Healthy Aging: Nutrition Strategies to Support Longevity
We’ve partnered with Vitality Nutrition‘s Registered Dietitian Courtney Berg to share her best tips to help you improve your overall diet and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Click here to meet Courtney.
Living longer is one thing. Living well is what truly matters!
“Longevity” isn’t just about lifespan or how long you live. It’s about healthspan! Healthspan is the length of life free from major chronic diseases. Healthy aging means maintaining strength, cognitive function, metabolic health, independence, and overall well-being as the years pass! While genetics play a role, nutrition choices have a powerful impact on how we age.
Key Takeaways
Longevity isn’t about a single “superfood,” multiple supplements, or strict diets. Healthy aging is supported by consistent nutrition habits as well as regular exercise, social connection, and access to care.
A focus on simple nutrition principles such as a diet rich in minimally processed sources of protein, fibre, omega-3s, vegetables, and fruits will support your body.
Small daily choices add up, and it’s never too early or too late to invest in your health.
1. Prioritize Protein to Maintain Muscle
Adequate protein, alongside strength training, preserves muscle mass and metabolic function. Muscle supports metabolism, bone health, and independence! Furthermore, a protein rich diet helps you recover from illness faster, manage weight more easily, improves immunity, and ensures you obtain other key nutrients like zinc, calcium, and iron!
Habit: Include protein at every meal. High-quality sources include eggs, poultry, fish, meat, dairy, beans, lentils, and tofu!
2. Eat Until Satisfied Versus Full
Maintaining a healthy weight is associated with improved health outcomes. In a traditional culture known for long lifespans (ie. Okinawa, Japan), a practice of eating until about 80% full is common. This strategy is rooted in moderation and encourages mindfulness and awareness without calorie tracking or restricting!
Habit: Eat slowly, pause between bites, and stop when comfortably full rather than overfull.
3. Choose Minimally Processed Foods Most Often
Instead of focusing on what to remove, focus on adding nutrient-dense whole foods! Minimally processed foods naturally provide protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols that are associated with longevity.
Habit: Opt for the less processed version of an ingredient whenever possible! For example, choosing steel-cut or old-fashioned oats instead of sugar-sweetened instant varieties.
4. Eat a Rainbow of Plant Foods
Polyphenols from a range of colourful plant foods have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which helps to protect cells from damage!
Examples: Saskatoon and Haskap berries, leafy greens, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, herbs and spices, green tea, and coffee.
Habit: Include a variety of colourful plant foods each week. While fresh produce is wonderful, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables retain polyphenols, are budget-friendly, and convenient. For example, add frozen berries to smoothies, canned tomatoes to soups, or frozen vegetables to stir-fries!
5. Eat High-Fibre Foods Daily
Fiber supports gut health which is linked to aging and disease prevention. Aim for 25g or more per day!
Sources: Fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and avocado.
Habit: Read nutrition labels to select foods with ≥3g fiber per serving. Additionally, prioritize naturally high-fibre foods that don’t come with labels such as fresh fruits and vegetables!
6. Include Omega-3 Rich Foods
Traditional diets linked to longevity, like the Mediterranean or Nordic diets, include foods high in omega-3 fats! Omega-3 fats combat inflammation and support brain and heart health.
Sources: Salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel, walnuts, chia seeds, flax, and hemp hearts.
Habit: Include omega-3 sources at least twice per week. Budget-friendly sources include canned fish such as salmon, mackerel, or sardines!
7. Supplement with Vitamin D
You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements to optimize your health and longevity. However, a supplement you should consider is vitamin D!
Bone density declines with age, especially in women after menopause. Vitamin D, as well as protein and calcium, are key nutrients required to optimize bone health. Strong bones are important to prevent fractures and to maintain independence!
In Saskatchewan, sun exposure from November through March is insufficient for vitamin D synthesis. Furthermore, it is difficult to obtain vitamin D through food! Health Canada recommends adults over 51 take at least 400 IU daily.
Habit: Discuss a personalized supplement strategy with your doctor or dietitian.
References
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4035379/#S13
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7539343/#sec10
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joim.13728
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12979-023-00352-w
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12460082/
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrients/vitamin-d.html
Meet Courtney Berg, RD, B.Sc. Nutrition
About Courtney | Courtney Berg is a Registered Dietitian and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan in 2016. Her approach to nutrition continues to evolve as she learns and grows with her clients at Vitality Nutrition. However, a holistic approach remains the base of her philosophy with an emphasis on understanding how nutrition as well as sleep, mindset, exercise, and the environment work together to influence whole body health.
About Vitality Nutrition | Vitality Nutrition is a collective of Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists supporting clients in Saskatchewan and across Canada! We incorporate a unique and meaningful approach to food, fitness, and performance that empowers clients to build life-long habits and see lasting results.