Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids help to increase life expectancy, according to scientists from Tufts University in Boston and Sioux Falls University in South Dakota, Report informs.
Their research was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers have found that omega-3 levels in blood erythrocytes (the so-called red blood cells) are excellent mortality risk predictors.
The study concludes that "Having higher levels of these acids in the blood, as a result of regularly including oily fish in the diet, increases life expectancy by almost five years," as Dr. Aleix Sala-Vila, a postdoctoral researcher in the IMIM's Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group and author of the study, points out.
The scientists have recommended eating salmon, flax seeds, halibut, tuna, mackerel, chia seeds, and they should be included in the diet as early as possible to prevent the development of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.