Get more of your proteins from nuts and peas if you want to live longer

Like your meat?  You might want to get more of your proteins from plants if you want to increase your chances of a long life.

People who eat more plant-based proteins, such as nuts, chickpeas, tofu and peas, generally live longer, researchers from Sydney University have discovered.

But that’s true only for adults.  Children under the age of five should be eating more animal proteins, such as meat and eggs, to survive the first few years of life.

The researchers collated data from 101 countries to understand whether the type of protein a population consumed had an impact on longevity.  They found that countries whose consumption of plant-based proteins was higher, such as India, had relatively longer life expectancies than countries whose protein consumption was more from animal fats, such as the US.

People who primarily eat plant proteins, including legumes, nuts and whole grains, have a lower risk of chronic diseases and tend to live longer, with studies suggesting that plant-based diets have contributed to the longevity in the most long-lived communities on the planet, such as Okinawa in Japan, Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in California.

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