Remain healthier longer

Published on December 7, 2021 | in Foods, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Physical Health By safcol |

by Ashleigh Feltham
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

Remain healthier longer. While there is no magic pill to increase your lifespan, the choices you make can add up to a lot of extra or lost time. One lifestyle factor which influences your chances of a longer life is your diet.

The Western Diet is typically high in red and processed meats, added sugar and fat and to put it simply can be life-shortening. A recent study that supports this statement found that those people who swapped only 10% of their diet from beef and processed meats to selected seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes remained healthier longer if this swap was maintained.

Here are some easy ways you can make a 10% change in your regular eating habit to gain years if kept up as a lifestyle.

Swap half the red meat in bolognaise sauce for legumes like red kidney beans.
Instead of a Devon sandwich at lunch try a salad sandwich with hummus or tahini.
Move over fried bacon and eggs try baking mushrooms and tomatoes with a side of baked beans with your eggs in the morning.
Instead of beef jerky sticks for a snack try 2-3 wholegrain crackers with 50g of avocado and pepitas sprinkled on top.
Instead of takeaway pepperoni pizza try a pizza using Safcol Responsibly Fished Tuna in Springwater 185g or Safcol Premium Salmon Skinless and Boneless in Springwater 200g as the star protein with Italian herbs and spices, olives, red onion, and mozzarella cheese.
Swap a sausage roll for a grilled tofu sandwich.
When making a food platter try adding nuts, sliced boiled eggs or grilled vegetables instead of processed meats.
Make your beef burger patties with half the amount of meat and substitute with finely chopped mushroom. Mushrooms are great at soaking up the flavour of red meat and making a perfect swap.

Take home message

What is brilliant about this study is it shows that you do not need to become completely plant-based to help increase your chances of living longer. Remain healthier longer by trying these easy swaps today. You may be adding years to your life if they become lifestyle choices.

Not only is Safcol the Seafood Experts tuna lunchbox friendly, but it also tastes delicious, and boasts some amazing health benefits! Tuna contains Omega-3 fats that are an unsaturated form of fat called polyunsaturated. These types of fats cannot be made by the body, so we need to include them as part of our diet to stay healthy. For good health, you need omega-3 fats in our diet, particularly the type which comes from fish and seafood because it contains two acids known as docosahexaenoic acid or DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA. These two acids are linked to better health for your body particularly for your brain and heart.

Reference:

Stylianou, K.S., Fulgoni, V.L. & Jolliet, O. Small targeted dietary changes can yield substantial gains for human and environmental health. Nat Food 2, 616–627 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00343-4

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healthy eating, lifespan, Nutrition, Omega 3, Physical Health, protein, Seafood