These Foods Will Help You Live Longer

Jonathan Niederhoffer

Scientists say that the first human being who will live to 150 years has already been born. If you’re interested in putting your hat in the ring, here’s what you need to eat to live as long as possible.

Berries

Jeremy Ricketts

Berries, especially dark ones like blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries, are notably high in antioxidants — chemical compounds that prevent oxidation and other reactions that can lead cell damage. Vitamins A, C, and E are all antioxidants.

Fish

chuttersnap

It’s not the first time you’ve heard this, but fish is an ideal low-fat protein that also offers omega-3 fatty acids (“good fats” that are excellent for heart health), Vitamin D, and selenium. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends one to two servings of fatty fish — salmon, herring, anchovies, sardines — a week to reduce your risk of heart disease. Incorporating fish into one’s diet has also been proven to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke, depression and mental decline with age. You might have also heard that the Japanese diet, which is rich in fish and vegetables, has allowed Japanese men and women to have some of the longest life expectancies on the planet (87 for women and 80 for men, compared to 81 for women and 76 for men in the United States).

Red Chili Peppers

Jonathan Niederhoffer

In a study published in the Public Library of Science, researchers found that diets that include consumption of hot red chili peppers were linked to reduced rates of mortality, which means that subjects with a taste for heat actually lived longer, on average, than those without. The paper’s authors also noted the relationship between spices and a reduced risk of obesity, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. All in all, those are some pretty good reasons to pour on the hot sauce.

Whole Grains

Shutterstock

A key component of Mediterranean eating — another diet that knocks it out of the park when it comes to longevity — is the use of whole grains, or unprocessed grains that contain all the original components (bran, germ, endosperm) as they did when growing in the field. While “refined” grains may sound fancier, they actually refer to grains that are missing one or more of those components, and therefore missing nutrients. Rice, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, oats, amaranth, and wheat are all considered to be whole grains. Diets that are rich in whole grains, which offer vitamins, minerals, and protein, have been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, some forms of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Coffee

Waranya Mooldee

Published in 2015, a large study (208,500 men and women) with a follow-up period of 30 years found that regular coffee drinkers (between one and five cups a day) had lower risks of mortality than those who drank no coffee at all. Importantly, researchers saw “significant inverse associations” between coffee consumption and deaths due to cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases and suicide.

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables 

Heder Neves

This seems like a no-brainer, but eating lots of fruits and vegetables is not only good for you on a daily basis, it will actually extend your life. In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, scientists observed that adults who ate seven or more servings of produce a day had a 42 percent lower risk of death. Although the study did not investigate which specific fruits and vegetables had the most significant impact, the data indicates that vegetables are a better “protective” element against mortality. Fresh fruit and vegetables are best, scientists noted, as frozen and canned vegetables were actually linked to a higher mortality risk, possibly due to added sugar.

Nuts 

Shutterstock

In a study of more than 200,000 people, researchers found that people who ate peanuts, almonds, pecans, and walnuts, were significantly less likely to have died from a health-related cause, like heart disease, than those whose diets did not include nuts. Of all the nuts available in your grocery store, peanuts are by far the cheapest, but provide the same nutritional protection against mortality — so make those PB&Js heavy on the PB from now on.

Seaweed

Shutterstock

Another staple of the Japanese diet, seaweed is excellent for your digestive health, high in nutrients like iodine, magnesium, and folate, and has been linked to lower blood pressure and reduced risk of stroke. Some experts believe seaweed to be an important contributor to the lower rates of breast cancer in Japan. And, on the island of Okinawa, where so many seniors live to be 100 that there’s a dedicated Okinawa Centenarian Study, seaweed is eaten multiple times a week. If the texture of unprocessed seaweed freaks you out, dried seaweed is the way to go.