ADOPTING diets to prevent diabetes in your 40s could be the key to staying physically and mentally fit in your 70s, research suggests

Research shows that adjusting diets to prevent diabetes in your 40s could be the key to physical and mental fitness in your 70s.

Research has shown that eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats in middle age helps ward off chronic disease and cognitive decline decades later.

The study, which involved more than 100,000 people and lasted 30 years, found that people who followed one of eight healthy dietary patterns were up to 84 percent more likely to still be functioning well at age 70.

According to experts at Harvard University, the link remains strong even when other lifestyle factors are taken into account, and they emphasize that nutrition plays a role in promoting healthy aging.

Previous studies have shown that a healthy lifestyle can help prevent chronic diseases. In this study, the researchers looked at the absence of diseases combined with the ability to live independently with a good quality of life.

They analyzed data from more than 106,000 individuals, taken from dietary questionnaires administered every four years, starting in 1986.

Participants were at least 39 years old at the start of the study and had no chronic diseases.

The researchers compared the rates of healthy aging among people in the highest and lowest 20 percent of people with healthy dietary adherence.

In 2016, almost half of the people had died and only 9.2 percent reached the age of 70 or older, without disease and with good physical, cognitive and mental health.

People who ate the most fruits, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy products were 84 percent more likely to age well than those who ate the least.

A low-carb “hyperinsulinemia” diet — named after the condition in which the body produces too much insulin and often recommended for people with type 2 diabetes — increased the risk by 78 percent.

The planetary health diet — typically consisting of half a plate of fruits and vegetables and the other half of whole grains, plant proteins such as beans, lentils, legumes, nuts, and small amounts of meat and dairy — came in second at 68 percent.

Harvard University experts said the links remained strong even when other lifestyle factors were taken into account, and stressed that diet should be used to promote healthy aging.

Closely followed by the Mediterranean diet, which typically includes two to three servings of fish per week, while a predominantly plant-based diet was associated with a 43 percent higher chance of aging gracefully.

People who eat more trans fat, sodium, meat, red and processed meat are least likely to age healthily, according to findings presented at the nutrition conference in Chicago.

Dr Anne-Julie Tessier, lead author, said: ‘People who followed a healthy diet in middle age, particularly a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and healthy fats, were significantly more likely to age healthily.

“This suggests that what you eat in middle age may play a major role in how well you age.”