2 Key Things Women Should Eat More Of In Midlife For Healthier Old Age

…and other items from this week’s health news:

Don’t go against the grain

Researchers followed 47,513 women (not in the stalker sense, in the longitudinal cohort study sense) recording their diets and health for more than 30 years. Those who ate more high-quality carbohydrates and fiber in midlife were more likely to age healthily. So, per this study, that’s what it would be good to focus on eating now, to enjoy better health in older age.

These “high-quality” carbs came from foods rich in fiber like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, while those who ate more refined carbs, such as by added sugar, white flour products, and highly-processed potato products, did not age so well.

Notably, this association continued to hold true even when related factors such as total calorie intake were taken into account. This is important, as a lot of refined carbohydrate products are also very high in calories, so it was critical to check that it was the carb quality that truly mattered, not the calorie count:

Read in full: Midlife intakes of high-quality carbohydrates and dietary fiber linked to better health in older women

Related: What Do The Different Kinds Of Fiber Do? 30 Foods That Rank Highest

Federal research cuts: what the impact will be

As the US’s federal government makes research funding cuts and plans more, it’s easy to despair and think “so much less science will be done”.

And, that’s partly true (alas), but it’s worth noting that the funding cuts are not random or equal, rather, they are being disproportionately applied to areas of science that contradict the opinions of the government. Similar to the approaches of stopping COVID testing so that case rates will go down, and stopping food quality testing so that there won’t be recalls all the time, a “what we don’t know can’t hurt us” approach is not only not ideal for public health, but also, will likely end up resulting in very misleading publication bias (because studies that don’t get funded, won’t get published), which also means there will likely be, proportionally, a significant rise in privately-funded research—which, private interests being what they are, will invariably mean a commercial bias, as studies will be disproportionately funded by companies with things to sell, instead of the National Institute of Health with the primary goal of actually safeguarding the nation’s health.

This is not cheerful news, but the good news for the majority of people is that, per the below-linked report, things that affect minorities are first on the chopping block. So statistically, that’s probably not you, dear reader (because that’s how “minority” works statistically). But watch out, because “women” is also a category on the “DEI” list, and as the report also notes, this means that research into women’s health issues will likely be restricted further.

Read in full: Academic medical researchers face the reality of federal cuts

Related: Vaccine Mythbusting

“Beans, beans, good for your heart” is about more than just the fiber content

Amongst the world’s scientific community, it’s fairly uncontroversial that most people could stand to eat more plants and fewer animal products. While the scientific consensus doesn’t hold for outright veganism being critical for health (indeed, fermented dairy products and fish are considered healthy in moderation, and poultry appears to be at least neutral in moderation), the worst offenders are well-established as processed and/or red meat, with pork going into the same metabolic category notwithstanding not being a red meat per se, and unfermented dairy products being something of a mixed bag, healthwise.

Which means that enjoying a wide array of plants as one’s main source of protein is beneficial. Since heart disease remains a #1 killer in the US, it’s worth mentioning that enjoying more plant-based protein is a statistically safe bet:

❝For every 20 grams of plant-based protein consumed each day, the risk for hypertension decreased by 16% compared to those who ate the fewest plant foods.❞

(ideally not diversifying into a wide array of processed meat substitutes though; that increased blood pressure risk in the study, probably due to the increased sodium content that’s common in such products)

Read in full: Plant-based proteins may help lower high blood pressure risk, research indicates

Related: Plant vs Animal Protein: Head to Head