From weight loss to long life: The many benefits of a plant-based diet

The study suggests that the best way to maximise your chances of a long healthy life is to seek out whole foods.

The Mediterranean or plant-based diet appears to be highly beneficial for our well-being. Including more vegetable, fruits and healthy fats, and fewer processed carbohydrates will not only help shed some kilos and reduce depressive symptoms, and but also lead to a longer life.

Researchers at Italy’s Neuromed Institute, in a study, found that people who consumed a Mediterranean diet, which also includes nuts, fish, whole grains apart from fresh fruits and vegetables and less of unhealthy fats, were significantly less likely to die from any cause than their peers who did not. The study suggests that the best way to maximise your chances of a long healthy life is to seek out whole foods.

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For the study, scientists observed the diet of 5,200 people over the age of 65 years to see how closely they followed a Mediterranean diet. Each participant got a score from 0-9, and they were followed for eight years, during which the researchers noted any deaths and their causes.

The study concluded that people who stuck to a diet most closely to the Mediterranean diet were significantly less likely to die. On the other hand, those who did not adhere to the diet faced a higher risk of death.