Harvard -backed diet makes you 2x likely to be healthy at 75

2025 and it looks like we still can’t reach a consensus on which diet – vegan, these, Mediterranean – is “the best”.

Experts say part of the problem is that what qualifies as “the best” or even “healthier” depends on your personal goals. Are you looking to lose weight, build muscle, save the planet (and its animals) or reduce your risk of chronic long -term disease?

If your focus is to be healthy in your 70s, a Harvard -backed diet recently won the highest prize in a longitudinal study published in Nature Medicine magazine.

Researchers analyzed the data of over 105,000 people aged 39-69 over the age of 30 and found that those who strongly followed the alternative index of healthy eating (AHEI) were 86% more likely to be healthy at 70 and more than twice as likely to be disease without disease.

AHEI was developed by Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health researchers as an alternative to the healthy food index (HEI).

While they are similar in nature, Hei was created by USDA to measure how well a diet accumulates until their dietary guidelines for Americans.

AHEI, on the other hand, is more focused on preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Compared to HEI, the party places more emphasis on healthy fats, nuts and legumes – and allows for moderate alcohol consumption.

The diet also relies heavily on fruits, vegetables and whole grains while protecting for lower consumption of red and processed meat and sugar-sweetened drinks both are bad for long-term heart health.

On its website, Harvard clearly tells people who want to adhere to the party to “concentrate on squeezing into extra green leafy vegetables” – means gap potatoes and redness – and “avoid fruit juice because excessive drinking can increase your risk of diabetes”.

They also advocate for minimizing refined grains in favor of whole grains such as brown rice and quinoa, receiving at least one day of plant -based protein service, adding weekly fish aid and exchange butter for olive oil.

“Studies have previously investigated dietary models in the context of specific diseases or how long people live,” said study co -author Frank Hu, head of food at the Harvard Th Chan Public Health School, in a press release.

“Jonah gets a multifaceted look, asking, how does the diet affect people’s ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life while old?”

The study found that 9.3% of its participants – 9,771 people – were in good cognitive and physical condition at the time they were in the 1970s.

“Since active and independent attitude is an advantage for both individuals and public health, research on healthy aging is essential,” co-author Marta Guasch-Ferré said.

“Our findings suggest that dietary models rich in plant -based foods, with moderate involvement of animal -based healthy foods, can promote overall healthy aging and help form future dietary guidelines.”

But while the AHEI diet may have been the winner, the researchers found that the strong observance of any of the 8 healthy diets they focused on was associated with aging well.

The controller was the planetary health diet index (PhD), which is an eco-friendly version of the AHEI diet that is ahead of plants and encourages sustainable food choices.

“Our findings also show that there is no diet of all sizes,” said lead author Anne-Julie Tossier, professor assistant at the Montreal University Department of Nutrition. “Healthy diets can be adapted to suit individual needs and preferences.”