets that are easy to follow. The less-restrictive primarily plant-based diets top this list – diets like Mediterranean, DASH, MIND, and flexitarian. They are also at or near the top of almost every diet category.

4) Choose diets that fit your lifestyle and dietary preferences. For example, if you don’t like fish and olive oil, you will probably do much better with the DASH or Flexitarian diet than with the Mediterranean diet.

4) Finally, focus on what you have to gain, rather than on foods you have to give up.

  • On the minus side, none of the diets include America’s favorite foods such as sodas, junk foods, and highly processed foods. These foods should go on your “No-No” list. Sweets should be occasional treats and only as part of a healthy meal. Meat, especially red meat, should become a garnish rather than a main course.
  • On the plus side, primarily plant-based diets offer a cornucopia of delicious plant foods you probably didn’t even know existed. Plus, for any of the top-rated plant-based diets, there are websites and books full of mouth-watering recipes. Be adventurous.

The Bottom Line

For many of you the “bloom” has gone off the new diet you started so enthusiastically in January. If you are rethinking your diet, you might want to know which diets the experts recommend. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it sounds. The diet world has become just as divided as the political world.

Fortunately, you have an impartial resource. Each year US News & World Report invites a panel of experts with different points of view to evaluate popular diets. They then combine the input from all the experts into rankings of the diets in various categories according to individual health goals. In the article above I summarize the US News & World Report’s “Best Diets In 2025”.

There are probably two questions at the top of your list.

#1: Which diets are best for weight loss? Here are 2 general principles:

  • If you are looking for rapid weight loss, any whole food restrictive diet will do. The Keto diet tops this list but ranks near the bottom of the healthy diet categories.
  • If you are looking for healthy, long-term weight loss the Mediterranean diets tops the list followed by the Volumetrics, Mayo Clinic, Flexitarian, and DASH diets.

#2: Which diet should you choose for good health? Once again, the Mediterranean diet tops the list followed by the DASH, Flexitarian, MIND, and Mayo Clinic diets. The Vegan diet is the top 10 of most healthy diet lists, while the keto diet is near the bottom.

For more details on 2026 US News & World Report on Best Diets and my advice on how to choose a healthy diet that is best for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

_______________________________________________________________________________

My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

 _______________________________________________________________________

About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.

Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 54 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.

 

 

Is It Too Late For Weight Loss Goals?

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What Does This Study Mean For You?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

It’s almost the New Year. And with the New Year comes New Year’s resolutions. Weight loss is the second most popular New Year’s resolution, trailing only exercising more.

But if you are middle-aged and have been overweight most of your adult life, is it too late to lose weight? Has the damage to your health already been done? Has that ship already sailed?

There is good evidence that people who maintain an ideal weight throughout their adult years are healthier and live slightly longer than people who are overweight.

There is also good evidence that weight loss at any age provides short-term improvements to biomarkers of good health such as:

  • lower blood pressure.
  • lower cholesterol levels.
  • better blood sugar control.
  • reduction in chronic inflammation.

But surprisingly there are very few studies to show that weight loss results in long-term health benefits, especially for people who have been overweight through their 40s and 50s. To date there is only a single Chinese study of midlife weight loss, and that study suggested that health benefits were only apparent if the weight loss was maintained for 30 years or more.

The study (TE Strandberg et al, JAMA Network Open, 2025, 8(5); e2511825) I will describe today was designed to fill that gap.

How Was This Study Done?

Clinical StudyThe investigators used data from three large studies that followed healthy individuals in midlife for 10 years or more. None of these studies were designed as weight loss studies, but they measured weight, chronic disease incidence or mortality at multiple points during the study.

The first study was the Whitehall II Study (WHII). This study enrolled 10,308 British civil servants (Whitehall is the district where the British Civil Service is located) between 1985 and 1988 and is still ongoing. The data for this investigation was taken from clinical examinations that occurred around 1991 and 2013.

  • These exams provided information on weight and height, BMI, and risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance and/or high blood sugar (indicative of prediabetes or diabetes).
  • The data set was linked to National Health Service records for diagnosed chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

The study I am describing today included 4118 men and women aged 37-42 years (average = 39 years) from the WHII dara set who were free of chronic disease at the time of the 1991 clinical evaluation.

The second study was the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS). In this study 3490 White men, mostly businessmen and executives aged 38-45 years (average 42 years) underwent voluntary health checkups starting in 1964. Cardiovascular risk factors were assessed and the men received health education on diet, exercise, and weight control. Between 1974 and 1975 these men were offered a voluntary follow-up health checkup, and 2335 men completed both checkups.

  • In this study, BMI was measured at both health checkups and all-cause mortality data were obtained from the National Health Registry.

The third study was the Finnish Public Sector Study (FPS). In this study 77,111 men and women in public service were enrolled in 2,000. BMI was measured in 4-year intervals and health data were collected from the European Health Records. The data for this investigation used data from 16,696 men and women who were 34-43 (average age = 39) at the first assessment, had data from at least 3 consecutive assessments, and had no diagnosed chronic disease at the first assessment.

  • As with the WHII study, BMI and chronic disease were measured in at least 2 consecutive assessments.

The average follow-up for the three studies was 22.8 years between the first and last assessment.

In all three cases the study participants were divided into 4 groups:

  • Those who remain overweight (defined as a persistent BMI>25).
  • Those who gained weight – they went from a healthy weight to being overweight (defined as BMI<25 to BMI>25).
  • Those who lost weight – they went from overweight to a healthy weight (defined as BMI>25 to BMI<25).
    • The average weight loss was 11.5 pounds or 6.5% of body weight and was remarkably consistent in all 3 studies.
  • Those who remained at a healthy weight (defined as a persistent BMI<25).

In the WHII and FPS studies, weight differences were correlated with the diagnosis of a chronic disease between the first and last assessment.

In the HBS study, weight differences were correlated with all-cause mortality between the first and last assessment.

In all three cases, the data were corrected for major risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance and/or high blood sugar.

In terms of the risk of developing a chronic disease (WHII and FPS studies) or risk of dying (HBS study) the always overweight group was assigned a risk of 1.0 and the other groups were compared to it.

The authors noted that all three studies were performed before surgical and pharmacological interventions were available. And people with pre-existing conditions were excluded from these studies, so disease-related weight loss was unlikely. Thus, the authors felt that the group who lost weight probably did so because of a conscious effort to change their diet and lifestyle, although this was not specifically measured in these studies.

Is It Too Late For A Weight Loss Goal?

If you remember the introduction, this question did not refer to short-term biomarkers of health. Multiple studies have shown that weight loss at any age will improve blood sugar control and lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation.

This study asked whether weight loss can be shown to have long-term health benefits – namely reduction in the risk of chronic diseases and increase in longevity.

And more specifically, it asked whether weight loss in middle age (the age of participants in these studies ranged from 39 to 42) can be shown to have long-term health benefits – even if they had been overweight for most of their adult life up to that point.

Or as the title of this segment suggested, “Is it too late to set a weight loss goal if you are middle aged.”

The answer from these studies was clear cut:

  • In the WHII study the risk of developing a chronic disease decreased by 48% compared to the always overweight group.
    • And when diabetes was excluded from the analysis the decreased risk was still significant (42%). This is important because diabetes is the most prevalent obesity related disease. The means that weight loss also significantly reduced the risk of the other chronic diseases measured in this study – such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.
  • In the FPS study the risk of developing a chronic disease decreased by 57% compared to the always overweight group.
  • Again, when diabetes was excluded from the analysis the decreased risk was still significant (45%).
  • Finally, in the HBS study, the risk of premature death decreased by 19% compared to the always overweight group.

In each of these studies:

  • The group that gained weight in their middle years did almost as poorly as the always overweight group.

The authors concluded, “Findings from 3 prospective cohort studies support maintaining a healthy weight (BMI<25) throughout life as the best option for overall health. [However] sustained midlife weight loss compared with persistent overweight was associated with a decreased risk of [diabetes and other chronic diseases] and decreased all-cause mortality.”

Simply put, this analysis of three long-term studies shows that weight loss can help you be healthier and live longer in your golden years – even if you waited until you were middle-aged to lose the weight.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

cruise shipAt the beginning of this article I posed the questions: If you are middle-aged and have been overweight most of your adult life, is it too late to set a weight loss goal this January? Has the damage to your health already been done? Has that ship already sailed?

This study shows that the answer to this question is clearly, “No. It’s not too late.” Sustained weight loss can still provide significant long-term benefits.

Three major studies show that sustained weight loss initiated by adults in their forties can reduce the risk of chronic disease by around 50% and reduce the risk of mortality by about 20% twenty years later. The authors of this study said that evidence from one of those studies suggests that the long-term health benefits are still apparent 30 years later.

Of course, these studies represent a single time point – weight loss initiated at age 40.

  • The benefits of sustained weight loss may wane if you delay longer, but we don’t know because those studies have not been done. However, it is likely that sustained weight loss at any age will have significant long-term health benefits.
  • The benefits of sustained weight loss may be even greater if you lose weight at a younger age. Again, we can’t predict how much greater the benefit will be because those studies also haven’t been done yet.
  • However, as the authors of this study said, “Maintaining a healthy weight throughout life is the best option for overall health.” That conclusion is supported by multiple studies.

There are a couple of other important points.

  • These benefits (a 50% reduction in chronic diseases and a 20% increase in longevity) do not require massive weight loss. The subjects in these studies only lost around 11-12 pounds (6.5% of their weight). You have previously heard that as little as 5% weight loss has significant short-term benefits. This study confirms that statement and indicates if the weight loss is sustained, it will significantly improve long-term health outcomes.
  • Weight loss has a bigger effect on quality of life (absence from chronic diseases) than it does on longevity. That is true of every healthy lifestyle improvement that has been studied. I’m sorry to say that losing weight will not help you live as long as Methuselah. But it will help you live your last years in good health.

Of course, losing weight is easy. There are many fad diets that can help you do that. But keeping the weight off is hard. This is where every diet eventually fails. Maintaining weight loss requires lifestyle change. It also requires a change in mindset. It requires that you change how you think about food and how you think about your ability to control what you eat.

This is why I created my online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. If this is the year you have resolved to lose weight and keep it off, check out my course.

What About Weight Loss Surgery and GLP-1 Drugs? 

Weight loss surgery and GLP-1 drugs result in faster and greater weight loss than diet and lifestyle changes alone. For example, clinical trials show that GLP-1 drugs can result in 15-20% body weight loss within the first year. [Subsequent studies suggest that real-life weight loss is often much smaller because of drug discontinuation due to side effects or cost.]

But assuming the 15-20% number, the question becomes whether these interventions have the same or greater benefits than the 6.5% body weight loss due to diet and lifestyle change seen in these studies.

The short answer is that we don’t know because we don’t have any long-term studies of these interventions. However, the authors of this study were skeptical. They said, “It remains uncertain whether the long-term benefits observed in our study extend to these interventions, where greater weight loss may be accompanied by a concurrent and potentially significant loss of lean body mass, which could pose challenges over time.”

I have discussed the importance of muscle mass for health and longevity in a previous issue  of “Health Tips From the Professor”. This article shows why the accelerated loss of muscle mass seen with GLP-1 drugs is so concerning.

The Bottom Line 

The time to set your New Year’s goals is just a few weeks away. If you are middle-aged and have been overweight most of your adult life, is it too late to set a weight loss goal this January? Has the damage to your health already been done? Has that ship already sailed?

A recent study examined that question. The study used data from three earlier studies on the long-term effects of sustained weight loss (20 years or more). These studies show that sustained weight loss initiated by adults in their 40s reduces the risk of:

  • Chronic disease by around 50%.
  • Mortality by about 20%.
  • Data from one of those studies suggests that the long-term health benefits were still apparent 30 years later.

For more information on this study, what it means for you, and where weight loss surgery and GLP-1 drugs fit into the picture, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 ______________________________________________________________________________

My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

______________________________________________________________________

About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.  Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”. Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading Biochemistry textbooks for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 53 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.

How To Live To 117

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The Secrets To A Long And Healthy Life

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

SecretsToday’s “Health Tip” is a bit unusual. It’s not based on a clinical study with thousands of participants. It’s not even a clinical study based on dozens of people. It’s a case study of one individual.

The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine, but I learned about it in our local newspaper (Yes, the professor still reads the newspaper in addition to published clinical studies. I don’t rely on the internet for all my information.)

I chose this case study because it was so interesting. It is based on the life of a woman, Maria Branyas Morera, who lived in good health to the age of 117. In her later years she asked her physician, Dr. Manel Estellar – chair of genetics at University of Barcelona’s School of Medicine, to study her and see if he could find out why she lived so long.

The results were fascinating. And while it could be argued that the data from a single individual may be misleading, the conclusions from her doctor’s investigation were consistent with the results of the much larger “Blue Zone” study of centenarians living in regions where a high percentage of people lived to 100 and beyond. I will talk about that study below.

How To Live To 117 

Maria Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907 of Spanish immigrant parents. Her father died when she was 8 and her mother moved back to Spain to be with her family. She married and had a son who died at age 52 and two daughters who are now 92 and 94.

Part of the reason for her longevity was that she took good care of herself:

  • She followed a Mediterranean diet.
  • She did not smoke or drink.
  • She walked an hour every day until her 90s. Eventually she had to cut back because of physical limitations but remained as active as possible. When walking became difficult she entered a nursing home.
  • She kept mentally active. For example, she played the piano every day until she was 112.

Part of the reason was socioeconomic.

  • She and her family lived in the same town.
  • She had a close circle of friends and family for emotional support.
  • And as her friends died, she made new ones.
    • This is something that is often not discussed in the aging literature. As you age and your friends die off, it is easy to become isolated, which increases the likelihood of depression and death. The decision to make new friends in your latter years is a choice.

And part of the reason was genetic.

  • In the words of her doctor, “She won the genetic lottery with respect to genetic variants that protect against risk factors like high cholesterol, dementia, heart disease, and cancer.”
    • However, we need to remember that genetics is not everything. Other members of her immediate family shared the same genetic traits, yet died prematurely from Alzheimer’s, cancer, tuberculosis, and heart disease.
    • I like to say, “Genetics loads the gun. Lifestyle pulls the trigger”. In short, both contribute to longevity.

The final part of the puzzle goes beyond genetics.

  • She had an immune system that was unusually strong for someone her age and inflammation that was unusually low for someone her age. Those were probably due to:
    • Epigenetic modifications to her DNA that are associated with younger individuals.
      • Quick review: Epigenetic modifications affect gene activity and are controlled by diet, lifestyle, and the environment.
      • We can never know exactly what caused her youthful epigenetics, but she did have a very healthy diet and lifestyle.
    • She had a microbiome associated with low inflammation.
      • Quick Review: The term microbiome refers to all the microorganisms in our gut and elsewhere on our body. Our microbiome is strongly affected by what we eat and other lifestyle factors such as body weight.
      • In her case, one example of her anti-inflammatory microbiome was a high abundance of Bifidobacteria, probably a direct result of the three yogurts she ate each day.

The Secrets To A Long And Healthy Life 

blue zonesThis brings me to the “Blue Zone” study. I have talked about it in a previous issue of “Health Tips From The Professor”. Let me give you the short version here.

Dan Buettner is a journalist who was fascinated by the topic of longevity. He identified five regions from around the world where an unusually high percentage of people lived into their 100s. He then put together a team of top scientists in the fields of demographics, social anthropology and statistics to study the characteristics of centenarians in each of these regions and got National Geographic to fund the study.

You can see his book on the left, and I will summarize the main conclusions of his study below. Of course, the most important question is how the information garnered from Maria Branyas compares with the conclusions of the “Blue Zone” study. I will indicate that below.

#1: They engage in moderate intensity exercise every day. The answer for Maria is a clear, “Yes”.

#2: They stop eating before they are full. We don’t know this for sure, but she did appear to be at ideal weight towards the end of her life.

#3: They eat a mostly plant-based diet. She ate a Mediterranean diet which qualifies.

#4: They have a libation with their meals. For Maria, this is a “No”.

#5: They have a purpose in their life. We have no information on this aspect of Maria’s life.

#6: They set aside time for relaxation with friends and family. Clearly, this was important for Maria. As old friends died off, she searched for new ones.

#7: They participate in a spiritual community. We have no information on this aspect of Maria’s life.

#8: They put family first. Clearly, family was very important to Maria.

#9: They surround themselves with communities that share their values. It also appears that this was important to Maria.

In short, in his study of Maria’s secrets to longevity Dr. Esteller approached the question of longevity from a different perspective than Dan Buettner. It is regrettable that he didn’t use the data accrued by the “Blue Zone” study as a starting point for his study. But it is clear that Maria epitomized many of the longevity characteristics identified in the “Blue Zone” study.

And, of course, Dr. Esteller’s expertise is human genetics, and he added important information about the importance of genetics, epigenetics, and our microbiome in influencing longevity.

The Bottom Line

The world’s oldest human recently died at age 117. Before she died, gave her doctor permission to study her and determine how she was able to live so long. In short, she asked her doctor to use her life to understand how to help other people live a long and healthy life.

That study has recently been published. The results showed:

  • Her lifestyle mirrored many of the lifestyle characteristics that were associated with longevity in the previous “Blue Zone” study of centenarians (people living to 100 and beyond).
  • This study also identified genetic, epigenetic, and microbiome factors associated with longevity

For more details about the study, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

_____________________________________________________________________________

My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

________________________________________________________________________

About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.

Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 53 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.

 

Do Bad Genes Doom You To Bad Health?

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The Influence Of Genetics And Diet On Type 2 Diabetes

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney 

Does it ever feel like you have drawn the short straw?

Everyone in your family has succumbed to heart disease, diabetes, or cancer at a young age. Are you doomed to the same fate?

You ordered a DNA test. It sounded like fun. But when the gene report came back it said you had a “bad” genetic profile. You were told you are at high risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, or dementia. Are you doomed to a short and sickly life?

In both cases, you are probably wondering, “Is there anything I can do to improve my odds of a healthy life? What if I lost some of those extra pounds, exercised more, and ate a healthier diet? Would that make a difference?”

The study (J Merino et al, PLoS Medicine 19(4): e1003972, April 26, 2022) I will describe today was designed to answer these questions.

But before I describe the study, I should probably cover what I call Genetics 101: “How Genes Affect Your Health”.

Genetics 101: How Genes Affect Your Health

GeneticistIf you studied genetics in school, you probably learned about diseases like sickle cell anemia, which is caused by a single mutation in a single gene. If you get two copies of the “bad” gene, you will have sickle cell anemia. If you get one copy of the “bad” gene and one copy of the normal gene, you have sickle cell trait, which is much less severe.

Simply put, you either have the disease or you don’t. It’s dependent on your genetics, and you can’t do much about it.

If you know someone who has been treated for breast cancer, you are probably familiar with a more complex relationship between genetics and health. There are several “bad” genes that increase the risk of breast cancer. And knowing which gene is involved is important for selecting the best treatment regimen.

But most of the diseases that shorten our lives (like diabetes, heart disease, most cancers, and dementia) are what we call polygenetic diseases. Simply put, that means that there are dozens of genes that increase the risk of these diseases. Each gene makes a small contribution to the increased risk. So, we can only measure the genetic contribution to these diseases by measuring hundreds of mutations in dozens of genes, something called a polygenetic risk score.

The study I will be describing today looked at the relative effect of genetics (measured as the type 2 diabetes polygenic risk score) and diet quality (measured as the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)) on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

How Was This Study Done?

clinical studyThe data for this study were obtained from 3 long-term clinical studies conducted in the United States – the Nurses’ Health Study (121,700 participants), the Nurses’ Health Study II (116,340 participants), and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (51,529 participants).

These studies measured lifestyle factors (including diet) every 4 years and correlated them with disease outcomes over 20+ years.

The study I will be discussing today was performed with 35,759 participants in these 3 studies for whom DNA sequencing data was available.

  • The DNA sequence data were used to generate a type 2 diabetes polygenic risk score for each participant in this study.
  • Food frequency questionnaires obtained every 4 years in these studies were used to calculate the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) score for each participant.
    • The AHEI is based on higher intake of fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and legumes, polyunsaturated fatty acids, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, moderate intake of alcohol, and lower intake of red and processed meats, sugar sweetened drinks and fruit juice, sodium, and trans-fat).

The investigators used these measurements to estimate the relative effect of genetics and diet quality on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Influence Of Genetics And Diet On Type 2 Diabetes 

Genetic TestingThe participants were divided into low, intermediate, and high genetic risk based on their type 2 diabetes polygenic risk score.

Compared with low genetic risk:

  • Intermediate genetic risk increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 26%.
  • High genetic risk increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 75%.

Put another way, each 1 standard deviation increase in the polygenetic risk score:

  • Increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 42%.

Simply put, bad genes can significantly increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. That’s the bad news. But that doesn’t mean you should think, “Diabetes is in my genes. There is nothing I can do.”

The investigators also divided the participants into those who had a high-quality diet, those who had an intermediate quality diet, and those who had a low-quality diet based on their AHEI (Alternative Healthy Eating Index) score.

Finally, they divided the participants into groups depending on their BMI, a measure of obesity.

Compared to an obese person consuming a low-quality diet, a lean person consuming a high-quality diet:

  • Reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around 43% for each category of genetic risk.
  • More specifically, a lean person consuming a high-quality diet reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
    • By 41% if they were at low genetic risk.
    • By 50% if they were at intermediate genetic risk.
    • By 38% if they were at high genetic risk.

The investigators then made a statistical adjustment to remove BMI from their calculations, so they could focus on Mediterranean Diet Foodsthe effect of diet alone on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Compared to a low-quality diet, a high-quality diet:

  • Reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around 33% for each category of genetic risk.
  • More specifically, a high-quality diet reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
    • By 31% for those at low genetic risk.
    • By 39% for those at intermediate genetic risk.
    • By 29% for those at high genetic risk.

Looking at it another way:

  • When people at high genetic risk consumed a high-quality diet, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes was only 13% higher than people at intermediate genetic risk who consumed a low-quality diet (such as the typical American diet).
  • When people at intermediate genetic risk consumed a high-quality diet, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 5% less than people at low genetic risk who consumed a low-quality diet.

Simply put:

  • If you are at intermediate genetic risk, a high-quality diet may completely reverse your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  • If you are at high genetic risk, a high-quality diet can partially reverse your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

In short, the good news is that bad genes do not doom you to type 2 diabetes.

  • The investigators did not provide similar information for the effect of an ideal weight on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but it is likely that the combination of diet plus weight management would result in an even more significant reduction in risk of developing type 2 diabetes for individuals in the even the highest risk category.

The authors concluded, “These data provide evidence for the independent associations of genetic risk and diet quality with incident type 2 diabetes and suggest that a healthy diet is associated with lower diabetes risk across all levels of genetic risk.”

Do Bad Genes Doom You To Bad Health?

Bad GenesAt the beginning of this article I posed the question, “Do bad genes doom you to bad health?”

Based on this study, the good news is that bad genes don’t doom you type 2 diabetes. And just because most of your relatives are diabetic doesn’t mean that must be your fate.

  • This study shows that a healthy diet significantly reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes at every genetic risk level.
  • And the study suggests that a healthy diet plus a healthy weight is even more beneficial at reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • While not included in this study, other studies have shown that exercise also plays a role in reducing type 2 diabetes risk.

None of this information is new. What is new is that a healthy diet is equally beneficial at reducing type 2 diabetes risk even in individuals with a high genetic risk of developing the disease. Simply put, you can reverse the effects of bad genes.

“And what is this magic diet?”, you might ask. In this study, it was based on AHEI score. Someone with a high AHEI score consumes:

  • Lots of fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and legumes, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Moderate or no amounts of alcohol.
  • Little or no red and processed meats, sugar sweetened drinks, fruit juices, sodium, and foods with trans-fat.

Any whole food, primarily plant-based diet from vegan to Mediterranean or DASH fits the bill.

Finally, while this study focused just on type 2 diabetes, other studies have come to similar conclusions for other diseases.

Should You Get Your DNA Tested?

If you are looking for guidance on how to reduce your risks, the answer is, “No”. In this study, the same diet and lifestyle changes lowered the risk of type diabetes at every genetic risk level. Despite what some charlatans may tell you, there is no special diet or magic potion for people with a high genetic risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

If you are looking for motivation, the answer may be, “Yes”. If knowing you are at high risk makes it more likely that you will make the diet and lifestyle changes needed to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, a DNA test may be just what you need

The Bottom Line

If a serious disease runs in your family or if you have had your DNA tested and found out you are at high risk for some disease, you are probably wondering whether there is anything you can do or whether your bad genes have doomed you to a short and sickly life.

A recent study answered that question for type 2 diabetes. It showed a healthy diet significantly reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes even in people at high genetic risk of developing the disease.

Other studies have come to similar conclusions for other diseases. In short, bad genes don’t doom you to bad health.

For more details about the study and what it means for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

_____________________________________________________________________________

My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

_______________________________________________________________________

About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.  Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”. Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 45 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.

Do Optimists Live Longer?

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What Does This Study Mean For You? 

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney 

You have probably heard the statement that optimists live longer before. In fact, you have probably heard so many times you assume it must be true. But is it a myth or is it the truth?

This question is important because it can affect how people feel about themselves. If you are a natural optimist, statements like this support your feeling of self-worth. But if you are naturally pessimistic, statements like this provide one more reason to feel bad about yourself.

For example, a recent article on the topic in WebMD starts with the statement, “Want to live longer? You might want to try improving your outlook on life.” I am mostly optimistic, so I find this statement to be positive and encouraging.

But I am not sure I would feel about this statement if I were pessimistic or depressed and had tried for years to be more optimistic.

Because of this it is important to ask, “How good is the evidence supporting this claim?”

There are several published studies supporting this claim (For example). However,

  • Most of these studies have been performed with white, high-income participants. It is not clear whether these same results would apply to other racial and ethnic groups.
  • There is also the “chicken versus egg” conundrum. The studies claiming that optimists live longer are all association studies. Simply put, that means optimism is associated with longevity, but does not prove cause and effect. That is important because:
    • Some studies show that both a healthy diet and exercise improve mood.
    • Other studies show that optimists tend to take better care of themselves, and that includes both diet and exercise.
    • So, it’s hard to know which comes first – a healthy lifestyle, which creates optimism, or optimism, which creates a healthy lifestyle.
  • Because of this “chicken versus egg” conundrum, it is not clear whether it is a healthy lifestyle or optimism that is the primary cause of greater longevity.

The study (HK Koga et al, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70: 2793-2804, 2022)) I will review today was designed to answer both questions. Specifically, this study was designed to ask:

  • Is higher optimism associated with a longer lifespan and exceptional longevity across diverse racial and ethnic groups?
  • To what extent do lifestyle factors influence this association?

How Was The Study Done?

clinical studyThe data for this study was obtained from the Women’s Health Initiative which enrolled 161,808 postmenopausal women of diverse racial and ethnic groups from 40 medical centers within the United States between 1993 and 1998. The women were aged 50-79 (average = 63.5) at enrollment and were followed for an average of 26 years.

Optimism was assessed at enrollment into the program using the 6-item Life Orientation Test Revised. For each item on the questionnaire, participants were asked to report the degree they agreed with each statement on a scale of 1 = “strongly agree” to 5 = “strongly disagree”. Their responses were summed to create scores ranging from 6 to 30, with 30 being the highest optimism rating.

Lifestyle was assessed on a questionnaire measuring diet quality, physical activity, BMI (a measure of obesity), smoking status, and alcohol consumption. If participants met predefined “healthy standards in each of these categories, they were given a score of 1. Otherwise, their score was 0. Scores from each category were summed to create a composite lifestyle score ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 5 (most healthy).

Longevity was based on survival compared to national averages using the National Death Index (Yes, “Big Brother” is watching you even when you die) to identify and confirm deaths. Deaths of participants were monitored through March 1, 2019. Exceptional longevity was defined as survival to age 90 or older. Overall, 64,301 women (40.3%) died over the 26 years of follow-up.

Finally, women who died within the first 2 years of follow-up were excluded from the data analysis “to mitigate concerns that health status might affect the reporting or experience of optimism levels.” In plain English, people who are within 2 years of dying are often very sick and feel lousy. Even the most optimistic individuals find it hard to maintain an optimistic outlook in those circumstances. This left 159,255 women in the database.

Do Optimists Live Longer?

When comparing women in the highest to women in the lowest quartile of optimism:

  • Longevity was increased by 5.4%, which corresponds to an additional 4.4 years. When this was broken down by race and ethnicity, longevity was increased by:
    • 1% for Non-Hispanic White women.
    • 6% for Black women.
    • 4% for Hispanic women.
    • 5% for Asian women. However, this may have been an underestimate because of the small sample size of this population in the Women’s Health Initiative database.
  • Exceptional longevity (survival ≥ 90 years) was increased 10%.

When the authors used a complex statistical method to assess the contribution of lifestyle to the increase in longevity, they found:

  • Lifestyle contributed to 24% of the increased longevity. When this was broken down by race and ethnicity, lifestyle contributed:
    • 25% for Non-Hispanic White women.
    • 10% for Black women.
    • 24% for Hispanic women.
    • 43% for Asian women.

The authors concluded, “We found that higher levels of optimism were associated with longer lifespan and greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity across racial and ethnic groups, suggesting the health benefits of optimism may hold across these groups.”

“The contribution of lifestyle to these associations was evident but modest.”

“As prior work has demonstrated that optimism is modifiable, it may be a novel target for interventions that aim to extend lifespan across diverse racial and ethnic groups.”

What Are The Strengths And Weaknesses Of This Study?

strengths and weaknessesThis is not the first study to suggest that optimists live longer. But it is the best study to date because:

  • It was larger (159,255 participants) than most previous studies.
  • It followed the participants far longer (26 years) than previous studies.
  • It included a more racially and ethnically diverse group of participants than previous studies.
  • It addressed the “elephant in the room” for studies of this type, namely that optimists tend to actively seek a healthier lifestyle, so the “benefits” of optimism could be due to a healthy lifestyle rather than a state of mind. The study employed statistics to estimate that a healthy lifestyle contributed around 25% to the longevity experienced by optimists.

However, the study did have some weaknesses. In my opinion, the most important weaknesses were:

  • Optimism and lifestyle were only assessed at the beginning of the study. No effort was made to determine whether either of these important variables changed during the 26-year study.
  • The relative influence of lifestyle and optimism on longevity was based on a complex statistical analysis. As Mark Twain said, “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Simply put, statistics can sometimes give misleading answers. I would like to see this very important part of the study confirmed using a different method of analysis.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

Questioning WomanAs I shared above, I have some misgivings about this and other studies claiming that optimists live longer. But let’s assume this claim is true. What does that mean for you?

A 5.4% increase in lifespan might not sound like much, but it added 4.4 years to the lives of the women in the study. What would you do with an extra 4.4 years?

And, as the authors of the study pointed out, that’s equivalent to the gain in lifespan for adults engaged in a regular exercise program. Are those benefits addible? We don’t know, but it is possible that an optimist who exercised regularly and had a healthy diet might experience more than a 4-year gain in lifespan.

The authors said, “Although optimism is partly heritable (23-32%), experimental research has demonstrated that optimism is modifiable…”

Let me share a few things that have helped me maintain a more optimistic outlook:

  • Affirmations and visualizations of a positive future.
  • I start my daily prayers by listing the things I am grateful for. For others, a gratitude journal works equally well.
  • Accept positive input. You can accept compliments with humility by simply thanking the person for the compliment. But in your mind, use the compliment to overcome your inner doubts of self-worth.
  • Question negative input. Ask if each critic is the kind of person you want to become. If so, ask if what they said is really true.
  • Create a support network. These are family and friends who will support you when you need it and will give you a gentle kick in the …. when you need that.
  • Trust in a higher power. I know from experience that it is only God who can give me the “peace that passes all understanding” in my most difficult circumstances. And while I am Christian, I think this is a cornerstone of most religions.

Finally, I know that many people are predisposed to depression and pessimism, so I don’t want to be like the author of the WebMD article and tell you, “Want to live longer? You might want to try improving your outlook on life.”

We know that a healthy lifestyle is associated with longevity. And you don’t have to be an optimist to choose a healthy diet, exercise regularly, avoid smoking and excess alcohol intake, and get regular health check-ups.

We also know these things are associated with a longer healthspan which, simply put, is the number of years you live in good health.

So, whether you are a pessimist or an optimist you can live healthier longer.

The Bottom Line

You have probably heard that optimists live longer, but is it true? In the article above I describe the latest study on this topic. It is better than most previous studies on this topic because:

  • It was larger (159,255 participants) than most previous studies.
  • It followed the participants far longer (26 years) than previous studies.
  • It included a more racially and ethnically diverse group of participants than previous studies.
  • It addressed the “elephant in the room” for studies of this type, namely that optimists tend to actively seek a healthier lifestyle, so the “benefits” of optimism could be due to a healthy lifestyle rather than a state of mind. The study employed statistics to estimate that a healthy lifestyle contributed around 25% to the longevity experienced by optimists.

When the study compared women in the highest to women in the lowest quartile of optimism:

  • Longevity was increased by 5.4%, which corresponds to an additional 4.4 years.
  • Exceptional longevity (survival ≥ 90 years) was increased by 10%.
  • Lifestyle contributed to 24% of the increased longevity.

The authors concluded, “We found that higher levels of optimism were associated with longer lifespan and greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity across racial and ethnic groups, suggesting the health benefits of optimism may hold across these groups.”

“As prior work has demonstrated that optimism is modifiable, it may be a novel target for interventions that aim to extend lifespan across diverse racial and ethnic groups.”

For more details on this study and what it means for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

______________________________________________________________________________

My posts and “Health Tips From the Professor” articles carefully avoid claims about any brand of supplement or manufacturer of supplements. However, I am often asked by representatives of supplement companies if they can share them with their customers.

My answer is, “Yes, as long as you share only the article without any additions or alterations. In particular, you should avoid adding any mention of your company or your company’s products. If you were to do that, you could be making what the FTC and FDA consider a “misleading health claim” that could result in legal action against you and the company you represent.

For more detail about FTC regulations for health claims, see this link.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/health-products-compliance-guidance

______________________________________________________________________

About The Author 

Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years.

Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.

Since retiring from the University of North Carolina, he has been writing a weekly health blog called “Health Tips From the Professor”. He has also written two best-selling books, “Slaying the Food Myths” and “Slaying the Supplement Myths”. And most recently he has created an online lifestyle change course, “Create Your Personal Health Zone”. For more information visit https://chaneyhealth.com.

For the past 45 years Dr. Chaney and his wife Suzanne have been helping people improve their health holistically through a combination of good diet, exercise, weight control and appropriate supplementation.

Can You Create Your Personal Fountain Of Youth?

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Can A Healthy Lifestyle Improve Your Healthspan?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Fountain Of YouthEver since Ponce de Leon led an expedition to the Florida coast in 1513, we have been searching for the mythical “Fountain Of Youth”. What does that myth mean?

Supposedly, just by immersing yourself in that fountain you would be made younger. You would experience all the exuberance and health you enjoyed when you were young. There have been many snake oil remedies over the years that have promised that. They were all frauds.

But what if you had it in your power to live longer and to retain your youthful health for most of those extra years. The ability to live healthier longer is something that scientists call “healthspan”. But you can think of it as your personal “Fountain Of Youth”.

Now comes the important question, “Can a healthy lifestyle improve your healthspan?” We know a healthy lifestyle is good for us. Most of us know what a healthy lifestyle is. But it’s so hard. Is it worth it? Will it actually increase our lifespan? Will it increase our healthspan?

Today I am sharing two studies from the prestigious Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that answer those questions.

How Were The Studies Done?

clinical studyThese studies started by combining the data from two major clinical trials:

  • The Nurse’s Health Study, which ran from 1980 to 2014.
  • The Health Professional’s Follow-Up Study, which ran from 1986-2014.

These two clinical trials enrolled 78,865 women and 42,354 men and followed them for an average of 34 years. During this time there were 42,167 deaths. All the participants were free of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer at the time they were enrolled. Furthermore, the design of these clinical trials was extraordinary.

  • A detailed food frequency questionnaire was administered every 2-4 years. This allowed the investigators to calculate cumulative averages of all dietary variables.
  • Participants also filled out questionnaires that captured information on disease diagnosis every 2 years with follow-up rates >90%. This allowed the investigators to measure the onset of disease for each participant during the study. More importantly, 34 years is long enough to measure the onset of diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer – diseases that require decades to develop.
    • The questionnaires also captured information on medicines taken and lifestyle characteristics such as body weight, exercise, smoking and alcohol use.
  • For analysis of diet quality, the investigators use something called the “Alternative Healthy Eating Index”. [The original Healthy Eating Index was developed about 10 years ago based on the 2010 “Dietary Guidelines for Americans”. Those guidelines have since been updated, and the “Alternative Healthy Eating Index” is based on the updated guidelines.] You can calculate your own Alternative Healthy Eating Index below, so you can see what is involved.
  • Finally, the investigators included five lifestyle-related factors – diet, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and BMI (a measure of obesity) – in their estimation of a healthy lifestyle. Based on the best available evidence, they defined “low-risk” in each of these categories. Study participants were assigned 1 point for each low-risk category they achieved. Simply put, if they were low risk in all 5 categories, they received a score of 5. If they were low risk in none of the categories, they received a score of 0.
  • Low risk for each of these categories was defined as follows:
    • Low risk for a healthy diet was defined as those who scored in the top 40% in the Alternative Healthy Eating Index.
    • Low risk for smoking was defined as never smoking.
    • Low risk for physical activity was defined as 30 minutes/day of moderate or vigorous activities.
    • Low risk for alcohol was defined as 0.5-1 drinks/day for women and 0.5-2 drinks/day for men.
    • Low risk for weight was defined as a BMI in the healthy range (18.5-24.9 kg/m2).

Can A Healthy Lifestyle Improve Your Healthspan?

Older Couple Running Along BeachThe investigators compared participants who scored as low risk in all 5 categories with participants who scored as low risk in 0 categories (which would be typical for many Americans). For simplicity, I will refer to people who scored as low risk in 5 categories as having a “healthy lifestyle” and those who scored as low risk in 0 categories as having an “unhealthy lifestyle”.

The results of the first study were:

  • Women who had had a healthy lifestyle lived 14 years longer than women with an unhealthy lifestyle (estimated life expectancy of 93 versus 79).
  • Men who had a healthy lifestyle lived 12 years longer than men with an unhealthy lifestyle (estimated life expectancy was 87 versus 75).
  • It was not necessary to achieve a perfect lifestyle. Life expectancy increased in a linear fashion for each low-risk lifestyle behavior achieved.

The authors of the study concluded: “Adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy in US adults. Our findings suggest that the gap in life expectancy between the US and other developed countries could be narrowed by improving lifestyle factors.”

The results of the second study were:

  • Women who had a healthy lifestyle lived 11 years longer free of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than women who had an unhealthy lifestyle (estimated disease-free life expectancy of 85 years versus 74 years).
  • Men who had a healthy lifestyle lived 8 years longer free of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than men who had an unhealthy lifestyle (estimated disease-free life expectancy of 81 years versus 73 years).
  • Again, disease-free life expectancy increased in a linear fashion for each low-risk lifestyle behavior achieved.

The authors concluded: “Adherence to a healthy lifestyle at mid-life [They started their analysis at age 50] is associated with a longer life expectancy free of major chronic diseases. Our findings suggest that promotion of a healthy lifestyle would help reduce healthcare burdens through lowering the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and extending disease-free life expectancy.”

Can You Create Your Personal Fountain Of Youth?

questionsI posed the question at the beginning of this article, “Can you create your personal Fountain Of Youth”?” These two studies showed that you can improve both your life expectancy and your disease-free life expectancy by simply changing your lifestyle. So, the answer to the original question appears to be, “Yes, you can improve your healthspan. You can create your personal “Fountain of Youth.”

However, as a nation we appear to be moving in the wrong direction. The percentage of US adults adhering to a healthy lifestyle has decreased from 15% in 1988-1992 to 8% in 2001-2006.

Finally, I know you have some questions, and I have answers.

Question: What about supplementation? Will it also improve my healthspan?

Answer: When the investigators analyzed the data, they found that those with the healthiest lifestyles were also more likely to be taking a multivitamin. So, they attempted to statistically eliminate any effect of supplement use on the outcomes. That means these studies cannot answer that question.

However, if you calculate your Alternate Healthy Eating Index below, you will see that most of us fall short of perfection. Supplementation can fill in the gaps.

Question: I cannot imagine myself reaching perfection in all 5 lifestyle categories? Should I even try to achieve low risk in one or two categories?

Answer: The good news is that there was a linear increase in both life expectancy and disease-free life expectancy as people went from low-risk in one category to low-risk in all 5 categories. I would encourage you to try and achieve low risk status in as many categories as possible, but very few of us, including me, achieve perfection in all 5 categories.

Question: I am past 50 already. Is it too late for me to improve my healthspan?

Answer: Diet and some of the other lifestyle behaviors were remarkably constant over 34 years in both the Nurse’s Health Study and the Health Professional’s Follow-Up Study. That means that the lifespan and healthspan benefits reported in these studies probably resulted from adhering to a healthy lifestyle for most of their adult years.

However, it is never too late to start improving your lifestyle. You may not achieve the full benefits described in these studies, but you still can add years and disease-free years to your life.

How To Calculate Your Alternative Healthy Eating Index 

You can calculate your own Alternative Healthy Eating Index score by simply adding up the points you score for each food category below.

Vegetables

Count 2 points for each serving you eat per day (up to 5 servings).

One serving = 1 cup green leafy vegetables or ½ cup for all other vegetables.

Do not count white potatoes or processed vegetables like French fries or kale chips.

Fruits

Count 2½ points for each serving you eat per day (up to 4 servings).

One serving = 1 piece of fruit or ½ cup of berries.

          (do not count fruit juice or fruit incorporated into desserts or pastries). 

Whole Grains

Count 2 points for each serving you eat per day (up to 5 servings).

One serving = ½ cup whole-grain rice, bulgur and other whole grains, cereal, and pasta or 1 slice of bread.

(For processed foods like pasta and bread, the label must say 100% whole grain).

Sugary Drinks and Fruit Juice

Count 10 points if you drink 0 servings per week.

Count 5 points for 3-4 servings per week (½ serving per day).

Count 0 points for 7 or more servings per week (≥1 serving per day).

One serving = 8 oz. fruit juice, sugary soda, sweetened tea, coffee drink, energy drink, or sports drink.

Nuts and Beans

Count 10 points if you eat 7 or more servings per week (≥1 serving per day).

Count 5 points for 3-4 servings per week (½ serving per day).

Count 0 points for 0 servings per week.

One serving = 1 oz. nuts or seeds, 1 Tbs. peanut butter, ½ cup beans, 3½ oz. tofu.

Red and Processed Meat

Count 10 points if you eat 0 servings per week.

Count 7 points for 3-4 servings per week (½ serving per day).

Count 3 points for 3 servings per week (1 serving per day).

Count 0 points for ≥1½ servings per day.

One serving = 1½ oz. processed meats (bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, deli meat)

          Or 4 oz. red meat (steak, hamburger, pork chops, lamb chops, etc.)

Seafood

Count 10 points if you eat 2 servings per week.

Count 5 points for 1 serving per week.

Count 0 points for 0 servings per week.

1 serving = 4 oz.

Now that you have your total, the scoring system is:

  • 41 or higher is excellent
  • 37-40 is good
  • 33-36 is average (remember that it is average to be sick in this country)
  • 28-32 is below average
  • Below 28 is poor

Finally, for the purposes of these two studies, a score of 37 or higher was considered low risk.

The Bottom Line 

Two recent studies have developed a healthy lifestyle score based on diet, exercise, body weight, smoking, and alcohol use. When they compared the effect of lifestyle on both lifespan (life expectancy) and healthspan (disease-free life expectancy), they reported:

  • Women who had had a healthy lifestyle lived 14 years longer than women with an unhealthy lifestyle.
  • Men who had a healthy lifestyle lived 12 years longer than men with an unhealthy lifestyle.
  • Women who had a healthy lifestyle lived 11 years longer free of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than women had an unhealthy lifestyle.
  • Men who had a healthy lifestyle lived 8 years longer free of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than men who had an unhealthy lifestyle.
  • It is not necessary to achieve a perfect lifestyle. Lifespan and healthspan increased in a linear fashion for each low-risk lifestyle behavior (diet, exercise, body weight, smoking, and alcohol use) achieved.
  • These studies did not evaluate whether supplement use also affects healthspan.
    • However, if you calculate your diet with the Alternate Healthy Eating Index they used (see above), you will see that most of us fall short of perfection. Supplementation can fill in the gaps.

The authors concluded: “Our findings suggest that promotion of a healthy lifestyle would help reduce healthcare burdens through lowering the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and extending disease-free life expectancy.”

For more details, including how to calculate your Alternative Healthy Eating Index, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Can Lifestyle Overcome Bad Genes?

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Lifestyle, Genetics, And Dementia Risk 

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney 

Cognitive-DeclineAlzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are among the most feared diseases of aging. What use is it to have a healthy body, a loving family, and a successful career if you can’t remember any of it? You should be able to enjoy your Golden years, not see them slip through your fingers.

If you have a family history of dementia or have sent your DNA off for testing and learned you are genetically predisposed to dementia, you are probably worried.

Perhaps the scariest thing about Alzheimer’s is that the medical community has no answers. There are no drugs to prevent or cure Alzheimer’s and brain transplants are out of the question. Some medical professionals will tell you nothing can be done, but is that true?

Before I answer that question let me share a fictional story because it provides a clue. In 1997, when I was still a relatively young scientist, I saw a film called GAATACA. [If you are looking for an entertaining film to watch, it is still available on some streaming services.]

This film envisioned a future society in which parents had their sperm and eggs sequenced so that their children would be genetically perfect. In that society the term “love child” had been redefined as a child who had been conceived without prior DNA sequencing.

The hero of this film was, of course, a love child. He was born with a genetic predisposition for heart disease. He was considered inferior, a second-class citizen of this future world.

Without giving away the plot of the film (I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment for you if you are thinking of watching it), he overcame his genetic inferiority. With a strict regimen of diet and physical fitness he became stronger and healthier than many of his genetically perfect peers.

This is when I first began to realize that our genes do not have to determine our destiny. We have the power to overcome bad genetics. We also have the power to undermine good genetics.

With that in mind, let’s return to Alzheimer’s. Studies have suggested that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. But what about genetics? Will a healthy lifestyle only reduce your risk of dementia if your genetic risk is low, or will it be equally effective when your genetic risk is high? Can lifestyle overcome genetics?

The current study (A Tin et al, Neurology, 99: e154-e163, 2022) was designed to answer these questions.

How Was This Study Done?

clinical studyThis study included 11,561 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. The ARIC study recruited middle-aged adults (average age of 54) from both urban and rural areas of the United States and followed them for 26 years. The participants were 57% female and 53% white.

Simply put, the study was designed to look at the effect of a healthy lifestyle on the genetic risk of developing dementia.

A healthy lifestyle was defined based on something called “Life’s Simple 7” (LS7) score.

  • The LS7 score was developed by the American Heart Association to define the effect of lifestyle on the risk of developing heart disease. However, it works equally well for defining the effect of lifestyle on risk of developing dementia.
  • The LS7 score consists of 7 modifiable health factors.
    • The factors are diet, physical activity, BMI (a measure of obesity), smoking, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose.
  • The data for deriving the LS7 scores were derived from data gathered from each participant when they enrolled in the ARIC study.
    • Diet was assessed by a 66-item food frequency questionnaire.
    • Physical activity and smoking were assessed in separate questionnaires.
    • BMI, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose were measured during a visit to a designated clinic at the beginning of the study.
  • Each modifiable health factor was separated into 3 categories (ideal, intermediate, and poor) and the highest score was assigned to the ideal category. The LS7 score was the sum of the scores from all 7 modifiable health factors.

Genetic risk of developing dementia was defined based on something called “The Genetic Risk Score” (GRS).

  • We have known for years that individuals of European descent who have the APOE ɛ4 gene variant have a 2 to 5-fold increased lifetime risk of developing dementia.
  • In recent years scientists have discovered several additional gene variants that increase the risk of dementia.
  • These have been combined with APOE ɛ4 to create a Genetic Risk Score for dementia.
  • The Genetic Risk Score for each participant was determined by DNA sequencing at the beginning of the study, with the highest score indicating the greatest risk for developing dementia.

The onset and severity of dementia were determined based on 7 clinic visits during the study.

  • Questionnaires were administered at each visit to assess self-reported dementia symptoms.
  • Cognitive tests were administered at visits 2 and 4.
  • Detailed cognitive and functional assessments were conducted at visits 5, 6, and 7.
  • The data were reviewed by an expert committee of physicians and neuropsychologists to determine dementia status.

Lifestyle, Genetics, And Dementia Risk

DNA TestingAt the end of the 26-year study:

  • When participants with the highest Genetic Risk Scores were compared to those with the lowest Genetic Risk Scores:
    • European American participants were 2.7-fold more likely to develop dementia.
    • African American participants were 1.55-fold more likely to develop dementia.
  • When participants with the highest LS7 (healthy lifestyle) scores were compared to those with the lowest LS7 scores:
    • European American participants were 40% less likely to develop dementia.
    • African American participants were 17% less likely to develop dementia.
    • A healthy lifestyle decreased the risk of developing dementia to a comparable extent at all levels of genetic risk for dementia.

The authors concluded, “Higher LS7 scores [a measure of a healthy lifestyle] are largely associated with a lower risk of incident dementia across strata of genetic risk [at all levels of genetic risk], supporting the use of LS7 [a healthy lifestyle] for maintaining brain health and offsetting genetic risk. More studies with larger study populations are needed…”

I should briefly comment on why African Americans were less responsive to both genetic risk and a healthy lifestyle than European Americans. The reasons for these discrepancies are not known, but:

  • There are socioeconomic factors and health disparities that increase the risk of dementia that are not included in the LS7 score.
  • A recent study has identified genetic risk factors for dementia that are unique to African Americans that are not included in the genetic risk score used in this study.

Can Lifestyle Overcome Bad Genes?

Dr. James Watson, who was co-discoverer of the DNA double helix and was heavily involved in the sequencing of the human genome, asked that he not be told about his risk of developing Alzheimer’s when his own DNA was sequenced in the early 2000’s. His reasoning was, “Why know the risk if you can’t change it?”

If the study I discussed today is true, you can modify the risk. Your genes don’t have to be your destiny. But is it true?

There is good reason to believe it might be true. Multiple studies have shown that each of the health factors included in LS7 score reduce the risk of developing dementia. However, most of those studies have not looked at the interaction between a healthy lifestyle and genetic risk.

Fortunately, there is another recent study that looked at the interaction between a healthy lifestyle and genetic risk of developing dementia.

  • This study used a different database (The UK Biobank study which enrolled 500,000 participants) and different criteria for defining a healthy lifestyle (diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use).

However, the conclusions of this study were very similar:

  • People at high genetic risk were almost twice as likely to develop dementia as those at low genetic risk.
  • A healthy lifestyle decreased the risk of developing dementia by about 40% for both people at high genetic risk and for people at low genetic risk.

But this study went one step further than the study I discussed in this article. The British study reported that:

  • People at low genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle (the typical American) were just as likely to develop dementia as people at high genetic risk and a healthy lifestyle.

In other words, bad genetics does not doom you to Alzheimer’s and dementia. A healthy lifestyle can cut your risk almost in half. Conversely, good genetics is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. You can squander the advantage of good genetics with an unhealthy lifestyle.

And, just like the hero of the movie I discuss at the beginning of this article, a healthy lifestyle may be able to overcome bad genes and make you just as healthy (with respect to the risk of developing dementia) as people with good genes and an unhealthy lifestyle – which includes most Americans.

The Bottom Line 

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are among the most feared diseases of aging. What use is it to have a healthy body, a loving family, and a successful career if you can’t remember any of it?

If you have a family history of dementia or have sent your DNA off for testing and learned you are genetically predisposed to dementia, you are probably worried.

Perhaps the scariest thing about Alzheimer’s is that the medical community has no answers. There are no drugs to prevent or cure Alzheimer’s and brain transplants are out of the question. Some medical professionals will tell you nothing can be done, but is that true?

Studies have suggested that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. But what about genetics? Will a healthy lifestyle only reduce your risk of dementia if your genetic risk is low, or will it be equally effective when your genetic risk is high? Can lifestyle overcome genetics?

A recent study was designed to answer these questions. It found:

  • When participants with the highest Genetic Risk Scores were compared to those with the lowest Genetic Risk Scores:
    • They were 1.5 to 2.7-fold more likely to develop dementia.
  • When participants with the highest LS7 (healthy lifestyle) scores were compared to those with the lowest LS7 scores:
    • They were 17% to 40% less likely to develop dementia.
  • A healthy lifestyle decreased the risk of developing dementia to a comparable extent at all levels of genetic risk for dementia.

The authors concluded, “Higher LS7 scores [a measure of a healthy lifestyle] are largely associated with a lower risk of incident dementia across strata of genetic risk [at all levels of genetic risk], supporting the use of LS7 [a healthy lifestyle] for maintaining brain health and offsetting genetic risk. More studies with larger study populations are needed…”

This, and other studies discussed in this issue of “Health Tips For The Professor” suggest that your genes don’t have to determine your destiny. You can overcome bad genes with a healthy lifestyle.

For more details on this study, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Can Diet Protect Your Mind?

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Which Diet Is Best?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney 

can diet prevent alzheimer'sAlzheimer’s is a scary disease. There is so much to look forward to in our golden years. We want to enjoy the fruits of our years of hard work. We want to enjoy our grandkids and perhaps even our great grandkids. More importantly, we want to be able to pass on our accumulated experiences and wisdom to future generations.

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia have the potential to rob us of everything that makes life worth living. What is the use of having a healthy body, family, and fortune if we can’t even recognize the people around us?

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia don’t happen overnight. The first symptoms of cognitive decline are things like forgetting names, where you left things, what you did last week. For most people it just keeps getting worse.

Can diet protect your mind? Recent studies have given us a ray of hope. For example, several meta-analyses have shown that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 25-48% lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

However, there were several limitations to the studies included in these meta-analyses. For example:

  • For most of the studies the diet was assessed only at the beginning of the study. We have no idea whether the participants followed the same diet throughout the study. This means, we cannot answer questions like:
    • What is the effect of long-term adherence to a healthy diet?
    • Can you reduce your risk of cognitive decline if you switch from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet?
  • These studies focused primarily on the Mediterranean diet. This leaves the question:
    • What about other healthy diets? Is there something unique about the Mediterranean diet, or do other healthy diets also reduce the risk of cognitive decline?

This study (C Yuan et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 115: 232-243, 2022) was designed to answer those questions.

How Was The Study Done?

clinical studyThe investigators utilized data from The Nurse’s Health Study. They followed 49,493 female nurses for 30 years from 1984 to 2014. The average age of the nurses in 1984 was 48 years, and none of them had symptoms of cognitive decline at the beginning of the study.

The nurse’s diets were analyzed in 1984, 1986, and every 4 years afterwards until 2006. Diets were not analyzed during the last 8 years of the study to eliminate something called “reverse causation”. Simply put, the investigators were trying to eliminate the possibility that participants in the study might change their diet because they were starting to notice symptoms of cognitive decline.

The data from the dietary analyses were used to calculate adherence to 3 different healthy diets:

  • The Mediterranean diet.
  • The DASH diet. The DASH diet was designed to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. But you can think of it as an Americanized version of the Mediterranean diet.
  • The diet recommended by the USDA. Adherence to this diet is evaluated by something called the Alternative Healthy Eating Index or AHEI.

Adherence to each diet was calculated by giving a positive score to foods that were recommended for the diet and a negative score for foods that were not recommended for the diet. For more details, read the article.

In 2012 and 2014 the nurses were asked to fill out questionnaires self-assessing the early stages of cognitive decline. They were asked if they had more trouble than usual:

  • Remembering recent events or remembering a short list of items like a grocery list (measuring memory).
  • Understanding things, following spoken instructions, following a group conversation, or following a plot in a TV program (measuring executive function).
  • Remembering things from one second to the next (measuring attention).
  • Finding ways around familiar streets (measuring visuospatial skills).

The extent of cognitive decline was calculated based on the number of yes answers to these questions.

Can Diet Protect Your Mind?

Vegan FoodsHere is what the investigators found when they analyzed the data:

At the beginning of the study in 1984 there were 49,493 female nurses with an average age of 48. None of them had symptoms of cognitive decline.

  • By 2012-2014 (average age = 76-78) 46.9% of them had cognitive decline and 12.3% of them had severe cognitive decline.

Using the data on dietary intake and the rating systems specific to each of the diets studied, the investigators divided the participants into thirds based on their adherence to each diet. The investigators then used these data to answer two important questions that no previous study had answered:

#1: What is the effect of long-term adherence to a healthy diet? To answer this question the investigators averaged the dietary data obtained every 4 years between 1984 and 2006 to obtain cumulative average scores for adherence to each diet. When the investigators compared participants with the highest adherence to various healthy diets for 30 years to participants with the lowest adherence to those diets, the risk of developing severe cognitive decline was decreased by:

  • 40% for the Mediterranean diet.
  • 32% for the DASH diet.
  • 20% for the USDA-recommended healthy diet (as measured by the AHEI score).

#2: Can you reduce your risk of cognitive decline if you switch from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet? To answer this question, the investigators looked at participants who started with the lowest adherence to each diet and improved to the highest adherence by the end of the study. This study showed that improving from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet over 30 years decreased the risk of developing severe cognitive decline by:

  • 20% for the Mediterranean diet.
  • 25% for the DASH diet.

There were a few other significant observations from this study.

  • The inverse association between healthy diets and risk of cognitive decline was greater for nurses who had high blood pressure.
    • This is an important finding because high blood pressure increases the risk of cognitive decline.
  • The inverse association between healthy diets and risk of cognitive decline was also greater for nurses who did not have the APOE-ɛ4 gene.
    • This illustrates the interaction of diet and genetics. The APOE-ɛ4 gene increases the risk of cognitive decline. Healthy diets reduced the risk of cognitive decline in nurse with the APOE-ɛ4 gene but not to the same extent as for nurses without the gene.

This study did not investigate the mechanism by which healthy diets reduced the risk of cognitive decline, but the investigators speculated it might be because these diets:

  • Were anti-inflammatory.
  • Supported the growth of healthy gut bacteria.

The investigators concluded, “Our findings support the beneficial roles of long-term adherence to the [Mediterranean, DASH, and USDA] dietary patterns for maintaining cognition in women…Further, among those with initially relatively low-quality diets, improvement in diet quality was associated with a lower likelihood of developing severe cognitive decline. These findings indicate that improvements in diet quality in midlife and later may have a role in maintenance of cognitive function among women.”

Which Diet Is Best?

Mediterranean Diet FoodsIn a sense this is a trick question. That’s because this study did not put the participants on different diets. It simply analyzed the diets the women were eating in different ways. And while the algorithms they were using were diet-specific, there was tremendous overlap between them. For more specifics on the algorithms used to estimate adherence to each diet, read the article.

That is why the investigators concluded that all three diets they analyzed reduced the risk of cognitive decline rather than highlighting a specific diet. However, based on this and numerous previous studies the evidence is strongest for the Mediterranean and DASH diets.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the MIND diet. While it was not included in this study, the MIND diet:

  • Was specifically designed to reduce cognitive decline.
  • Can be thought of as a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets.
  • Includes data from studies on the mind-benefits of individual foods. For example, it recommends berries rather than all fruits.

The MIND diet has not been as extensively studied as the Mediterranean and DASH diets, but there is some evidence that it may be more effective at reducing cognitive decline than either the Mediterranean or DASH diets alone.

Which Foods Are Best?

AwardThe authors of this study felt it was more important to focus on foods rather than diets. This is a better approach because we eat foods rather than diets. With that in mind they analyzed their data to identify the foods that prevented cognitive decline and the foods increased cognitive decline. This is what they found:

  • Fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, fish, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) reduced the risk of cognitive decline.
  • Red and processed meats, omega-6 fatty acids (most vegetable oils), and trans fats increased the risk of cognitive decline.

While this study did not specifically look at the effect of processed foods on cognitive decline, diets high in the mind-healthy foods listed above are generally low in sodas, sweets, and highly processed foods.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

Question MarkThe question, “Can diet protect your mind”, is not a new one. Several previous studies have suggested that healthy diets reduce the risk of cognitive decline, but this study breaks new ground. It shows for the first time that:

  • Long-term adherence to a healthy diet can reduce your risk of cognitive decline by up to 40%.
    • This was a 30-year study, so we aren’t talking about “diet” in the traditional sense. We aren’t talking about short-term diets to drop a few pounds. We are talking about a life-long change in the foods we eat.
  • If you currently have a lousy diet, it’s not too late to change. You can reduce your risk of cognitive decline by switching to a healthier diet.
    • This is perhaps the best news to come out of this study.

Based on current evidence, the best diets for protecting against cognitive decline appear to be the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets.

And if you don’t like restrictive diets, my advice is to:

  • Eat more fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, fish, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil).
  • Eat less red and processed meats, omega-6 fatty acids (most vegetable oils), and trans fats.
  • Eat more plant foods and less animal foods.
  • Eat more whole foods and less sodas, sweets, and processed foods.

And, of course, a holistic approach is always best. Other lifestyle factors that help reduce your risk of cognitive decline include:

  • Regular exercise.
  • Weight control.
  • Socialization.
  • Memory training (mental exercises).

The Bottom Line 

Alzheimer’s is a scary disease. What is the use of having a healthy body, family, and fortune if we can’t even recognize the people around us?

A recent study looked at the effect of diet on cognitive decline in women. The study started with middle-aged women (average age = 48) and followed them for 30 years. The investigators then used these data to answer two important questions that no previous study had answered:

#1: What is the effect of long-term adherence to a healthy diet? When the investigators compared participants with the highest adherence to various healthy diets for 30 years to participants with the lowest adherence to those diets, the risk of developing severe cognitive decline was decreased by:

  • 40% for the Mediterranean diet.
  • 32% for the DASH diet.
  • 20% for the USDA recommendations for a healthy diet.

#2: Can you reduce your risk of cognitive decline if you switch from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet? This study showed that improving from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet over 30 years decreased the risk of developing severe cognitive decline by:

  • 20% for the Mediterranean diet.
  • 25% for the DASH diet.

The investigators concluded, “Our findings support the beneficial roles of long-term adherence to the [Mediterranean, DASH, and USDA] dietary patterns for maintaining cognition in women…Further, among those with initially relatively low-quality diets, improvement in diet quality was associated with a lower likelihood of developing severe cognitive decline. These findings indicate that improvements in diet quality in midlife and later may have a role in maintenance of cognitive function among women.”

For more details on the study, which diets, and which foods are best for protecting your mind, and what this study means for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Can Diet Add Years To Your Life?

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Which Foods Have The Biggest Effect On Longevity? 

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Fountain Of YouthEveryone over 50 is searching for the elusive “Fountain Of Youth”.

  • We want to look younger.
  • We want to feel younger.
  • We want the energy we had in our 20s.
  • We want to be rid of the diseases of aging.

The list goes on!

But how do we do that? Pills and potions abound that claim to reverse the aging process. Most just reverse your wallet.

  • Should we train for marathons or bodybuilding contests?
  • Should we meditate or do yoga to relieve stress?
  • Should we get serious about losing weight?
  • Should we get more sleep?
  • Is there some miracle diet that can slow the aging process?

All the above probably slow the aging process, but the evidence is best for the effect of diet on aging. Several recent meta-analyses have looked at the effect of diet on the risk of premature deaths. In this issue of “Health Tips From the Professor” I review a study (LT Fadnes et al, PLoS Medicine, February 8, 2022) that combines the best of these meta-analyses into a single database and provides a provocative insight into the effect of diet on longevity.

How Was This Study Done?

Clinical StudyThis study combined data from recent meta-analyses looking at the impact of various food groups on the risk of premature deaths with the Global Burden of Disease Study which provides population-level estimates of life years lost due to dietary risk factors.

The authors then developed a new algorithm that allowed them to estimate how different diets affect sex- and age-specific life expectancy.

They divided the population into three different diet categories based on their intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, eggs, dairy, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, white meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and added plant oils. The diet categories were:

  • Typical Western Diet (TW). This diet was based on average consumption data from the United States and Europe. This was their baseline.
  • Optimal diet (OD). This diet is similar to a vegan or semi-vegetarian diet. However, it was not a purely vegan diet nor a purely semi-vegetarian diet. Instead, it represented the best diet people in this study were consuming.
  • Feasibility diet (FA). This diet recognizes that few people are willing to make the kind of changes required to attain an optimal diet. It is halfway between the Typical Western Diet and the Optimal Diet.

To help you understand these diets based on the foods the study participants were eating, here are the comparisons in terms of daily servings:

Food TW Diet FA Diet OD Diet
Whole grains 1.5 servings 4.3 servings 7 servings
Vegetables 3 servings 4 servings 5 servings
Fruits 2.5 servings 3.75 servings 5 servings
Nuts 0 serving* 0.5 serving* 1 serving*
Legumes 0 serving** 0.5 serving** 1 serving**
Fish 0.25 serving 0.5 serving 1 serving
Eggs 1 egg 0.75 egg 0.5 egg
Dairy 1.5 servings 1.25 servings 1 serving
Refined grains 3 servings 2 servings 1 serving
Red meat 1 serving 0.5 serving 0 serving
Processed meat 2 servings 1 serving 0 serving
White meat 0.75 serving 0.6 serving 0 serving
Sugar-sweetened beverages 17 oz 8.5 oz 0 oz
Added plant oils 2 tsp 2 tsp 2 tsp

*1 serving = 1 handful of nuts

**1 serving = 1 cup of beans, lentils, or peas

Using their algorithm, the authors asked what the effect on longevity would be if people changed from a typical western diet to one of the other diets at age 20, 60, or 80 and maintained the new diet for at least 10 years. The 10-year requirement is based on previous studies showing that it takes around 10 years for dietary changes to affect the major killer diseases like heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.

Finally, the authors improved the accuracy of their estimates of the effect of diet on longevity by taking into account the quality of each study included in their analysis. I will discuss the importance of this below.

Can Diet Add Years To Your Life?

The results were impressive.

The authors estimated that if people in the United States were to change from a typical western diet to an “optimal diet” and maintain it for at least 10 years,

…starting at age 20, men would live 13 years longer and women would live 10.7 years longer.

…starting at age 60, men would live 8.8 years longer and women would live 8 years longer.

…starting at age 80, both men and women would live 3.4 years longer.

But what if you weren’t a vegan purist? What if you only made half the changes you would need to make to optimize your diet? The news was still good.

The authors estimated that people in the United States were to change from a typical western diet to a “feasibility diet” and maintain it for at least 10 years,

…starting at age 20, men would live 7.3 years longer and women would live 6.2 years longer.

…starting at age 60, men would live 4.8 years longer and women would live 4.5 years longer.

…starting at age 80, both men and women would live ~2 years longer.

The authors concluded, “A sustained dietary change may give substantial health gains for people of all ages for both optimized and feasible [diet] changes. [These health gains] could translate into an increase in life expectancy of more than 10 years. Gains are predicted to be larger the earlier the dietary changes are initiated in life.”

Which Foods Have The Biggest Effect On Longevity?

The algorithm the authors developed also allowed them to look at which foods have the biggest effect on longevity. The authors estimated when changing from a typical western diet to an optimal diet, the greatest gains in longevity were made by eating:

  • More legumes, whole grains, and nuts, and…
  • Less red and processed meat.

The authors concluded, “An increase in the intake of legumes, whole grains, and nuts, and a reduction in the intake of red meat and processed meats, contributed most to these gains [in longevity].”

However, this conclusion needs to be interpreted with caution. We also need to recognize that an “optimal diet” was defined as the best diet people in this study were eating. In addition, the effect of different foods on longevity depends on:

  • The quality of the individual studies with that food, and…
  • The difference in consumption of that food in going from a western diet to an optimal diet.

For example:

  • Legumes, whole grains, nuts, red & processed meat made the list because the quality of data was high and the difference in consumption between the typical western diet and optimal diet was significant.
  • The quality of data for an effect of fruits and vegetables was also high. For example, one major study concluded that consuming 10 servings a day of fruits and vegetables a day reduces premature death by 31% compared to consumption of less than 1 serving a day. However, the difference in consumption of fruits and vegetables between the western and optimal diets in this study was small, so fruits and vegetables didn’t make the list.
  • Eggs and white meat didn’t make the list because the quality of data was low for those foods. Simply put,  that means that there was a large variation in effect of those foods on longevity between studies.
  • Other foods didn’t make the list because the quality of data was only moderate and/or the difference in intake was small.

So, the best way to interpret this these data is:

  • This study suggests that consuming more legumes, whole grains, and nuts and less red & processed meats has a significant beneficial effect on health and longevity.
  • Consuming more fruits and vegetables is likely to have a significant benefit on health and longevity, but you would need to consume more than people did in this study to achieve these benefits. In the words of the authors, “Fruits and vegetables also have a positive health impact, but, for these food groups, the intake in a typical Western diet is closer to the optimal intake than for the other food groups.”
  • Other foods may impact health and longevity, but the data in this study are not good enough to be confident of an effect.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

This study is the best of many studies showing the benefit of a more plant-based diet on health and longevity. It particularly encouraging because it shows:

  • You can achieve significant benefit by switching to a more plant-based diet late in life. You get the biggest “bang for your buck” if you switch at age 20. But even making the switch at age 60 or 80 was beneficial.
  • You don’t need to be a “vegan purist”. While the biggest benefits were seen for people who came close to achieving a vegan or semi-vegetarian diet, people who only made half those changes saw significant benefits.

As I said above, this is a very strong study. However, the underlying data come from association studies, which can have confounding variables that influence the results.holistic approach

For example, people who eat more plant-based diets tend to weigh less and exercise more. And both of those variables can influence longevity. Each study attempted to statistically correct for those variables, but they still might have a slight influence on the results.

However, I don’t see that as a problem because, in my view, a holistic approach is always best. As illustrated on the right, we should be seeking a lifestyle that includes a healthy diet, weight control, and exercise.

As for supplementation, both the vegan and semi-vegetarian diets tend to leave out whole food groups. Unless you are married to a dietitian, that means your diet is likely to be missing important nutrients.

The Bottom Line

A recent study asked whether changing from the typical western diet to a healthier, more plant-based diet could influence longevity. The results were very encouraging. The study showed that:

  • Changing to a healthier diet could add up to a decade to your lifespan.
  • The improvement in lifespan was greatest for those whose diets approached a vegan or semi-vegetarian diet, but a significant improvement in lifespan was seen for people who made only half those dietary improvements.
  • The improvement in lifespan was greatest for those who switched to a healthier diet in their 20’s, but significant improvements in lifespan were seen for people who didn’t change their diet until their 60’s or 80’s.

In terms of the foods that have the biggest effect on longevity.

  • This study suggests that consuming more legumes, whole grains, and nuts and less red & processed meats has a significant beneficial effect on health and longevity.
  • Consuming more fruits and vegetables is likely to have a significant benefit on health and longevity, but you would need to consume more than people did in this study to achieve those benefits.
  • Other foods may impact health and longevity, but the data in this study are not good enough to be confident of an effect.

The authors concluded, “A sustained dietary change may give substantial health gains for people of all ages for both optimized and feasible [diet] changes. [These health gains] could translate into an increase in life expectancy of more than 10 years. Gains are predicted to be larger the earlier the dietary changes are initiated in life.

An increase in the intake of legumes, whole grains, and nuts, and a reduction in the intake of red meat and processed meats, contributed most to these gains. Fruits and vegetables also have a positive health impact, but, for these food groups, the intake in a typical Western diet is closer to the optimal intake than for the other food groups.”

For more details about this study and what it means for you, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Can Your Diet Cause You To Lose Your Mind?

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What Is A Mind-Healthy Lifestyle? 

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Cognitive-DeclineMost of us look forward to our golden years – that mystical time when we will be free from the workday pressures and have more time to spend with friends and family doing the things we love.

But cognitive decline can cast a dark cloud over those expectations.

  • By the age of 65, 11% of adults suffer from some degree of cognitive impairment.
  • And by the age of 80 the percentage of adults suffering from cognitive impairment has increased to 26-30%, depending on which study you cite.

The results of cognitive decline can be devastating.

  • First you start to lose the cherished memories of a lifetime.
  • Then comes confusion and an inability to perform basic tasks and participate in your favorite activities.
  • Eventually you may reach a stage where you no longer recognize the ones you love.

In short, cognitive decline can rob you of everything that makes you you.

The causes of cognitive decline are complex, but recent studies have pointed to the role of chronic inflammation in cognitive decline. If that is true, it is a good news – bad news situation.

  • The bad news is:
    • Some increase in chronic inflammation appears to be an inevitable consequence of aging.
    • Chronic inflammation can be caused by certain diseases that are beyond our control.
    • Chronic inflammation can be triggered by viral or bacterial infections.
  • The good news is that chronic inflammation is also controlled by your diet and lifestyle. For example, as I said above, chronic inflammation is often triggered by a viral infection, but whether the inflammation is mild or severe is strongly influenced by diet and lifestyle.

In this issue of “Health Tips From the Professor” I share a study (S Charisis et al, Neurology, In Press, November 10, 2021) showing that diets high in inflammatory foods increase the risk of dementia. Then, I answer 3 important questions.

  • Can your diet cause you to lose your mind?
  • What is a mind-healthy diet?
  • What is a mind-healthy lifestyle?

How Was This Study Done?

Clinical StudyThe data for this study were taken from the first three years of the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD), a study designed to look at the effect of diet on dementia and other neuropsychiatric conditions in the Greek population.

There were 1059 participants (40% male, average age = 75 at the beginning of the study) in this study. At the beginning of the study the participants completed a food frequency questionnaire administered by a trained dietitian. The foods were broken down into individual nutrients using the USDA Food Composition tables adapted for foods in the Greek diet.

The diet of each participant was then rated on a 15-point scale ranging from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory based on something called the Diet Inflammation Index (DII).

Simply put, the DII is a validated assessment tool based on the effect of food nutrients on 6 inflammatory biomarkers found in the blood (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and CRP). Nutrients that decrease these markers are considered anti-inflammatory. Nutrients that increase these inflammatory biomarkers are considered pro-inflammatory.

For example, anti-inflammatory nutrients include:

  • Carotenoids and flavonoids (found in fruits and vegetables).
  • Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in cold-water fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds).
  • Monounsaturated fatty acids (found in olive, avocado, and peanut oils).
  • Fiber (found in minimally processed plant foods).
  • Antioxidants, most B vitamins, and vitamin D.
  • Magnesium and zinc.
  • Garlic, onions, most herbs & spices.

Pro-inflammatory nutrients include:

  • Refined carbohydrates.
  • Cholesterol.
  • Total fat.
  • Saturated fats.
  • Trans fats.

The participants were followed for 3 years, and all new diagnoses of dementia were recorded. The diagnoses were confirmed by a panel of neurologists and neuropsychologists.

Can Your Diet Cause You To Lose Your Mind?

Forgetful Old ManAs described above, the diet of each participant in the study was rated on a 15-point DII (Diet Inflammatory Index) scale ranging from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory. The association of the DII score of the participant’s diets with the onset of dementia was evaluated in two ways.

  • Each one-point increase from an anti-inflammatory diet to a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a 21% increase in the risk for dementia.
  • In other words, even small changes in your diet can have a significant impact on your risk of developing dementia.

The investigators then divided the participants into three equal-sized groups based on the DII score of their diets.

  • The group with the highest DII scores were 3 times more likely to develop dementia than the group with the lowest DII scores.
  • In other words, a major change in your diet can have a major effect on your risk of developing dementia.

The authors concluded, “In the present study, higher DII scores (indicating greater pro-inflammatory diet potential) were associated with an increased risk for incident dementia [newly diagnosed dementia]. These findings may avail the development of primary dementia strategies through tailored and precise dietary interventions.”

What Is A Mind-Healthy Diet?

Vegan FoodsThis and other studies show that an anti-inflammatory diet is good for the mind. It helps protect us from cognitive decline and dementia. But what does an anti-inflammatory diet look like?

One hint comes from analyzing the diets of participants in this study:

  • Those with the lowest DII scores (most-anti-inflammatory diets) consumed 20 servings of fruit, 19 servings of vegetables, 4 servings of beans or other legumes, and 11 servings of coffee or tea each week. That’s almost 3 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables every day!
  • Those with the highest DII scores (most pro-inflammatory diets) consumed only half as many fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
  • In short, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and legumes is a good start.

I have described anti-inflammatory diets in more detail in a previous issue of “Health Tips From the Professor.” Let me summarize that article briefly.

Anti-inflammatory foods include:

  • Colorful fruits and vegetables.
  • Whole grains.
  • Beans and other legumes.
  • Nuts, olive oil, avocados, and other sources of monounsaturated fats.
  • Fatty fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Herbs and spices.

Pro-inflammatory foods include:

  • Refined carbohydrates, sodas, and sugary foods.
  • Foods high in saturated fats including fatty and processed meats, butter, and high fat dairy products.
  • Foods high in trans fats.
  • French fries, fried chicken, and other fried foods.
  • Foods you are allergic or sensitive food. For example, gluten containing foods are pro-inflammatory only if you are sensitive to gluten.

If your goal is to reduce chronic inflammation and keep your mind sharp as a tack as you age, you should eat more anti-inflammatory foods and less pro-inflammatory foods.

Of course, we don’t just eat random foods, we follow dietary patterns. It should be apparent from what I have Mediterranean Diet Foodscovered above that whole food, primarily plant-based diets are anti-inflammatory. This is true for diets ranging from vegan through semi-vegetarian, to the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets.

All these diets are anti-inflammatory and likely protect the brain from cognitive decline. However, the best evidence for brain protection is for the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets.

  • The Mediterranean and DASH diets have been shown to prevent cognitive decline in multiple studies.
  • The MIND diet is a combination the Mediterranean and DASH diets that was specifically designed to prevent cognitive decline. It has been shown to cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in half.

What Is A Mind-Healthy Lifestyle?

Diet is just one aspect of a holistic approach for reducing cognitive decline as we age. Other important factors include:

  • Reduce excess body weight.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Get adequate sleep.
  • Reduce and/or manage stress.
  • Eliminate smoking and reduce alcohol consumption.
  • Socialize with friends and family who support you. Numerous studies have shown that a strong support network reduces dementia risk in the elderly.
  • Keep your brain active. Work crossword puzzles. Learn new things. An active brain is forced to lay down new neural pathways.

The Bottom Line 

Recent studies have suggested that chronic inflammation increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia as we age. Some causes of chronic inflammation are beyond our control, but others, such as diet, we can control.

Recently, a precise scoring system called the Diet Inflammatory Index (DII) has been developed. This scoring system allows studies to look at the correlation between the inflammatory potential of the diet and cognitive decline.

A recent study enrolled 1,000 participants with an average age of 75 in a 3-year study to determine the impact of diet on cognitive decline. The association of the DII score of the participant’s diets with the onset of dementia was evaluated in two ways.

  • Each one-point increase from an anti-inflammatory diet to a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a 21% increase in the risk for dementia.
  • In other words, even small changes in your diet can have a significant impact on your risk of developing dementia.

The investigators then divided the participants into three equal-sized groups based on the DII score of their diets.

  • The group with the highest DII scores were 3 times more likely to develop dementia than the group with the lowest DII scores.
  • In other words, a major change in your diet can have a major effect on your risk of developing dementia.

The authors concluded, “In the present study, higher DII scores (indicating greater pro-inflammatory diet potential) were associated with an increased risk for incident dementia [newly diagnosed dementia]. These findings may avail the development of primary dementia strategies through tailored and precise dietary interventions.”

For more details and a description of mind-healthy diets and a mind-healthy lifestyle read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Health Tips From The Professor