Women who eat mostly unprocessed carbs — like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fiber — and avoid refined carbohydrates in midlife may be more likely to reach age 70 in good health, according to a new study.
The study, published Friday in JAMA Network Open, spanned more than 30 years and followed over 47,000 women who completed detailed food and health questionnaires every two years.
Healthy aging meant reaching age 70 without a diagnosis for any of 11 major chronic diseases. It also meant no memory loss, mental health problems or physical limitations.
“Dietary fiber and high-quality carbohydrates are really good at preventing chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer,” Andres Ardisson Korat, the study’s lead author and a scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, told ABC News. “But the novel finding of our paper is that it really affects all aspects of healthy aging.”
Women in the study who regularly ate high-quality carbohydrates were 30% more likely to maintain their physical abilities and mental sharpness as they aged. Swapping out fat, animal protein and refined carbs — such as white rice and sugary cereals — for whole grains, fruits and vegetables offered even greater protection against disease and decline.
The study didn’t prove that “good” carbs directly cause healthy aging, only that they are associated with better health for the women as they entered their golden years. But the researchers did take into account other key factors like exercise, weight, smoking and overall diet.