What does it mean to age in a healthy way? Are you eligible for the gold star for healthy aging, or is your status in question because of such habits as lack of exercise, unhealthy eating, or poor sleep routines? Standard definitions of healthy aging tend to focus on physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being and include such markers as the presence or absence of chronic illness, your functional ability and independence to carry on your daily activities, and quality of life, including social relationships and meaning or purpose. While you may not be able to give yourself an “A” in all these categories, the more you ignore them, the more likely your physical and mental health will suffer, and your later years will entail challenges and limits rather than resilience and adventure. Better Health While Aging’s Dr. Leslie Kernisan has a “Healthy Aging Checklist” that includes optimizing the management of chronic conditions; promoting physical, brain, and emotional well-being; addressing health concerns common while aging (such as fall risks or memory loss); and getting recommended preventive health services. While taking these steps will not guarantee you good health as you get older, ignoring them will likely land you in a world of hurt. For some of the preventive services you may want to utilize, schedule that doctor’s appointment and click here.

 (Tips On Healthy Aging From The National Institute on Aging)

While some influences on your aging may be beyond your control (genetics, finances, your environment), much is still within your control and can improve, even if you are well into your 70s or beyond. Shifting to a healthier lifestyle can mitigate and even reverse damage accumulated in earlier years by, for example, committing to such habits as more movement, better eating, better sleep, and reduced stress. Recently, Kiplinger published a post on some practical steps you can take to age well (and perhaps even save some money and enjoy your retirement more). Among the suggestions? Reading food labels for healthier eating, getting regular check-ups, picking up some weights for regular exercise and strength training, and cutting way back on alcohol intake. Couple this with a recent “successful aging” framework highlighted by Fortune, which features a focus on what matters to you as the engine to drive your healthy aging plan, along with keeping track of medications, your mobility, and your mind (the 4Ms), and you may very well have a solid recipe for excelling in your later years.

But speaking of recipes, perhaps the most important recent development about healthy aging comes from a study published in Nature Medicine. Looking at data from over 100,000 participants aged 39-69 over 30 years, this important research examined the relationship between various dietary patterns, including the consumption of ultra-processed food, and the experience of healthy aging, including physical, cognitive, and mental health, along with the goal of living until age 70 without the presence of chronic disease. The 8 dietary patterns studied all involve a similar approach to healthy eating, including a primary focus on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and unsaturated fats. One diet rose above the others in terms of association with healthier aging (the AHEI – Alternative Healthy Eating Index), with an 86% chance of healthier aging at age 70 for those who most closely followed this diet. But all participants who adhered to healthy eating patterns starting from midlife had a 45-86% chance of being healthy at age 70 compared to those who did not follow these healthy diets.  The more you limit your intake of ultra-processed and animal-based foods, the better your chances of aging in a healthy way. As one expert made clear, “Diet is the second leading modifiable risk factor for chronic disease following tobacco use.” Of course, the much-touted Mediterranean diet was one of the diets studied in this research and continues to be an important approach to eating for those concerned with maintaining their health as they get older. While there’s no one “right” diet to follow, and not all of the foods you consume need to be organic or fresh (frozen or canned vegetables and fruits can work), the bottom line is that what you eat has a large influence on how healthy you are in your later years. So slice up some avocado and read more here.