uk Mailing List: 20 foods for a long and healthy life

[Dwiriana Setiati (dwiriana.setiati]

source: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/media/press_releases/current/20foods.htm

*20 foods for a long and healthy life*

[image: Healthy foods]Dark chocolate, apples and coffee are among 20 foods
essential for living as long and healthy a life as possible, according to a
leading nutritional scientist.

Gary Williamson, Professor of Functional Foods at the University of Leeds,
has drawn up a list of what he calls 'lifespan essential' foods needed for a
long and healthy life.

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Williamson said that although each
person's lifespan is genetically pre-determined, eating 'lifespan essential'
foods will maximise your chances of living as long as possible. It will also
increase your quality of life as you age by reducing the incidence of
disease.

The 20 foods are:

   - apples
   - blackberries
   - black tea
   - blueberries
   - broccoli
   - cereal bran
   - cherries
   - cherry tomatoes
   - coffee
   - cranberries
   - dark chocolate
   - green tea
   - oranges
   - peaches
   - plums
   - raspberries
   - red grapes
   - red onions
   - spinach
   - strawberries

The foods are rich in polyphenols - naturally-occurring chemicals like
tannins, lignins and flavonoids found in plants which are widely accepted as
having health benefits. A recent international study carried out by
scientists in the US, UK and Australia which looked at the health benefits
of polyphenols concluded that they helped protect against heart disease.*

Although the importance of eating fruits and vegetables as part of a
balanced diet is widely understood, Professor Williamson's work goes further
by prescribing 20 foods which are essential to allow you to fulfil your
life's potential.

Professor Williamson, who has published more than 240 refereed scientific
publications including more than 100 papers on polyphenols and health, says:
"These foods have been chosen because they are highest in polyphenols, which
reduce the risk of heart disease and help to slow down ageing processes.

"Epidemiology studies support the protective effects of polyphenol-rich
foods. Lack of these components in the diet, because of low intake of fruit
and vegetables, increases the risk of chronic disease.

"Although they might not be essential for growth and development or the
maintenance of major body functions, there is increasing knowledge
concerning their potential for health maintenance or disease risk reduction
throughout adulthood and during ageing.

"This means that they are essential to fulfil the maximum individual
lifespan, and so I propose that they are 'lifespan essential'. This does not
necessarily include an increase of the maximum potential lifespan, but
rather an increase of the chance of reaching the genetically determined
lifespan and an increase in the quality of life during aging by reducing the
incidence of chronic, age-related diseases."

*For further information:*

* *Professor Williamson is available for interview. Contact: Guy Dixon,
University of Leeds media relations, on: 0113 343 4031, or 07954 244 069, or
Simon Jenkins, University of Leeds media relations, on 07791 333 229.

*Notes to editors:*

* *Professor Gary Williamson is Chair in Functional Foods at the Procter
Department of Food Science at the University of Leeds. Professor Williamson
had previously been Head of the Nutrient Bioavailability Group at the Nestlé
Research Center, Switzerland and before that head of group at the BBSRC
Institute of Food Research (IFR) in Norwich. He is Visiting Professor of
Food Safety at University of Surrey and has an Honorary Chair at Harbin
Medical University, China.  He delivered his inaugural lecture; 'Oxidation;
Big molecules, Small molecules and Immortality' on 15 October at the
University of Leeds.

The Procter Department of Food Science is one of the UK's leading centres
for the learning, teaching and research of food sciences.

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions
in the UK with more than 30,000 students from 130 countries. With a turnover
of £450m, Leeds is one of the top ten research universities in the UK, and a
member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities.

*Hooper et al *Flavonoids, flavonoid-rich foods, and cardiovascular risk: a
meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,* American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 2008