A new study reported in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association highlights the beneficial aspects of following healthy lifestyle advice can be over time.

Researchers studied people aged 70 to 90 for more than a decade, and found those who adhered to a healthy, low-fat, Mediterranean-style diet lowered their risk of death by 23 per cent. Physical activity lowered the risk by 37 per cent, while non-smoking lowered the death risk by 22 per cent.

The Mediterranean diet is high in foods that provide health benefits like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, and olive oil.

Another new study showed that the Mediterranean diet reduced metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that puts people at a much higher risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes later in life like obesity, fat build-up in the arteries, high blood pressure, and glucose or blood sugar intolerance.