BUSINESS INSIDER – An 83-year-old doctor and triathlete who transformed his health in his 40s shared the diet principles he believes have helped him live a long, healthy life.
Joseph Maroon, a neurosurgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who’s part of Aviv Clinics’ Global Aging Consortium, told Business Insider he struggled to climb a flight of stairs at age 40.
“I was out of shape, living on fast food and not exercising,” he wrote on his website.
That year, his father died, and his physical and mental health reached rock bottom. But after a friend suggested he try running to ease his depression, he started making gradual lifestyle changes, taking up more exercise and eating better.
By 53, Maroon had signed up for his first Ironman Triathlon and has since completed eight in total. Maroon came in second in his age category for the 2022 National Senior Games triathlon.
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Maroon previously shared with BI how he was staying fit, and his diet principles are explained below.
Follow a Mediterranean-style diet
Maroon says he follows the Mediterranean diet, which US News & World Report has said for seven years in a row is the best way to eat.
It’s not a “diet” in the way you may think, but more a way of eating that centers on healthy choices rather than restriction.
Avoid ultra-processed food
Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are made using techniques that are difficult to recreate at home and may include additives such as salts, sugars, and saturated fats, according to the Nova scale, which categorizes foods by how processed they are.
Avoid trans fatty acids
Trans fats can increase levels of “bad” low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood while decreasing levels of “good” high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, as Dana Ellis Hunnes, a senior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, previously told BI.
Eat less sugar
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The healthiest diet involves “avoiding a whole lot of things that people like to eat,” Maroon says, including sugar …