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EATING FOR LONGEVITY AND VIBRANT AGING

Published 02 Dec 2025

The choices we make around food can have a powerful impact on how we age, and our overall quality of our life. How can we make sure we’re making the right choices?

Nutritionist Mel Bald offers guidance to help our diet support us for years to come.

Podcast

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Listen to the 30-minute podcast here.

What is longevity and vibrant aging?

Longevity and vibrant aging are things many of us strive for in our daily lives, but do we understand what these terms mean? And how we can set ourselves up in life to make the most of it?

To achieve “longevity” means supporting the body to reduce the risk of chronic disease, such as heart disease, diabetes and cognitive decline such as dementia. These are diseases that become common as we age. Longevity goes hand in hand with vibrant aging, which encourages building healthy habits to maintain your quality of life, so you can keep doing the things you love without being held back by age-related limitations. There are plenty of things we can do to sustain our energy, independence, mental clarity and strength as we get older.

The key factor to longevity and vibrant aging? Food!

What role does nutrition play in aging?

Food obviously impacts our physical and mental wellbeing. If we eat good food, we feel better, look better, and improve our body’s functions.

Physically, good nutrition helps to maintain muscle mass, bone strength, skin elasticity and a healthy immune system. It can reduce inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. All of these can affect our quality of life as we get older.

Mentally, what we eat can influence our mood, memory and cognitive function. Our brain is highly active and needs a constant supply of nutrients to function well.

Basically, the food we eat every day can either support or speed up the aging process, depending on how nutritious our meals are. But there’s good news! It’s never too late to make changes that support both the body and the mind.

Have you heard of the Blue Zones?

Blue Zones are areas around the world where people live healthy, long lives. Okinawa in Japan, and Sardinia and Italy, are two examples of these Blue Zones. People who live in these regions age into their 90s and even their 100s. They maintain their mental clarity and mobility, but how?

When we look at the common trends between these Blue Zones, we discover that they follow a mostly plant-based diet. That doesn’t mean they’re strictly vegetarian, but that the bulk of their meals come from vegetables, legumes (like beans and lentils), whole grains, nuts, and seeds. They may still have some animal products, but these are only eaten occasionally and in small amounts. They also have a low intake of highly processed or refined foods.

Meals are home-cooked and made from seasonal ingredients, which means the food is in its freshest, most nutrient-rich form. Blue Zone residents eat mindfully and often with family or in a social environment. It’s not just what they eat, but also the way the food is eaten that is an important factor as to why they age well.

What can we learn from the Blue Zones?

At the core of a Blue Zone lifestyle is a diet that’s mostly based on whole, minimally processed foods, with a high proportion of plant foods. Plenty of colourful vegetables and fruit, legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas, whole grains such as brown rice or oats, and healthy fats (especially extra-virgin olive oil), nuts, and seeds. These foods are packed with fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that help reduce inflammation and support everything from brain health to heart health and digestion.

Though it’s easier said than done, one of the most impactful things we can do is cut back on ultra-processed foods. These are things like sugary cereals, soft drinks, chips, and fast food, which are usually high in sugar, salt, and additives but low in actual nutrition. Research shows that a high intake of these foods is linked to inflammation, poor gut health, and accelerated aging. Swap out white bread for complex carbohydrates like whole grains and legumes.

You can get healthy fats from extra-virgin olive oil, oily fish, avocado, nuts, and seeds. These support brain function, joint health and fight chronic disease.

Choosing the right food and living a long life is combined with the other lifestyle factors people in Blue Zones experience. It would be impossible to adapt your life to match theirs, but even making small changes to our diet could help to increase longevity and age vibrantly.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where a lot of our meals and ingredients are highly processed, and even whole foods may not be entirely natural. Things like pre-cooked rice have extra oils added into them, so it’s up to the individual to decide which grains, legumes and vegetables they want to include in their diet, and where they want to source these from.

The power of protein

Getting enough protein is also important for healthy aging, and plant-based proteins have been associated with increased longevity. It doesn’t mean you have to go fully vegetarian or vegan to age well. A piece of helpful advice is to make plant proteins your base ingredient and include small, intentional servings of high-quality animal proteins if you enjoy them.

It has been found was that people who followed healthier, mostly plant-based diets have a much higher chance of what they call "healthy aging." That doesn’t mean cutting out all meat or being super strict; it’s more about consistently eating more whole foods: veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and healthy fats like olive oil.

But why should we focus on protein, of all things?

You’ll hear people discuss protein regarding muscles, particularly from younger people. By eating protein, we can grow ‘big and strong’, increasing our muscle power. But that’s not all protein is good for.

As we age, our muscle mass naturally declines, in a process called sarcopenia. This can affect our strength, balance, energy levels, and even things like immunity and recovery from illness. Getting enough protein helps preserve muscle mass and support mobility, which is key for staying active, preventing falls, and maintaining independence as we age.

For women entering the post-menopause stage of life, protein is recommended. In this phase, oestrogen levels decline. Protein can support the restoration of tissues in our bodies, including the skin, organs, and immune system.

So, protein is not just for the physical things we can see on the outside, it also helps our inner body systems stay healthy for longer.

The current Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body weight for adult women and 0.84g for men up to 70 years of age, which is generally enough to prevent deficiency. But these are the minimum levels; this is enough to just ‘pass the bar’ and hit your daily quota. It is now recommended that older adult's intake up to 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to support muscle mass, mobility, immune function, and recovery from illness or injury.

But one steak at dinner isn’t going to cut it; protein will have a more positive effect on your body if you spread it throughout the day and incorporate it into as many of your meals as possible.

A simple meal plan could be:

Eggs or Greek yoghurt at breakfast
Legumes, whole grains or tuna at lunch
Tofu, fish or lean meat for dinner

If you spread protein evenly across each meal, your body can efficiently absorb it and boost muscle maintenance.

So, is red meat good for you?

Like all foods, red meat is good for you in moderation. When cooking with red meat, think about the quality of meat, as well as the quantity.

Red meat like beef, lamb, and pork are nutrient-dense sources of complete protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, all of which are important as we age. However, processed red meats, like sausages, salami, or bacon, have been linked with an increased possibility of colorectal cancer and heart disease. The Cancer Council recommends cutting out processed meats altogether or keeping them at a minimum. You can read the Cancer Council’s advice on meat consumption here.

Limiting red meat to around 350–500 grams per week, which is around 2–3 small serves, will help make sure you’re balancing the benefits with the potential risks. Higher consumption of red meat has been associated with higher risk of heart disease, diverticular disease, colon cancer, and diabetes.

We’re not trying to scare you, red meat can still be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet. Prepare your meat carefully, remove the skin and excess fat, and choose lean cuts which are rich in protein. Grill or slow-cook the meat, rather than fry it, to keep it juicy and fresh. Lastly, add more vegetables or legumes to your dish instead of more meat. Try adding lentils to spaghetti, or chickpeas to a lamb casserole. These fibre-full foods can balance out the meat. For the rest of your dinners, try and find other sources of protein to make the star of your meal - items like fish, tofu, poultry or eggs are ideal!

What about some other minerals?

As we get older, it gets harder for our bodies to absorb key nutrients. That’s why a balanced diet featuring all the best whole foods can make a huge impact.

Here’s a few key nutrients that become difficult to keep up with in old age:

Vitamin B12

As we get older, our stomach produces less hydrochloric acid, which is needed to absorb B12 from food.
This can lead to low energy, memory issues, or even nerve problems over time.
People over 50 should consider getting their B12 levels checked, especially if they follow a mostly plant-based diet.
B12 is best absorbed from animal sources such as sardines, salmon, beef and eggs. There is no natural B12 in plant food. It can be added to plant food, like in some plant-based milks.

Vitamin D

Many people are low in vitamin D without knowing it, especially if they work indoors or live in a cooler climate.
It is estimated that just under half of Victorians are Vitamin D deficient due to low sunlight levels. Sunlight is how we get most of our Vitamin D intake.
A blood test can help you check if you’re deficient in Vitamin D.

Calcium

Calcium doesn’t just have to come from dairy food!
You can also get calcium from tofu that has been calcium-set, fortified plant milks, tahini, chia seeds or dark leafy green vegetables.

Magnesium

Did you know that magnesium is involved in over 300 processes in the body including muscle function, mood, heartbeat regulation, sleep, and blood pressure regulation?
Medications that become common with old age can impact the body’s ability to absorb magnesium, which is why supplements are so common.
If our body loses magnesium, this can impact our dietary intake, making us less hungry overall.
Magnesium can be found in nuts and seeds, whole grains like brown rice and rolled oats, black beans, lentils, and spinach.

Omega-3 Fats

These come from oily fish, like salmon, sardines, or mackerel.
Omega-3 Fats support brain health, heart health, and work towards reducing inflammation in the body.
It’s important to make sure our meals are packed with these minerals, as well as protein. A nutrient-dense dish can provide energy, improve brain health and function, bone strength, and mood.

Are supplements worth it?

Surprisingly, most older adults could meet their nutritional needs through a well-balanced diet alone, eliminating the need for supplements. However, there are a few key nutrients that can become harder to get enough of through our diet as we age, either because our absorption declines, our dietary intake reduces, or our needs increase. This can make it tricky to get these priority nutrients in a high enough dose via food. This is where supplements can be recommended, but it’s best not to guess. Speak to a healthcare professional like a GP or dietitian or nutritionist, who can assess whether a supplement is needed and in what doses.

Is it too late to make positive change?

Never! Nutritionist Mel Bald makes it very clear that it’s never too late to make changes to your quality of life. Even if you’re in your 80s, you can make positive differences to your health, regardless of your history. Rather than dwell on the ‘mistakes’, think about the future, and what you can do to make a difference to your health. It’s important to remember that “change” doesn’t mean a complete overhaul of your life; small changes can be big! Start with a few small habits; maybe add more vegetables to your lunch? Or have a handful of nuts as a snack? Consistency matters more than the total number of changes made.

Mel leaves us with the quote, “every meal is a new opportunity to nourish your body.” Don’t put off making change, start with your next meal and think about how you can add more colour and fibre to your diet!

At the end of the day, the most important step is to be kind to yourself. Progress over perfection is what leads to lasting change.