Longer life with foods that suppress inflammation – Uppsala

The conclusion attracts researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and the University of Uppsala in a study of nearly 70,000 women and men of middle and older age from the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland and Örebro.

"Our results hopefully will encourage more people to eat more efficiently and reduce or completely avoid foods that may stimulate chronic but low-fat inflammation of the body, such as red meat, soft drinks and alcohol. chips, "says Professor Alicja Wolk from the Karolinska and Uppsala Institutes.

Participants were generally in good health when, at the beginning of the study, they completed a comprehensive health and lifestyle survey, with detailed questions about, among other things, their health habits. of food and drinks.

Based on the responses, the researchers calculated each participant's score on a special anti-inflammatory food index at 16 degrees, AIKI.

The index was presented using data on both diets and levels of inflammatory CRP in the blood of more than 3,500 women in the study (see also separate article) .

Over the 16 years of monitoring women and men after answering questions about their eating habits, they are more than 16,000 dead, mostly from cardiovascular diseases or cancers.

Overall mortality as well as mortality from cardiovascular disease or cancer were significantly lower among participants with high scores in the anti-inflammatory diet index than among participants with a low score.

But not enough. The researchers also found a clear link between AIKI score of deceased women and men and their age at death, especially those who smoked.

Smokers with high AIKI scores lived an average of 1.7 years longer than smokers with low AIKI scores. For participants who had never smoked, the difference in life between those with the highest AIKI score and those with a low AIKI score was "barely" greater than seven months.

"While smokers seem to get the most out of an anti-inflammatory diet, the best thing about health and survival is to never start smoking and the second best way to stop smoking. if you do, "says Alicja Wolk.

Those who had never smoked and who had high marks in the AIKI index lived on average 4.6 years longer than smokers who had low AIKI scores.

Why do smokers benefit the most from food and drink habits that fight inflammation in the body?

"It is likely that smoking has strong inflammatory effects that, without counteracting forces, for example, accelerate the development of atherosclerosis." In people who have never smoked, inflammatory activity in the body generally risks being weaker and therefore less beneficial than lowering the outer body, "says Alicja Wolk.

The AIKI index contains controversial points. Among other things, a moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer is an advantage of the 16 degree scale.

The researchers point out that the fact that it is proven that both control inflammation, but only when they drink in moderate amounts, does not mean that you should improve their AIKI points by drinking several glasses of beer and wine a week.

– All members of the group with the longest survival had at least 8 points in the AIDI index, but no one had more than 13 points. You do not need to eat everything that is included in AIDI to benefit from the positive effects of an anti-inflammatory diet. Note that the component of the index strongly related to the anti-inflammatory effect is very fruity and green, says Alicja Wolk.