Vegetables and fruits and physical education - the guarantee of a long life
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Women in their seventies, regularly engaged in physical education and eating the necessary amounts of fruits and vegetables, live longer than others, according to scientists from the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University (both US).
Scientists examined 713 women aged 70 to 79 years who participated in the Women's Health and Aging Studies project, whose goal was to study the causes and course of physical disability in elderly women. A lot of previous studies evaluated the positive effect of physical education and healthy nutrition on life expectancy, the same is unique in that scientists first considered both factors together.
To determine the amount of plant food absorbed by participants, specialists measured the level of carotenoids in their blood - healing plant pigments, which are processed by the body into antioxidants, such as beta-carotene. The more fruits and vegetables a person eats, the more carotenoids in his blood.
The physical activity of the subjects was assessed by means of a questionnaire in which it was required to indicate the amount of time spent on physical load of different levels. Then these data were converted into the amount of calories spent. 53% of participants did not perform any exercises, 21% were moderately active, and the remaining 26% were most active. During the five-year observation, 11.5% of the subjects died.
The level of carotenoids in the blood was 12% higher for those who survived by the end of the observation and whose total physical activity was more than twice as high. Women from the most physically active group died 71% less frequently for the least active, and those who had the highest concentration of carotenoids - 46% less. Thus, the level of physical activity combined with the total content of carotenoids in the blood predicted a longer life.