Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Old fashioned diet helps reduce ageing diseases

Adopting our ancestors’ diet would help reduce ageing diseases and obesity, according to international and local nutrition medicine experts at the AustralAsian Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine (A5M) Conference held recently in Melbourne.

Australian Dr Melvyn A. Sydney-Smith, nutrition medicine doctor, said our genes hadn’t adapted to the changes in our diet over the centuries.

“A person’s diet can be a serious risk factor for ageing diseases as it impacts on a person’s DNA. Human genes have only changed by 0.5% per million years, whilst there has been a huge shift in our diet and lifestyle,” said Dr Sydney-Smith.

“For example, our ancestors consumed only 1% of grain in their daily diet, whereas today it is recommended to consume between 60% and 70%. This is why our genes are struggling to cope with new diets,” he added.

According to Dr Tania Ash, the best anti-ageing diet that can help prevent such diseases is one that includes traditional foods.

“A combined Paleolithic and Mediterranean diet is the optimal anti-ageing diet. It should include a lean diet, organic products, foods rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids (such as fish), two litres of water per day and antioxidants found in red wine, dark chocolate and berries,” said Dr Ash.

“Anti-ageing medicine looks at balancing five key elements: diet, exercise, relaxation, supplements and medication. All these can help a person live a longer, happier and healthier life. This is what anti-ageing and the A5M stand for,” said A5M president, Dr Michael Zacharia.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  2. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  3. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  4. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...
  5. Fueling your body with healthy foods as you age could help...
  6. If you believe you have reached a point of it being too unsafe...

Recent articles

  1. What caused an increase in the number of calls to advocacy...
  2. Managing your medications may seem difficult but it...
  3. Dementia Australia’s free information sessions can help...
  4. Waiting to update your will and other legal documents could...
  5. Palliative care allows Australians at the end of their lives...
  6. Telstra and Optus are closing their 3G networks on October 28,...
  7. Tax returns must be completed by the end of the months and...
  8. Rental stress is affecting the aged care workers that are...
  9. Why is the Victorian Government providing free public...
  10. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released new data that...
  11. What does Ageism Awareness Day mean for older Australians?
  12. Some robots are used to manufacture car parts, but could...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close