Advancing age, it is now known, is also fought at the table. This is confirmed by a new study which shows that women who consume more proteins from the age of 40 onwards develop fewer chronic diseases and are more likely to age healthily. Researchers from Tufts University, in the USA, analyzed the results of a large survey conducted at Harvard on the health and eating habits of over 48 thousand nurses between the ages of 38 and 59, observed from 1984, when they were in good health, until 2016. Well, it turned out that women who consumed more plant-based proteins at age 40 were 46% more likely to be healthy in old age. But with an important 'distinction': not all proteins have a beneficial effect.
The experts, led by Andres Ardisson Korat, therefore studied the diet of nurses who had 'aged better', meaning by 'healthy aging' good mental health, no cognitive problems, starting from an efficient memory, or physical, or even one of the 11 most common chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other common heart and circulatory conditions. Researchers observed fewer chronic diseases, heart conditions, cancers, diabetes and cognitive decline in nurses who ate more plant-based proteins — those from fruits, vegetables, breads, beans, legumes and pasta. In contrast, women who consumed more animal proteins, such as chicken, milk, seafood and cheese, were 6 percent less likely to remain healthy as they aged. These women “tended to suffer more from chronic diseases and failed to improve their physical functioning,” explains Ardisson Korat.
The results, experts analyze, are easily explainable when it comes to heart disease: a diet rich in vegetable proteins is associated with lower levels of LDL cholesterol (the 'bad' one), blood pressure and insulin sensitivity, while a greater Consumption of animal proteins is linked to an increase in these levels, as well as in insulin-like growth factor (IGF), associated with an increased risk of tumors. The benefits of plant proteins may be related to the fact that, compared to foods of animal origin, plants contain a higher percentage of dietary fibre, micronutrients and beneficial compounds such as polyphenols. The author of the study, commenting on the results of the research, however, points out that “to confirm them it will be useful to continue studying more heterogeneous groups of people. Furthermore – he recalls – while vegetable proteins are important, women should not neglect to consume fish and proteins animals for their iron and vitamin B12 content”.
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