Mediterranean Diet for Active and Healthy Aging

Abstract

The significant rise in burden of age-related chronic degenerative disorders is increasing the need for products that support active and healthy aging. Today’s sedentary lifestyle enhances the propensity to aging related diseases and premature death. Accumulating data establishes a beneficial relationship between food and health. The modern consumer has become aware of the valuable impact of Mediterranean diet (MD) on healthy aging. MD is largely plant based and rich in sources of unsaturated fatty acids like nuts and extra virgin olive oil, legumes, whole grains, fish, and fresh vegetables and fruits and it discourages the use of red and processed meat, added sugars as well as refined grains, has been associated with decreased risk of developing various chronic degenerative age-related disorders and increased life expectancy. With the advent of modern medicine and technological advancements the life expectancy has increased in the past few decades but the gap between the healthy life years and the extra years added to the life still remains there. Aging is a process that increases the vulnerability of an organism to challenges. During this process the oxidative stress leads towards various degenerative cascades that result in functional decline in aging population that is mainly associated with under nutrition in older people. Cognitive function declines, reduced mobility and sensory alterations are seen, oral and GI functions and health become compromised, and chronic diseases and age-related illness like osteoarthritis, diabetes type II, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer are also exhibited. The active and healthy aging is a prerequisite in order to enhance the quality of life as people age. The MD has proven to be the best tool to counteract the degenerative processes and promote an active healthy aging. Major effectors of MD are reduced caloric intake, decreased consumption of saturated fatty acids, microbiota derived metabolites, less amino acid utilization, and an increase in phytochemical consumption. MD protects against oxidative damage, injury, and inflammation and platelet aggregation, lowers lipid levels, modifies the hormones as well as growth factors that are involved in cancer pathogenesis, and inhibits the nutrient sensing pathway via restriction of specific amino acid as well as produces certain metabolites by gut microbiota and it influences the metabolic health. Thus, the molecular and metabolic health is chiefly associated with what we eat. Restriction of the calories can enhance the life span as well as the health span only if it is coupled with sufficient intake of all the essential nutrients and the micronutrients.