A renowned doctor, known for his dietary advice, has recently finished filming a brand-new series which shows him examining the ageing process - and how eating the right foods can help people live a longer and healthier life.
While creating the documentary, Dr Michael Mosely spoke to some of the world's leading scientists who are currently researching how people can slow - and in some cases even reverse - the ageing process on the whole.
A surprising conclusion found by Dr Mosely on his travels was how genetics only play a relatively small part in how a person ages, with lifestyle being far more important in the grand scheme of things.
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Coventry Live reports that the doctor also found that eating for your gut health, microbiome, is integral to ageing well and surviving well beyond the average lifespan. Dr Mosley wrote in a Daily Mail column: "We know that what, and how much, you eat play key roles in whether you stay healthy or not — but what seems to be equally important is the impact this food has on your gut microbiome, the mix of bacteria, viruses and fungi, which live in your intestines."
A study published earlier this month in the journal Nature Aging, scientists at Guangxi Academy of Sciences in China compared the microbiomes of 1,575 people, ranging in age from 20 to over 100. Explaining the findings, Dr Mosley continued: "They found that the healthy centenarians (those least troubled by age-related disease) had a very diverse mix of bugs in their guts, with particularly high levels of a bacterial species called Bacteroidetes.
"This bug has previously been linked to slimness, and is present in far smaller amounts in the guts of people who are overweight."
A healthy microbiome not only significantly boosts your immune system, but has been shown to reduce inflammation linked to numerous cancers and heart disease. To boost your microbiome with 'anti-ageing' foods, Dr Mosley recommends consuming a largely plant-based, fibre-rich diet, making sure you eat lots of 'different-coloured fruit and veg'.
The doctor also adds that the best way to boost gut levels of Bacteroidetes and other 'good' bacteria is to eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir and kimchi daily. Meanwhile, foods packed with sugar tend to have the opposite impact on ageing and your gut health.
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