Forget diets, the key to a longer life is to combine a variety of healthful foods throughout your lifetime.
Researchers at the University of Lund, Sweden measured the effects of anti-inflammatory foods on the body, reports Daily Mail. Inflammation is believed to be a key cause for chronic diseases and can cause cells to turn cancerous.
For four weeks, 44 healthy but overweight people, aged 50 to 75 years, ate a varied diet presumed to reduce low-grade inflammation in the body, a condition that triggers metabolic syndrome and thus obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
After a diet of oily fish, barley, soy protein, blueberries, almonds cinnamon, vinegar and wholegrain bread, the results showed a reduction of bad cholesterol by 33 per cent, blood lipids (fats) were done by 14 per cent, and the risk marker for blood clots was reduced by 26 per cent.
“The results have exceeded our expectations. I would like to claim that there has been no previous study with similar effects on healthy subjects,” said study author Professor Inger Björck, head of the University’s Antidiabetic Food Centre.
It has long been known that a healthy diet protects you against a range of diseases such as heart problems and cancer. Anti-oxidant rich fruit and vegetables, nuts, oily fish and whole grains have all been highlighted in previous research. This latest study suggests that varied meals had a great impact than adding single foods.