Scientists say humans could live 10 years longer if they could only do this

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

People could live an extra 10-years by fine-tuning their diet, according to a new study.

Waving the typical Western diet goodbye could keep millions of people alive for longer, even if they are already past 80, say scientists.

Now, scientists at the University of Bergen in Norway have found swapping meats for veggies and nuts could add a decade to people's life expectancy.

People in their twenties could add a decade to their lives, but even when you're 60, switching diets could still add eight or nine years.

And once you hit 80 you could still add more than three years by swapping.

The researchers created an online calculator dubbed Food4HealthyLife which people can use to see what changes they can make to live longer.

Bad diets are responsible for an estimated 11 million deaths every year and force many more to live with life limiting disabilities.

Study author Dr. Lars Fadnes said: “Understanding the relative health potential of different food groups could enable people to make feasible and significant health gains.

"The Food4HealthyLife calculator could be a useful tool for clinicians, policy makers, and lay-people to understand the health impact of dietary choices.”

Many people follow what's known as a Western diet, which is high in processed and packaged foods, red meat, dairy products and sugary snacks.

The researchers built a model using existing data so they could instantly calculate what benefits making diet changes would have on a person's life expectancy.

Making changes to the typical Western diet from the age of 20 would extend men and women's lives by more than 10 years, they found.

The largest gains in life expectancy would be made by eating more legumes, whole grains and nuts, while cutting back on red and processed meats.

People in the UK consume on average 86.3 grammes of red meat per day, which is slightly above the NHS' recommended 70 grammes.

Even after the age of 60, giving up the Western Diet adds between eight and nine years to life-expectancy, the researcher found.

While gains diminished with age, 80-year-olds were still able to extend their life by 3.4 years by making these changes.

Bad diets have been associated with a wide range of life threatening conditions like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, all leading causes of death in the UK.

Just 40 percent of the country's population is estimated to follow a balanced and healthy diet, while around 35 million people are considered to be overweight or obese.

Dr. Fadnes said: "Research until now has shown health benefits associated with separate food groups or specific diet patterns but given limited information on the health impact of other diet changes.

"Our modeling methodology has bridged this gap.”

The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine.