5 Foods That Help With Healthy Ageing (And 2 That Don’t)

If you want to live a longer life, your diet might be more important than you realise. One study found that in the UK, we could expect to enjoy 10 years more life by eating “more whole grains, nuts and fruits and less sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats”.

The Mediterranean diet, meanwhile, has been linked to better heart health, a longer life, and even a lower likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, GP and ex-Embarrassing Bodies host Dr Dawn Harper said that “there is no one single silver bullet that will enhance your chances of living a long and healthy life… when I read claims that a single ‘super food’ will achieve just that, I tend to glaze over”.

She, among other experts, believes that your overall eating pattern is what matters. The odd inclusion of one food or another will neither save nor condemn your health (unless you have allergies, of course!).

With that caveat, some research has found that certain foods can encourage healthy ageing, while others could increase issues related to getting older.

Here are some to consider when thinking about your overall diet:

2013 research, which followed roughly 120,000 participants over 30 years, found that the more often people in the study ate nuts, the lower their risk of early death seemed to be.

Eating them daily was linked to a 20% lower likelihood of dying throughout the study.

Regular nut consumption has also been associated with longer telomeres (a marker of slower ageing), a lower risk of sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, and better cognition in older adults.

It sounds obvious, but yep, fruits and vegetables do seem to help us live longer. A 2014 meta-analysis showed that a higher consumption of fresh produce is linked to a lower risk of mortality, especially heart-disease-related deaths.

Eating vegetables could help to slow the effects of ageing thanks to bioactive compounds that help to keep your cells healthy, while older adults who eat more fruit and veg report higher levels of happiness and a greater sense of purpose.

The reason these fruits have such a rich, deep colour is because they contain lycopene, a carotene. Our levels of lycopene go down as we age, which is a shame, as researchers think not having enough of it could be linked to an increased likelihood of conditions like diabetes, stroke, and prostate cancer.

Here in the UK and in other Western countries, tomatoes account for about 80% of our lycopene consumption. BTW, tinned tomatoes have a higher lycopene content than fresh ones: tomato paste has even higher levels.

Extra-virgin olive oil has been associated with the “preservation of physical function and reduced pain perception in ageing” among physically active adults, a 2026 paper concluded.

Researchers think that might be because of its “healthy” monounsaturated fatty acids, potentially brain-boosting polyphenols, and antioxidants.

Some data suggest that eating oily fish is linked to better cognitive function in later life.

And it could help your sight, too: research shows that eating fatty fish, like mackerel, pilchards, salmon, sardines, and herring might protect against age-related macular degeneration, a progressive condition that can lead to vision loss.

The British Heart Foundation recommends eating at least one portion (140g when cooked) of oily fish a week.

It’s not great to overdo it on the sweet stuff at any age. But when we age, too much sugar appears to be linked to an increased risk of frailty – especially among older adults who get a lot of their added sugars through processed foods, a 2018 paper suggests.

Meanwhile, a 2024 study found that a vitamin-rich diet lower in sugar seemed to be associated with a lower biological age (biological age refers to a person’s cell-level wear and tear and is different from how long they’ve lived, or their chronological age).

Its co-senior author, Professor Elissa Epel, said: “We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor.

“Now we know that accelerated epigenetic ageing is underlying this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity.”

A study has found that eating processed meats, like sausages, bacon, ham, salami, corned beef, and pâté, seemed to be linked to shorter telomeres.

Telomeres are structures that humans have at the ends of our chromosomes and which keep our cells working better for longer; shorter telomeres are linked to a shorter life.

And another paper said that for every extra daily serving of processed meat, participants’ cognitive ageing speed rose by 1.6 years.

The NHS said that no matter your age, “If you currently eat more than 90g (cooked weight) of red or processed meat a day, it is recommended that you cut down to 70g”.