A more plant-based diet can increase life expectancy by more than 10 years…

If the future of the planet is at stake on our plates, so is our longevity. For the first time, researchers have calculated how many years of life can be gained based on the adopted diet. Conclusion: a 20-year-old European can increase his life expectancy by more than ten years by eating less red meat and more plant-based foods. And even at the age of 80, the adoption of a healthier diet makes it possible to live longer, according to the study. Explanations.

Five fruits and vegetables a day! This nutritional recommendation, everyone has already heard it. And for good reason, the contents of our plates have a great influence on our health, all the more beneficial since it is vegetable and unprocessed. For the first time, Norwegian researchers wanted to accurately quantify the impact of changes in eating habits on the quality of life, reports Franceinfo. Their study has just been published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

A plant-based diet contributes to longevity

To establish their estimates, the four researchers defined three types of diets :

• A “Western” type diet with a high intake of meat, sugar and refined cereals. It is still the majority in Europe, China and the United States.
• An intermediate diet that includes more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and less red meat, processed meat and sugary drinks.
• An “optimal” diet where the share of the vegetable is reinforced and which excludes red meat and processed meats.

The team of scientists then based their calculations on data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), a global epidemiology research program at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, USA. The crossing of these data with…