How to help elderly people live longer

(Thanks to hugovk)

As we know the Med diet has lot of health effects:

• Helps prevent diseases
• Helps live longer
• Helps in Alzheimer, cancer, arthritis, heart attack, cholesterol, overweight
• Etc…

Longevity is a term that generally refers to ‘long life’ or ‘great duration of life’.

There are various factors that contribute to an individual’s longevity:

• Gender
• Genetics
• Access to health care
• Hygiene
• Diet
• Exercise
• Lifestyle

Below is a list of life expectancies in different types of countries:

1. Spain:. . . . . 81.02 years in 2002, 82.31 years in 2005
2. Australia: . . 80 years in 2002, 80.39 years in 2005
3. Italy:. . . . . . 79.25 years in 2002, 79.68 years in 2005
4. France: . . . .79.05 years in 2002, 79.60 years in 2005
5. Germany: . . 77.78 years in 2002, 78.65 years in 2005
6. UK: . . . . . . 77.99 years in 2002, 78.4 years in 2005
7. USA: . . . . . 77.4 years in 2002, 77.7 years in 2005

As you can clearly see the Mediterranean countries has an high life expectancies.

The Mediterranean diet has an incredible impact on longevity and lifestyle in elderly people.

As we already know the main aspects of this diet that contribute to help live longer are:

• High intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits and cereals
• Moderate to high intake of fish
• Low intake of saturated fats with a high intake of unsaturated fats such as olive oil
• Low intake of dairy products (mainly cheese and yogurt) and meat
• Modest intake of alcohol (red wine)

The adherence to this diet is associated with reduction in overall mortality in elderly Europeans. Exactly is not well known how the traditional Mediterranean diet may affect life expectancy. It’s due overall to dietary patterns, not merely eating some particular foods.

Here a list of resources and researches that confirm the healthy effects of this diet and why it contribute to live longer:

• How the traditional healthy Mediterranean diet pyramid help a 90 years old man to climb a 3.000 meters Mountain

• Top 10 meal ideas for Mediterranean diet to live longer – How you should eat to arrive at 100 years

• Modified Mediterranean diet and survival: EPIC-elderly prospective cohort study – To examine whether adherence to the modified Mediterranean diet, in which unsaturates were substituted for monounsaturates, is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans.

An increase in the modified Mediterranean diet score was associated with lower overall mortality, a two unit increment corresponding to a statistically significant reduction of 8% (95% confidence interval 3% to 12%).

• Mediterranean diet does prolong life – Adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, in which unsaturated fats are substituted for monounsaturates, is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans. Adherence to the diet, which is rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, and fish, reduced mortality by 7%. The modification was necessary because non-Mediterranean populations have a minimal intake of olive oil.

• Modified Mediterranean diet and survival – Evidence for diet linked longevity is substantial – Total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure are well known determinants of cardiovascular disease. The study’s outcomes are expressed in term of mortality, and cardiovascular disease remains the most important of all causes of death. The benefits of a healthy eating pattern with respect to these variables have been shown.

• Mediterranean Diet, Lifestyle Factors, and 10-Year Mortality in Elderly European Men and Women – Context Dietary patterns and lifestyle factors are associated with mortality from all causes, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, but few studies have investigated these factors in combination.

The objective was to investigate the single and combined effect of Mediterranean diet, being physically active, moderate alcohol use, and nonsmoking on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in European elderly individuals.

Adhering to a Mediterranean diet, moderate alcohol use, physical activity, and nonsmoking were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Similar results were observed for mortality from coronary heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Among individuals aged 70 to 90 years, adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle is associated with a more than 50% lower rate of all-causes and cause-specific mortality.

• For Elderly, Mediterranean Diet Adds Up – A new study shows that elderly people who stick to a Mediterranean diet, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, and have moderate alcohol use can cut their risk of dying in half. The diet is rich in plant foods and fish, low in meat and dairy and has a high ratio of monounsaturated fats to polyunsaturated fats. Approximately 1,500 people were studied in the Netherlands over a 12-year period.

• Mediterranean Diet May Reduce Mortality in Elderly – “The Mediterranean diet, modified so as to apply across Europe, was associated with increased survival among older people,” the authors write. “Because the study is observational, it is possible for residual confounding from suboptimally measured factors.”

• Mediterranean Diet Improves Survival in Elderly – Among individuals aged 70 to 90 years, adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle is associated with a more than 50% lower rate of all-causes and cause-specific mortality

• Traditional Mediterranean diet and longevity in the elderly: a review – The Mediterranean diet is positively associated with longevity among the elderly. If the assumption holds that there is no interaction between age and diet with respect to general mortality, it can be inferred that the traditional Mediterranean diet represents a healthy nutritional pattern.

• How Does the Mediterranean Diet Promote Longevity? – Researchers studied more than 22,000 residents of Greece (ages 20 to 86) to determine if adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet was associated with lower mortality from cardiovascular disease or from cancer.

The researchers adjusted for other factors that could have influenced mortality risk, such as age, gender, body mass index, smoking status, and physical activity level.

They found that the more strongly people adhered to the traditional diet, the less likely they were to die from cardiovascular disease or cancer; the protective effect of the traditional diet appeared stronger for cardiovascular disease than for cancer.

• Mediterranean diet and age with respect to overall survival in institutionalized, nonsmoking elderly people – Efforts to promote adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern appear to be worthwhile in persons aged <80 y, in whom the diet predicts survival, but we do not have any available evidence that such a diet benefits subjects aged >=80 y.

• Diet, lifestyle factors and hypercholesterolemia in elderly men and women from Cyprus – Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle is associated with reduced odds of having hypercholesterolemia among elderly people.

• Mediterranean diet and longevity – In recent papers, which evaluated the evidence accumulated over the last three decades, it was concluded that the traditional Mediterranean diet meets several important criteria for a healthy diet.

• Close Adherence to a Traditional Mediterranean Diet Promotes Longevity – Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece, assessed the dietary habits of study participants from all regions of Greece and found that those who strongly adhered to a Mediterranean diet had improved longevity compared to study participants who did not follow that diet as closely. Using a ten point scale to measure adherence to the diet, a two point increase was related to a 25 percent reduction in total mortality among the participants.

• Mediterranean diet boosts longevity – study – Eating a Mediterranean diet not only helps people stay healthy, it also seems to prolong life, Greek researchers said on Friday. In a study of nearly 75 000 Europeans aged 60 and above, the diet based on plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, fish and olive oil was linked to a longer life expectancy.

“Adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduces mortality,” Professor Dimitrios Trichopoulos, of the University of Athens said. The link between diet and mortality was most pronounced in Greece and Spain, two nations which the researchers said follow a true Mediterranean diet.

• Mediterranean Diet May Help Alzheimer’s – Scarmeas and colleagues previously reported that people may be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease if they follow a traditional Mediterranean diet.

• Eat Med-style and expect to live a year longer … – The largest study of the Mediterranean diet shows that people aged 60 who stick to it can expect to live a year longer than those who don’t.

• Do you prefer living 120 years with a mediterranean diet or 60 years with fast food? – Mediterranean diet and not just because of the extended years – just because I love the food and diet – we ate it naturally when we lived in Italy and were the healthiest we’ve ever been – here in America we find the fast food too tempting!!!

• Red wine and olive oil prolong life – report – Drinking red wine and cooking with olive oil may help us to live longer, according to new research. Scientists have found a ‘Mediterranean’ diet is the secret to good health – and can lead to elderly Europeans surviving those who consume other foods.

• Mediterranean diet boosts longevity among elderly: study – A large-scale study published adds statistical evidence to the perceived benefits of the Mediterranean diet, a regimen rich in fish, olive oil, fruits, vegetables and cereals and supplemented by a modest intake of red wine.

• Mediterranean diet and regular, moderate exercise key to longevity – The new research represents yet another victory for those espousing a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, beans, fish and olive oil, washed down with a daily glass or two of wine. In one 10-year survey of elderly European men and women, researchers found that those who adhered to a “Mediterranean diet,” did not smoke, drank moderately and remained physically active were about half as likely to die during the study period than those whose diets and lifestyles were less healthful.

• Longevity and The Mediterranean Diet – 6 Reasons Why the Mediterranean Diet Contributes to a Longer, Healthier Life

1. Restorative Effects of the Mediterranean Diet
2. Reducing Cancer Risks
3. Reducing Coronary Heart Disease Risks
4. Reducing Hypertension
5. Diabetes Prevention and Control
6. The Cumulative Effect of the Mediterranean Diet

1. Boomer Yearbook: Social Network Site for Baby Boomers and Baby Boomer Generation – Boomer Yearbook is a Psychological-Informational Social Network Website for Baby Boomers and Baby Boomer Generation! Create Boomer Yearbook Profile, Connect with old and new Baby Boomers, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner.