Question 116 of 433
What is the single best diet for longevity?
The short answer
The Mediterranean pattern has the strongest evidence. It has unusually strong randomized evidence for reducing cardiovascular events.
In the Spanish PREDIMED trial, people at high risk who ate a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil or nuts had about 30 percent fewer major heart events than those told to eat low-fat. The pattern is vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, nuts, olive oil, fish, modest dairy and poultry, and little red meat or sugar.
It is also how people in the longest-lived communities tend to eat, as Dan Buettner describes in The Blue Zones. Some researchers have questioned the age records in those regions, and that is fair. But the diet itself rests on trials, not on birth certificates.
“This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship.” From the book’s medical disclaimer. Full disclaimer
ROBUST HUMAN TRIAL — High-risk adults: Mediterranean dietary interventions reduce major cardiovascular events.Evidence grade (draft mapping)ARobust human trialsPart 9, Q116 · Part sources
From Longevity Unmasked by Afshine Ash Emrani, MD, FACC. Medical disclaimer. This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship. Nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Medicine is personal: a test, drug, supplement, or exercise plan that helps one person can harm another. Do not start, stop, or change any medication or treatment because of something you read in these pages. Talk with a licensed clinician who knows your history first. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911. The author disclaims responsibility for any loss or harm arising from use of the information in this book.