Health
Mediterranean diet could help women live longer, Harvard study finds
The Mediterranean diet has long been linked to a bevy of health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity and more — and now a new study has revealed a very specific new advantage for women.
In a long-running Harvard study published in JAMA Network Open, women who adhered to the heart-healthy, plant-focused diet were found to have a 23% lower risk of death from any cause.
The researchers attributed this lower mortality risk to improved cardiometabolic risk factors, according to the published study.
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The study included data collected from 25,315 healthy women who participated in the Women’s Health Study over a period of 25 years, from April 1993 to January 1996.
Their average age was 54.
Women who adhered to the heart-healthy, plant-focused diet were found to have a 23% lower risk of death from any cause. (iStock)
Researchers analyzed the women’s blood samples, biomarker measurements and self-reported dietary information from June 2018 to Nov. 2023.
Previous studies have also found associations between the Mediterranean diet and increased longevity, the researchers noted.
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“Another meta-analysis of 21 cohort studies, which included 883,878 participants, reported that higher Mediterranean diet adherence was associated with 21% reduced risk of CVD mortality,” they wrote.
What is the Mediterranean diet?
The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based nutrition plan that mimics the regional cuisines of the countries along the Mediterranean Sea, such as Italy and Greece.
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Primary foods in the diet include whole vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, and herbs and spices, according to Mayo Clinic’s website.
Olive oil is the primary source of added fat.
Olive oil is the primary source of added fat in the Mediterranean diet. (iStock)
Other foods — including fish, poultry and dairy — can be incorporated in moderation.
The diet limits red meat, sweets, butter and sugary drinks.
The Mediterranean diet’s health benefits stem from limiting saturated fats, refined carbohydrates (including sugars) and sodium, as well as promoting healthy unsaturated fats, fiber and antioxidants, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
Experts highlight diet’s benefits
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the study but said it “confirms what we already know — that the Mediterranean diet decreases mortality.”
Siegel also told Fox News Digital, “Monounsaturated fats and antioxidants (polyphenols), which are high in the Mediterranean diet, decrease inflammation and are heart-healthy.”
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He added, “The alternative — saturated fats, salts and sugars — are not heart-healthy and increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, all of which increase mortality risks.”
Processed foods and ultra-processed foods, which also increase mortality, are not found in the Mediterranean diet, he also noted.
Primary foods in the Mediterranean diet include whole vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, and herbs and spices. (iStock)
New Jersey-based registered dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade also reflected on the longevity-boosting benefits of the Mediterranean diet in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
“One big reason that the Mediterranean diet can improve overall health and reduce mortality risk is the benefit it has on visceral fat, or belly fat,” said Palinksi-Wade, who was not involved in the research.
Women who adhered to the Mediterranean diet were found to have a 23% lower risk of death from any cause.
“High levels of fat in the midsection have been found to worsen insulin resistance and increase the risk of disease from type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease,” she added.
By making dietary changes to reduce visceral fat, which include the eating principles of the Mediterranean diet, it is possible to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce disease risk, according to Palinski-Wade.
“One big reason that the Mediterranean diet can improve overall health and reduce mortality risk is the benefit it has on visceral fat, or belly fat,” a dietitian said. (iStock)
This diet is also rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, she said, which have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body.
This can help to reduce the risk of future disease, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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“The Mediterranean diet also has a positive impact on blood sugar balance, mood and even sleep, all of which can help to reduce stress levels and improve overall quality of life,” she added.
“In addition, when mood and sleep improve, many individuals find it much easier to be more physically active, which can play a large role in reducing mortality risk as well.”
The Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, which have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged.
“The study participants were middle-aged and older, well-educated female health professionals who were predominantly non-Hispanic White individuals, which may limit the generalizability of the findings,” they wrote.
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Because the women’s dietary intake was self-reported through questionnaires, there was some potential for misrepresentation.
Fish, poultry and dairy can be incorporated in moderation. The diet limits red meat, sweets, butter and sugary drinks. (iStock)
Another limitation is that the researchers only had access to the blood samples provided at baseline, as follow-up samples were not collected.
There is also the possibility that other factors, such as high blood pressure and high BMI, could have impacted the outcomes.
“Future studies should examine other pathways that could potentially mediate the Mediterranean diet–associated lower mortality as well as examine cause-specific mortality,” the researchers wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harvard researchers requesting comment.
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People who regularly visit museums or participate in creative activities may be aging more slowly on a biological level, according to a new study from the United Kingdom.
Researchers from University College London analyzed data from more than 3,500 adults and found that people who frequently engaged in arts and cultural activities showed signs of slower biological aging in several DNA-based measurements.
The findings were published in the journal Innovation in Aging.
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The study examined activities including painting, photography, dancing, singing, visiting museums and attending cultural events or historic sites.
People who frequently visit museums or engage in artistic activities may experience slower biological aging. (iStock)
Researchers compared participation in those activities with “epigenetic clocks,” scientific tools that examine chemical changes in DNA over time.
Adults who participated more often, and in a wider variety of activities, tended to show slower aging scores compared to people who rarely engaged in arts or cultural experiences.
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The association appeared even stronger among adults over age 40.
Researchers also noted that the effect sizes were comparable to those linked to physical activity, one of the most widely studied behaviors associated with healthy aging.
The study found that adults who engaged more often in arts and cultural activities showed slower biological aging. (iStock)
Jessica Mack, a health and wellness expert and founder of The Functional Consulting Group who was not involved in the study, said the findings reflect a growing understanding that health is influenced by more than exercise and nutrition alone.
“Arts and cultural engagement may be associated with slower epigenetic aging, with effects comparable in some measures to physical activity,” Mack told Fox News Digital.
She said activities such as visiting museums and engaging with music or art may help reduce stress, improve emotional regulation and increase social connection.
Experts say these activities may reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and strengthen social connections. (iStock)
“These are not ‘extra’ lifestyle activities,” Mack said. “They may be deeply connected to how the body manages inflammation, stress hormones, mood and overall resilience.”
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Mack added that people experiencing stress, social isolation, retirement or caregiving responsibilities may especially benefit from meaningful cultural engagement.
Experts cautioned, however, that the study does not prove arts engagement directly slows aging.
“This is an observational study, not an experiment,” Professor Steve Horvath of UCLA, a longevity researcher and pioneer in epigenetic aging research who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“So when researchers find that the people who go to museums have younger epigenetic age, we cannot tell whether the museum visits slowed their aging, or whether their slower aging is what allowed them to keep visiting museums,” he said.
While the findings suggest a link, experts caution that the study cannot prove arts and cultural activities directly slow aging. (iStock)
Horvath said both explanations may be true to some degree, though he described the research as “methodologically careful” and worthy of further study.
The findings remained consistent even after accounting for factors such as smoking, income, body weight and other lifestyle habits.
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He added that regardless of whether arts engagement is directly slowing biological aging, staying socially and mentally active is still associated with healthier aging overall.
“The prescription is the same,” he said. “Keep going.”
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Fitness influencer and trainer Mark Langowski, known on social media as @bodybymark, hosted a pushup and plank competition in New York City this week, where he urged the public to get up and get moving.
On his platform of nearly two million Instagram followers, Langowski asks fit people to share their workout routines. He was able to meet more in-shape New Yorkers at his Washington Square Park meet-up, in partnership with Oikos yogurt on May 12.
A male and a female winner who achieved the most pushups or held a plank the longest were gifted $500 each.
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Besides the cash prize, the inspiration was to get more people moving, Langowski shared during an interview with Fox News Digital.
Fitness influencer and trainer Mark Langowski, known on social media as @bodybymark, hosted a pushup and plank competition in New York City this week, where he urged the public to get up and get moving. (Kelly McGreal/Fox News Digital)
“[It’s] a way to encourage strength and overall fitness in New York City and all around the country,” he said.
“We got together and we’re doing a plank competition, pushup competition. We had a guy just do 111 pushups. We’re just getting people moving.”
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Langowski said the attributes of a great competitor include strength, humility and confidence.
“The people who … did the most, they didn’t say they were going to do the most,” he said. “And there were other people who said they could do 150, and they did 70.”
Having a bit of humility helps make a good competitor, the trainer added.
@BodybyMark films the pushup competition’s male winner during a meet-up in Washington Square Park in New York City on May 12, 2026. (Kelly McGreal/Fox News Digital)
Pushups and planks mark a “good general baseline” for measuring fitness level, according to Langowski. Some other basics include pull-ups, squats and endurance challenges, like running a mile — the kind of basics included in an elementary school fitness assessment.
For those who haven’t yet mastered these basics but want to get in better shape, Langowski shared some advice on how to get started.
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“Get with a trainer or someone who knows how to progress you,” he advised. “A lot of people are like, ‘I can’t do a pushup, so I’m never going to do one.’ That’s not the way.”
Langowski recommends starting with pushups on your knees or against a wall, then gradually progressing to standard pushups by moving onto your toes and lowering yourself fully to the ground before pushing back up.
The trainer recommends starting with pushups on your knees or against a wall, then gradually progressing to standard pushups by moving onto your toes and lowering yourself fully to the ground before pushing back up. (Milan Markovic/iStock)
“You’ll be surprised after you do that for a couple weeks, a couple months, a couple years – you’re going to be able to do a lot,” he said. “Nobody was born being able to do 111 pushups. They put in the work and they started somewhere.”
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The trainer noted that in addition to practicing, it’s just as important to give the body rest and to support muscle growth with proper protein intake and an overall healthy diet.
But perhaps the most crucial step toward getting in shape, according to Langowski, is having the motivation to get started
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“I know that’s easy for me to say – I’ve been in fitness and been relatively fit most of my life,” he said. “And I know a lot of people are sitting on the couch and they either feel sorry for themselves or they’re going through a tough time … You’ve just got to get out there.”
The trainer noted that in addition to practicing, it’s just as important to give the body rest and to support muscle growth with proper protein intake and an overall healthy diet. (iStock)
The trainer suggested starting with a simple walk — even just around the block — with no gym equipment required.
“You don’t need an expensive gym membership to get in good shape,” he said. “Most of the people that I stop on the street, they don’t have a gym membership at all. They do it in their living room.”
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“And that’s where you can do the exercises I mentioned – the squats, the lunges, the pushups,” Langowski went on.
“So, I would encourage people just to start, but also to get some friends or get a trainer, someone to support you and do it safely.”
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Researchers have shed fresh light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure.
Baduanjin is a form of exercise that’s been widely practiced in China for at least 800 years. It involves a series of eight slow movements, gentle breathing and meditation — and typically takes only about 10 minutes to complete.
In a clinical trial, researchers studied 216 adults age 40 and older with Stage 1 hypertension. Over the course of a year, participants performed either baduanjin, self-directed exercise or brisk walking.
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Researchers found that participants who practiced baduanjin five times per week experienced lower blood pressure within three months.
The results were “comparable to reductions seen with some first-line medications,” they wrote in their report published by the American College of Cardiology.
High blood pressure, if left untreated, can lead to heart attack and stroke. Now, researchers have shed new light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure. (andreswd/Getty Images)
Baduanjin also showed “comparable results and safety profile to brisk walking at one year,” the researchers further reported.
“Given its simplicity, safety and ease at which one can maintain long-term adherence, baduanjin can be implemented as an effective, accessible and scalable lifestyle intervention for individuals trying to reduce their [blood pressure],” said the senior author of the study, Jing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Matthew Saybolt, medical director of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Structural Heart Disease Program, said he was surprised by an aspect of the study’s results.
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“I was biased and expected that higher intensity exercise like brisk walking would have resulted in greater improvement in blood pressure than baduanjin, but the effects were the same,” Saybolt told Fox News Digital. (He was not affiliated with the study.)
Dr. Antony Chu, clinical assistant professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, was born and raised in the U.S. to immigrant parents — his mother is from Hong Kong and his father is from Taiwan.
Practitioners of baduanjin, such as those in this class, incorporate slow movements with mindful breathing. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
Having spent a lot of summers in Asia, Chu told Fox News he experienced “the best of both worlds” concerning Eastern and Western medicine, including exposure to the benefits of baduanjin.
“[These researchers] are taking a lot of things that have been commonplace for many, many centuries or millennia and then just applying mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to sort of give [them] some credibility,” Chu said.
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“Western medicine is reactionary,” Chu also said.
He compared the philosophies to a house on fire: Eastern medicine practitioners are more invested in preventing the fire, whereas Western medicine is more focused on “all those things that it would need to do to try to put that fire out,” he said, sharing his opinion.
A new study shows how people with high blood pressure can reduce it without medicine. (FG Trade/Getty Images)
Left untreated, high blood pressure has dangers that are “too numerous to count,” Saybolt said. The risks include increased risks of stroke, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure.
Baduanjin, Chu said, is effective at reducing blood pressure, which he likened to “the water pressure and the pipes of your house,” by calming the nervous system and reducing stress.
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“People are totally stressed out,” Chu said. “And stress reduction is huge.”
Saybolt said the study offers hope for people with hypertension — “and that hope doesn’t immediately have to include pharmaceuticals.”
Baduanjin is easily incorporated into most lifestyles and can be done without equipment almost anywhere and at any time. (Getty Images)
Saybolt added that he’s always advocated for lifestyle modifications, including healthy diet and exercise, “as key therapies for treatment of diseases and to improve longevity.”
With the baduanjin data, Saybold said he is now “more optimistic than ever,” as “we have evidence that a very low impact exercise with mindfulness can yield a benefit.”
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Chu said that translating overwhelming medical guidelines is a big part of his job.
“It’s not to just tell somebody, ‘Hey, your blood pressure’s too high, pick a pill,” he said.
Baduanjin has been a preventative health practice the Chinese have been incorporating into their routines for centuries. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
“Lifestyle changes” can be daunting for many people, he added.
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“They always make it sound like you have to live for seven years in Tibet on a mountain somewhere, and it’s really not that.”
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His simple translation for the baduanjin study is this: “Close the door in your office and just say, ‘I can’t be bothered for 10 minutes,’ and just focus on breathing slowly and moving your arms or legs around.”
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