As we age, physical aging is inevitable, but why do some people look much younger than their actual age? This is a key point that I want to emphasize:Physical age is more important than actual age! There are many different ways to assess physical age. Generally speaking, the fewer diseases the better, and the stronger the physical functions the better! The content of the paper to be shared this time is closely related to this goal, and will allow everyone to quickly learn how to effectively slow down the aging of the body in a simple way.
This articlepaperPublished in 2024 in the authoritative journal in the field of nutrition, "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition", hoping to understand the relationship between nutritional intake and aging. The research team reviewed a large amount of data collected by the Nurses' Healthy Study (NHS). After screening, they initially included data from 48,762 female subjects and calculated nutritional intake based on questionnaire data from the subjects in 1984 and 1986. In subsequent follow-up, the research team evaluated the subjects' chronic disease status, cognitive function, physical activity function, and mental health through questionnaires, telephone interviews, and clinical data comparison in 2014 and 2016. The research team defined healthy aging as the absence of 11 major chronic diseases, no impairment of cognitive or physical function, and good mental health.
After analysis, among the 48,762 subjects, 3,721 (7.6%) subjects fully met the status of [healthy aging], 7,303 (15.0%) subjects still had normal physical activity functions, 15,131 (31.0%) subjects did not have 11 major chronic diseases, 18,211 (37.3%) subjects still had good mental health, and 23, 215 (47.6%) subjects still had normal cognitive functions.
And furtherProtein intakeversusHealth statusThe results of the model analysis after correcting for interference factors showed that protein intake was significantly correlated with the probability of healthy aging. If we break it down into details,Total ProteinFor every 3% increase in calorie intake, the chance of healthy aging increases by 5%;Animal proteinFor every 3% increase in calorie intake, the chance of healthy aging increases by 7%;Dairy ProteinFor every 3% increase in calorie intake, the chance of healthy aging increases by 14%;For every 3% increase in plant protein calories consumed, the chance of healthy aging increases by 38%!
If we discuss the four aspects of health status (chronic disease status, cognitive function, physical activity function, and mental health) separately, the results show thatAnimal proteinIntake is positively associated with slowing the decline in physical activity function, but may slightly increase the risk of chronic disease states.Dairy ProteinIntake was positively correlated with slowing down the decline of physical activity function, and there were no significant differences in other aspects.Plant protein intake is positively correlated with slowing down the deterioration of physical activity and maintaining mental health..
From the above, it can be seen that,Plant-based protein intake is most effective in maintaining healthy aging in women!
Of course, if we study the groups with different total protein intake (Q1~Q5 groups, total protein intake calories to total calories ratio: 14.2%, 16.5%, 18.0%, 19.5%, 22.5%), we will find that the proportion of plant protein intake calories to total calories in each group is almost the same (only 4.7~4.9%). But why is it that as the total protein intake increases (Q1→Q5 groups), the effect of plant protein in promoting healthy aging also gradually increases (Q1 is the control group, Q2~Q5: increased by 15%, 12%, 23%, 41% respectively)?
The author believes that, considering that the proportion of obese people gradually increases with the increase in total protein intake (Q1→Q5 group), it means that the total calorie intake has exceeded the body's needs. This may be due to the fact that plant protein (mainly soy products, please see this article for additional benefits)this article) Compared with animal or dairy protein, while providing the same amount of protein energy, it has less disadvantages such as saturated fat and potential bad cooking methods. Therefore, when the proportion of calorie intake from plant protein does not increase significantly (that is, the proportion of calorie intake from animal or dairy protein gradually increases in the Q1→Q5 groups), the effect of balancing these potential disadvantages will be gradually amplified for every 3% increase in calorie intake from plant protein. (Please refer to the charts in the paper for the above data)
In summary, plant protein has greater comprehensive health benefits than animal or dairy protein. Although this paper only explored female subjects, the author believes that the effect will be more obvious in men (because men are generally at higher risk of cardiovascular disease). Therefore, it is recommended that you tryIncrease your daily intake of plant-based protein, and then achieve a healthier life in the future~!
〈The author is former Attending Physician in National Taiwan University Hospital, and Master of Science from National Taiwan University〉