Does your diet have a BEEF with your lifespan?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
You are what you eat, but does that determine how long you live?
Enter Caitlin Andrews and team at University of Sydney. They have some SAVORY news!
They wondered if different protein sources affect your lifespan. So they crunched five decades worth of food availability data from one hundred countries.
And? Animal-based protein INCREASED the odds for survival earlier in life. BUT your needs change as you get older. Turns out, adults live longer if they eat more plant-based protein.
It’s more than being trendy, it’s about living longer and healthier.
So, if you don’t want to MEAT your destiny, maybe you can…. Eat some beets!
Reference: Andrews, C.J., Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S.J. et al. Associations between national plant-based vs animal-based protein supplies and age-specific mortality in human populations. Nat Commun 16, 3431 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58475-1