Vegetables are enough to protect the elderly from infections

The study showed that levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 (IL-6) were significantly lower in older adults who ate at least two servings of vegetables per day, compared to those who ate the least. The connection is independent of participants’ physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, amount of body fat, or otherwise how much healthy food they ate.

It is in line with previous research. However, the fact that we took into account the amount of body fat in our study reinforces our findings because there is a relationship between inflammatory markers and the amount of body fat, he says. Konstantinos Georgios Papayano in Higher School of Successful Aging.

On the other hand, the study found that fruit did not have the same effect as vegetables on any of the six inflammatory biomarkers included in the study, which may be in part because older adults did not eat enough fruit for the results to come in.

Several studies are needed to determine the optimal amount of fruits and vegetables that provide positive health effects among the elderly, says Konstantinos Georgios Papayano

Sitting still harms our health

In an alternative study, Konstantinos Georgios Papayano also investigated the relationship between sedentary behavior and inflammatory biomarkers. The study included 252 men and women between the ages of 65 and 70. Time spent was measured at intervals of 10 and 30 minutes in addition to the total sitting time.

We found harmful associations between biomarkers of sitting and inflammation:

• Moderate to vigorous physical activity does not offset the harmful effects of excessive sitting.
• In contrast, total physical activity per day had a reducing effect on some of the deleterious associations between sitting time and inflammation.

The results show that daily physical activity is reduced rather than excessive sitting which may partly explain the harmful associations between biomarkers of sitting and inflammation.

Our research supports current guidelines for diet and physical activity. It also shows that eating vegetables daily can boost health in older adults, even if intake does not reach the recommended amount, which is five fist-sized servings of fruits and vegetables per day, says Konstantinos-Georgios Papaioannou.

The study could be useful in healthcare who want to promote the health of the elderly, says Konstantinos Georgios Papayano.

– .But the result can be used by anyone who wants to improve his health.

hypothesis:

Diet and physical activity behaviors for healthy aging