A study following 2240 adults, mean age 65, over an eleven year period, indicates that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids may prolong life by up to five years. For comparison, being a smoker at the age of 65 is likely to subtract 4.7 years of life compared to non-smokers. The research originally set out to establish lifestyle factors which could indicate whether an individual could be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease eg unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking etc. A 2018 study on 2500 people suggested that good omega-3 intake was associated with reduced mortality from all causes.
(Using an erythrocyte fatty acid fingerprint to predict risk of all-cause mortality: the Framingham Offspring Cohort. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 16 June 2021.)
Making your front garden greener, can help you to feel more happy, relaxed, and closer to nature. A four year collaborative project carried out by the universities of Sheffield, Westminster and Virginia, with the Royal Horticultural Society, looked at adding plants to previously bare front gardens in deprived streets of Greater Manchester.
Forty-two residents received a tree, a shrub (azalea), a climber (clematis), lavender, rosemary, spring bulbs, plus enough bedding plants to fill two containers. A second, control group of residents, received the same plants one year later. The researchers tracked residents’ cortisol levels before and after the planting, to use as an indicator of their stress levels.
Before the experiment, 24% of residents had healthy cortisol patterns. Over the course of the year following the plantings, this increased to 53% of residents. Additionally residents’ perceived stress levels decreased by 6% once the plants had been introduced. More than half (52%) of residents said their front garden contributed to them feeling happier; 40% said it helped them to feel more relaxed and a quarter said it helped them feel closer to nature.
A study by the University of Technology Sydney, of 139 000 adults aged 45 and over, reveals associations between food groups, memory loss and heart disease. A high consumption of fruit, vegetable and protein-rich foods was found to be associated with lower risk of deteriorating memory. A high consumption of fruit and vegetables was also associated with lower risk of comorbid heart disease. People aged 80 and over, with low cereal consumption, had the highest risk of memory loss and comorbid heart disease compared with people in other age groups.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University looking at walnuts and the gut biome, have found that eating walnuts daily as part of a healthy diet, leads to increases in certain beneficial gut bacteria associated with improvements in some risk factors for heart disease. Forty-two adults aged 30 to 65 and already identified as at risk from cardiovascular disease, were put on randomised, crossover diet trials. For the first fortnight, they consumed a standard western diet. There then followed three different six week diets to test the effects of walnuts. The walnut diet included 57 to 99 grams per day of whole walnuts. Faecal samples were collected to analyse gut bacteria.