I've a 70 year old man, vegan for 40 years, and plan to remain so for ethical and environmental reasons. After reading this piece, however, I will focus on eating more quality plant foods and increase my protein intake. Thanks for this.
Hi, Steve. I’m all for eating tofu, but they used some strange metrics to rank protein sources. You’ll have seen some of the rankings involved greenhouse gas emissions which clearly puts plant-based proteins way ahead.
If you look at protein content in the USDA tables, you’ll find:
Tofu 17.3g protein per 100g
Ground lamb 16.6g/100g
Beef tenderloin 21.1g/100g
Salmon 20.3g/100g
The lamb is probably lower in protein due to its high fat content.
You also have to consider that it’s harder for us to digest the protein from plant products like tofu, hence the higher volumes you need to eat to hit protein targets.
Which doesn’t mean I’m suggesting we should ditch plants in favour of meat, far from it. I still think a plant-based diet is best for our health and for the planet, but including fish, dairy, poultry and a little lean meat can also make sense, especially as we get older and have higher protein needs alongside a shrinking appetitie.
Hi again, Steve. I certainly wouldn’t try to talk you out of veganism, Steve. The world needs more vegans. Keeping an eye on your protein and calorie intake is important though, especially as you get older. We want you advocating for a vegan diet for many years to come!
Studying American Seventh Day Adventists, who are vegetarian and do not smoke or drink, seems useful. As Americans' longevity decreases, we know it's a product of multiple societal and environmental factors -- so comparing vegetarian Americans to nonvegetarian Americans to try to understand the role of diet in longevity makes sense. At the same time, non-American clusters of long-lived people show all kinds of dietary preferences, like the Blue Zone pescatarians, the vegetarian Buddhists in parts of Asia, the vegan Sikhs of western India, and the heavy meat eaters of the tundra. As for me, I try to eat a balanced, plant-based diet and hope to extend the "healthy middle" of my life.
Hi, Bette. You’re right; there’s more than one way to a longevity-supporting diet. Most healthy diets have a lot in common - a reliance on whole foods rather than ultra-processed, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, unsaturated fats and lower meat consumption, but individual components do vary.
Given that most of our readers are in Western countries, I tend to focus on improving the typical Western diet. There certainly are plenty of fascinating dietary rabbit holes to explore, though!
I've been wondering, and maybe you know, whether humans evolved over millennia for their own specific geography, adapting to wheat or rice or fish or meat, whatever thrived locally. And then I fast forward to today, in the US mainly, where everyone but the indigenous peoples immigrated here from all over the world, bringing their biological preferences. Maybe our US-evolved diet doesn't work for most people.
I’m sure you’re right. Traditional diets evolved favour much to reflect local foods. You see that very much with staples like bread, rice, sorghum, fish, soy, etc.
I think the Western diet in general, and the American diet in particular has suffered greatly as a result of becoming industrialised. A majority of people in the West no longer base their diet around whole foods. For many in the US and UK, around two-thirds of their calories come from ultra-processed foods. They’re nutritionally poor, and they encourage people to overeat, leading to the obesity and metabolic disease epidemic we’re living through.
Since I can’t tolerate soy or fish, I’ll stick to the mainly plant based with occasional meat, mostly turkey or chicken. I do have eggs and some cheese too, but not often. Dairy is not something I tolerate well so only in small amounts. Plant protein powder definitely has helped maintain my protein quota. I appreciate your input since it has helped me better manage my nutrition needs.
I do use ground flaxseed in my morning oats. Luckily, I’m able to tolerate fish oil capsules even though I cannot tolerate fresh or tinned fish. I take them daily. Maybe it’s the process they go through? I use Nordic Naturals.
Hi, Jan! Thank, you. It means a lot that some of the information in the newsletters has helped you figure your way through the nutrition maze.
With no fish in your diet, do you have alternate strategies for getting sufficient omega-3 fatty acids? Flaxseed helps (I have a tablespoonful on my muesli every morning), but we’re not very good at converting it to the DHA and EPA omega-3’s that we really need. An algae-based omega-3 supplement can be a good way to go.
Great, informative article, Ben. As a lacto-vegetarian, I've increased my protein intake after reading your articles. I eat more legumes and add protein powder to my smoothies. I eat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese regularly. Tofu is another favourite of mine. I eat heaps of fruit, whole grains, and vegetables. Getting creative with protein is my new game! 😊
Hi, Gita. Well, you seem to have the diet side of things pretty well sorted!
As you get creative with protein, do share your tips in the comments whenever you feel inclined. I see from the comments and poll questions that getting sufficient protein, especially on a plant-focused diet, is one of the things people struggle with the most, and they often say they’re not sure what to cook.
Thanks, Ben. I will do that. Your articles really made me think and come up with new ways of eating. Once again, thank you for sharing your expert knowledge
I’m actually a strong advocate of protein powders where it’s proving challenging to get sufficient protein with whole foods. Whole foods are generally preferable, because they bring lots of other things besides protein - minerals, polyphenols, vitamins, etc.
However, as we get older, our appetites shrink just as our protein needs increase because our bodies become less efficient at using it. That’s a bad combination. For someone eating mostly or exclusively plants, it’s more of a challenge because plants have less concentrated protein, which means you need to eat more. Then the fibre, which brings a lot of benefits, makes it harder because fibre can fill you up before you’ve eaten sufficient food to get enough protein.
So, taking a little protein powder with low protein meals (breakfast, for example) can fill that protein gap. You just need a top-up, not a full scoop every time.
It helps to log your meals on a free tool like Cronometer or MyFitnessPal for a few days to get a feel for how much protein you’re getting with regular meals. You’ll then know how much extra you might need from a protein powder.
For a vegan at 70, you’re probably aiming for 35-40g of protein at your three main meals. Check with your doctor first just to be sure that’s right for you. Kidney disease becomes more common as we get older and usually has no symptoms. Severe kidney disease can be made worse by excess protein.
Hi Ben - the study does not state who the various diet groups are compared to. To the “average terrible” American diet? Someone who eats red meat 3 times. Weekend fish a few times and the rest plant based? Compared to what diet?
Hi, Diane. It depends which study you’re talking about. I used quite a number in the article.
The Seventh day Adventist study used non-vegetarians as the control group. The meta-analysis of 12 studies compared those whose diet was most strongly plant-based against those who’s diet was least plant-based. The meta-analysis of 39 studies compared those eating the most fish with those eating the least, etc.
If you click through to the actual papers you’ll find how much fish, vegetables or whatever the different groups ate. It’s usually in one of the results tables.
Many decades ago, I looked at which countries have the longest (healthy) lifespans. Japan almost always came out on top (especially for women). So I looked at "How do they typically eat"? The traditional Japanese diet ("TJD ") developed by the Japanese government, uses a tier system calculated by daily servings: . The Top Tier (Largest) Grains 5 – 7 servings Rice, noodles, bread, and pasta
Second Tier Vegetables 5 – 6 servings Salads, cooked vegetables, mushrooms, and seaweed
Third Tier Fish & Meat 3 – 5 servings Seafood, tofu/soy products, eggs, and lean meats
Bottom Tier (Smallest) Milk & Fruits 2 servings each Dairy products and fresh fruit. . If I was living in Japan, I could very easily eat a TJD except that now in my seventies with my smaller appetite, grains are a tiny part of my diet. My second tier would include both vegetables and fruit. My third tier would be proteins: which would be fish, poultry, yogurt and meat as the smallest part of my proteins.
Since the Japanese eat refined white rice every day, and tend to have an unhealthy high sodium intake, there are other important dietary factors that are never covered in most non-Japanese national longevity surveys like the consumption of green tea, sea vegetables, land vegetables that are very high in natural dietary nitrates (for cardiovascular health). So I like to take the best aspects from a number of different countries traditional diets and include some of those in our daily meals. Almost 60 years later its resulted in both my wife and I being in excellent health. A home garden where you can grow organic vegetables, berries, herbs and fruit is also a huge advantage for both delicious low cost meals and for longevity! .
Hi, Tom. You’re right; regional diets can be very different from a Western diet, and there may be some quite specific dietary components that have an outsize effects in those circumstances.
I think just being concerned about how your diet affects your health and trying to make healthy choices already puts you way ahead of the average person who might instead be prioritising convenience, or what they’d most like to eat - and we know how addictive ultra-processed foods are.
I have always eaten veggies at least 2x a day and eaten adequate protein including beans & meat. I used to eat a fair amount of sweets and chips but now I eat fruit every day, no chips, and the occasional lightly sweetened dessert. I eat tofu and tempeh, chicken, turkey, some eggs, salmon and other fish 2x/wk, eat beans, quinoa, brown rice occasionally a venison burger. I don't eat gluten and nightshades or dairy ☹️ since they are inflammatory for me. I eat processed food very rarely. Tried vegan for a time but it didn't work for me.
For many years my health has been compromised with chronic illness that has limited medical interventions available. So I am motivated to take care of myself so as to have as healthy an existence as I can. I enjoy learning about nutrition and also cooking which makes it a bit easier.
Those are two big advantages you have there. For many, the priority is having something on the plate fast - most people feel chronically short of time these days. They don't have time to learn about nutrition or to cook from whole, basic ingredients.
Hi, Faye. So omega-3 fatty acids are essential for health. The best source is oily fish, which contains perhaps the most important omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. They form part of our cell membranes, contribute to cardiac function, help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, are vital for our brain structure and retinas, and reduce inflammation.
We can get a different kind of omega-3 from plants like flaxseeds, but it’s very poorly converted into the vital DHA and EPA, especially by men (women do a little better as it’s essential for a developing baby).
This creates a problem for vegans, who need DHA and EPA, but don’t want to eat fish or take fish oil capsules. Then we found algae that contain good levels of DHA and EPA. It’s extracted as an oil and put into capsules, providing a vegan form of these essential fatty acids.
I like to look at it this way, our evolution likely to be based on an omnivore diet. The hunting/gathering is basically a survival strategy. That said, plant based diets like the Mediterranean diet is just healthier for humans and environment. Living better with less chronic conditions is key, not longevity.
Vegan for 11 years now, originally for ethical and environmental reasons, but health has taken more room in my motivation over the past 6 years or so since my father passed away with dementia. It may be the case that, in theory, plant-focused pescatarian diets have a longevity advantage. However, I find that the ethical dimension of the vegan commitment adds a layer of meaning that makes it a lot easier to stick with the plant-based lifestyle even when options are scarce or social awkwardness might otherwise overcome my resolve.
I've a 70 year old man, vegan for 40 years, and plan to remain so for ethical and environmental reasons. After reading this piece, however, I will focus on eating more quality plant foods and increase my protein intake. Thanks for this.
By the way, I wonder what you think of this recent study showing tofu has more protein than meat: https://www.speciesunite.com/news-stories/tofu-is-the-best-protein-choice-for-people-and-the-planet-new-study-finds
Hi, Steve. I’m all for eating tofu, but they used some strange metrics to rank protein sources. You’ll have seen some of the rankings involved greenhouse gas emissions which clearly puts plant-based proteins way ahead.
If you look at protein content in the USDA tables, you’ll find:
Tofu 17.3g protein per 100g
Ground lamb 16.6g/100g
Beef tenderloin 21.1g/100g
Salmon 20.3g/100g
The lamb is probably lower in protein due to its high fat content.
You also have to consider that it’s harder for us to digest the protein from plant products like tofu, hence the higher volumes you need to eat to hit protein targets.
Which doesn’t mean I’m suggesting we should ditch plants in favour of meat, far from it. I still think a plant-based diet is best for our health and for the planet, but including fish, dairy, poultry and a little lean meat can also make sense, especially as we get older and have higher protein needs alongside a shrinking appetitie.
Hi again, Steve. I certainly wouldn’t try to talk you out of veganism, Steve. The world needs more vegans. Keeping an eye on your protein and calorie intake is important though, especially as you get older. We want you advocating for a vegan diet for many years to come!
Studying American Seventh Day Adventists, who are vegetarian and do not smoke or drink, seems useful. As Americans' longevity decreases, we know it's a product of multiple societal and environmental factors -- so comparing vegetarian Americans to nonvegetarian Americans to try to understand the role of diet in longevity makes sense. At the same time, non-American clusters of long-lived people show all kinds of dietary preferences, like the Blue Zone pescatarians, the vegetarian Buddhists in parts of Asia, the vegan Sikhs of western India, and the heavy meat eaters of the tundra. As for me, I try to eat a balanced, plant-based diet and hope to extend the "healthy middle" of my life.
Hi, Bette. You’re right; there’s more than one way to a longevity-supporting diet. Most healthy diets have a lot in common - a reliance on whole foods rather than ultra-processed, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, unsaturated fats and lower meat consumption, but individual components do vary.
Given that most of our readers are in Western countries, I tend to focus on improving the typical Western diet. There certainly are plenty of fascinating dietary rabbit holes to explore, though!
I've been wondering, and maybe you know, whether humans evolved over millennia for their own specific geography, adapting to wheat or rice or fish or meat, whatever thrived locally. And then I fast forward to today, in the US mainly, where everyone but the indigenous peoples immigrated here from all over the world, bringing their biological preferences. Maybe our US-evolved diet doesn't work for most people.
I’m sure you’re right. Traditional diets evolved favour much to reflect local foods. You see that very much with staples like bread, rice, sorghum, fish, soy, etc.
I think the Western diet in general, and the American diet in particular has suffered greatly as a result of becoming industrialised. A majority of people in the West no longer base their diet around whole foods. For many in the US and UK, around two-thirds of their calories come from ultra-processed foods. They’re nutritionally poor, and they encourage people to overeat, leading to the obesity and metabolic disease epidemic we’re living through.
Since I can’t tolerate soy or fish, I’ll stick to the mainly plant based with occasional meat, mostly turkey or chicken. I do have eggs and some cheese too, but not often. Dairy is not something I tolerate well so only in small amounts. Plant protein powder definitely has helped maintain my protein quota. I appreciate your input since it has helped me better manage my nutrition needs.
I do use ground flaxseed in my morning oats. Luckily, I’m able to tolerate fish oil capsules even though I cannot tolerate fresh or tinned fish. I take them daily. Maybe it’s the process they go through? I use Nordic Naturals.
Hi, Jan! Thank, you. It means a lot that some of the information in the newsletters has helped you figure your way through the nutrition maze.
With no fish in your diet, do you have alternate strategies for getting sufficient omega-3 fatty acids? Flaxseed helps (I have a tablespoonful on my muesli every morning), but we’re not very good at converting it to the DHA and EPA omega-3’s that we really need. An algae-based omega-3 supplement can be a good way to go.
Great, informative article, Ben. As a lacto-vegetarian, I've increased my protein intake after reading your articles. I eat more legumes and add protein powder to my smoothies. I eat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese regularly. Tofu is another favourite of mine. I eat heaps of fruit, whole grains, and vegetables. Getting creative with protein is my new game! 😊
Hi, Gita. Well, you seem to have the diet side of things pretty well sorted!
As you get creative with protein, do share your tips in the comments whenever you feel inclined. I see from the comments and poll questions that getting sufficient protein, especially on a plant-focused diet, is one of the things people struggle with the most, and they often say they’re not sure what to cook.
Thanks, Ben. I will do that. Your articles really made me think and come up with new ways of eating. Once again, thank you for sharing your expert knowledge
Will do! Protein tests show normal levels but likely not optimal.
No worries and thank you!
Thank you for this thoughtful reply Ben; I wonder if adding protein powder to smoothies would help an overall protein lack?
I’m actually a strong advocate of protein powders where it’s proving challenging to get sufficient protein with whole foods. Whole foods are generally preferable, because they bring lots of other things besides protein - minerals, polyphenols, vitamins, etc.
However, as we get older, our appetites shrink just as our protein needs increase because our bodies become less efficient at using it. That’s a bad combination. For someone eating mostly or exclusively plants, it’s more of a challenge because plants have less concentrated protein, which means you need to eat more. Then the fibre, which brings a lot of benefits, makes it harder because fibre can fill you up before you’ve eaten sufficient food to get enough protein.
So, taking a little protein powder with low protein meals (breakfast, for example) can fill that protein gap. You just need a top-up, not a full scoop every time.
It helps to log your meals on a free tool like Cronometer or MyFitnessPal for a few days to get a feel for how much protein you’re getting with regular meals. You’ll then know how much extra you might need from a protein powder.
For a vegan at 70, you’re probably aiming for 35-40g of protein at your three main meals. Check with your doctor first just to be sure that’s right for you. Kidney disease becomes more common as we get older and usually has no symptoms. Severe kidney disease can be made worse by excess protein.
Hi Ben - the study does not state who the various diet groups are compared to. To the “average terrible” American diet? Someone who eats red meat 3 times. Weekend fish a few times and the rest plant based? Compared to what diet?
Thanks
Hi, Diane. It depends which study you’re talking about. I used quite a number in the article.
The Seventh day Adventist study used non-vegetarians as the control group. The meta-analysis of 12 studies compared those whose diet was most strongly plant-based against those who’s diet was least plant-based. The meta-analysis of 39 studies compared those eating the most fish with those eating the least, etc.
If you click through to the actual papers you’ll find how much fish, vegetables or whatever the different groups ate. It’s usually in one of the results tables.
Many decades ago, I looked at which countries have the longest (healthy) lifespans. Japan almost always came out on top (especially for women). So I looked at "How do they typically eat"? The traditional Japanese diet ("TJD ") developed by the Japanese government, uses a tier system calculated by daily servings: . The Top Tier (Largest) Grains 5 – 7 servings Rice, noodles, bread, and pasta
Second Tier Vegetables 5 – 6 servings Salads, cooked vegetables, mushrooms, and seaweed
Third Tier Fish & Meat 3 – 5 servings Seafood, tofu/soy products, eggs, and lean meats
Bottom Tier (Smallest) Milk & Fruits 2 servings each Dairy products and fresh fruit. . If I was living in Japan, I could very easily eat a TJD except that now in my seventies with my smaller appetite, grains are a tiny part of my diet. My second tier would include both vegetables and fruit. My third tier would be proteins: which would be fish, poultry, yogurt and meat as the smallest part of my proteins.
Since the Japanese eat refined white rice every day, and tend to have an unhealthy high sodium intake, there are other important dietary factors that are never covered in most non-Japanese national longevity surveys like the consumption of green tea, sea vegetables, land vegetables that are very high in natural dietary nitrates (for cardiovascular health). So I like to take the best aspects from a number of different countries traditional diets and include some of those in our daily meals. Almost 60 years later its resulted in both my wife and I being in excellent health. A home garden where you can grow organic vegetables, berries, herbs and fruit is also a huge advantage for both delicious low cost meals and for longevity! .
Hi, Tom. You’re right; regional diets can be very different from a Western diet, and there may be some quite specific dietary components that have an outsize effects in those circumstances.
I think just being concerned about how your diet affects your health and trying to make healthy choices already puts you way ahead of the average person who might instead be prioritising convenience, or what they’d most like to eat - and we know how addictive ultra-processed foods are.
I have always eaten veggies at least 2x a day and eaten adequate protein including beans & meat. I used to eat a fair amount of sweets and chips but now I eat fruit every day, no chips, and the occasional lightly sweetened dessert. I eat tofu and tempeh, chicken, turkey, some eggs, salmon and other fish 2x/wk, eat beans, quinoa, brown rice occasionally a venison burger. I don't eat gluten and nightshades or dairy ☹️ since they are inflammatory for me. I eat processed food very rarely. Tried vegan for a time but it didn't work for me.
That sounds like a very healthy diet now, Deborah. What was it that made you turn away from the less healthy things you were eating?
For many years my health has been compromised with chronic illness that has limited medical interventions available. So I am motivated to take care of myself so as to have as healthy an existence as I can. I enjoy learning about nutrition and also cooking which makes it a bit easier.
Those are two big advantages you have there. For many, the priority is having something on the plate fast - most people feel chronically short of time these days. They don't have time to learn about nutrition or to cook from whole, basic ingredients.
Thank you for this interesting post.
What does this mean "with algal sources of EPA and DHA worth considering" ?
Hi, Faye. So omega-3 fatty acids are essential for health. The best source is oily fish, which contains perhaps the most important omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. They form part of our cell membranes, contribute to cardiac function, help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, are vital for our brain structure and retinas, and reduce inflammation.
We can get a different kind of omega-3 from plants like flaxseeds, but it’s very poorly converted into the vital DHA and EPA, especially by men (women do a little better as it’s essential for a developing baby).
This creates a problem for vegans, who need DHA and EPA, but don’t want to eat fish or take fish oil capsules. Then we found algae that contain good levels of DHA and EPA. It’s extracted as an oil and put into capsules, providing a vegan form of these essential fatty acids.
Thank you. Can we get omega 3 from eating seaweed (like in the popular seaweed snack sheets)?
Also, about omega 3 fish is it OK to eat sardines, salmon, mackerel and herring that are canned or are they less healthy?
What about other fish like tilapia - is it good to eat one of those once or twice a week, or is it better to stick to the omega-3 fish.?
I like to look at it this way, our evolution likely to be based on an omnivore diet. The hunting/gathering is basically a survival strategy. That said, plant based diets like the Mediterranean diet is just healthier for humans and environment. Living better with less chronic conditions is key, not longevity.
Vegan for 11 years now, originally for ethical and environmental reasons, but health has taken more room in my motivation over the past 6 years or so since my father passed away with dementia. It may be the case that, in theory, plant-focused pescatarian diets have a longevity advantage. However, I find that the ethical dimension of the vegan commitment adds a layer of meaning that makes it a lot easier to stick with the plant-based lifestyle even when options are scarce or social awkwardness might otherwise overcome my resolve.