Which Diets Boost Longevity?

If you have been wondering what you should eat to improve your chance at a long healthy life, you are not alone. Curious nutrition scientists analyzed dietary data from more than 103,000 UK Biobank participants to find out which diets boost longevity (Science Advances, Feb. 13, 2026).

The UK Biobank Study of Diets to Boost Longevity:

The UK Biobank offers scientists an exceptional opportunity to study lifestyle questions. The participants have provided generous quantities of data on their lives, such as their usual eating and exercise habits. In addition, investigators have access to laboratory tests and genetic information. With a lengthy follow-up period, researchers can answer a number of interesting questions.

In this study, participants were all middle aged and free of disease when the study started. Over a follow-up period of 10.6  years, more than 4,000 of them died. The scientists had scored dietary questionnaires based on how closely they adhered to five different diets. They hoped to identify which diets boost longevity. As it turns out, all of them did.

Which Diets Boost Longevity?

The helpful diets included an Alternate Mediterranean Diet, an Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (also known as DASH), a healthful Plant-based Diet Index and the Diabetes Risk Reduction Diet. People ranking in the top scores of any of these eating patterns could expect to live 1.5 to 3 years longer than those ranking at the bottom.

The best patterns for men and women were slightly different, though. Men did best on the Diabetes Risk Reduction Diet, while women fared better on the Alternate Mediterranean Diet. Researchers had access to genetic information about all participants. However, taking genetics into account did not alter the results on beneficial diets.

According to the scientists,

“Our findings underscore the advantages of healthy dietary patterns in prolonging life expectancy, regardless of longevity genes.”

One thing all these diets have in common is avoidance of junk food and an emphasis on plants. We have known for years that a plant-based veggie diet may give you an edge in longevity. But you don’t have to follow a completely vegetarian eating pattern to benefit. Two early studies that took different approaches both agree that eating more vegetables is good for you.

People Eating a High-Veggie Diet Live Longer:

Researchers collected data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Circulation, online, March 1, 2020). Over 100,000 adults were tracked for as many as three decades. The participants filled out questionnaires on their diets every few years. In this analysis, the investigators focused primarily on fruits and vegetables. They also considered data from 26 other international studies involving nearly two million people.

People who consumed roughly five servings of produce daily were least likely to die during the study. The greatest benefit seemed to come from three servings of veggies and two servings of fruit daily.

More Evidence on How Diets Boost Longevity:

An earlier study from Loma Linda University compared mortality statistics of more than 73,000 volunteers from Seventh-day Adventist churches in North America (JAMA Internal Medicine, online, June 3, 2013). Nearly half were non-vegetarians, eating meat occasionally.

How Much Did a Veggie Diet Help?

During a follow-up period of almost 6 years, the vegetarians had a lower risk of dying. This included vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians, those who include fish in their diet. The effects were stronger in men than in women.

What makes this study more convincing than certain others is that all participants were Seventh-day Adventists with low rates of alcohol and tobacco use. This study reinforces the idea that a diet based largely on plants and lower in meat is likely to have health benefits.

Learn More:

There are delicious meals with vegetables, some including fish, in our book, Recipes and Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy.