Mediterranean diet key to longer, healthier life

Consuming a Mediterranean diet can lead to a longer, healthier life, says a new study.

According to the scientists, the combination of fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, olive oil and a glass of wine can help reverse the ageing process by slowing down the damage to chromosomes linked to ageing, and offer a health advantage, staving off killer diseases, the Daily Express reported.

The study analysed data on 4,676 healthy middle-aged women, and found that Mediterranean diet had anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, that stops the shortening of telomeres, which is associated with lower life expectancy and a greater risk of age-related diseases.

However, none of the individual dietary components was associated with telomere length.

The diet has a host of health benefits, including slashing the risk of death and chronic diseases from heart conditions and Alzheimer's to cancer and diabetes, and Gaynor Bussell, a dietitian and public health nutritionist, said the research showed that there were no "superfoods" and maybe not even foods that were good or bad.

The findings are published in the British Medical Journal.