Fish

What it does

Eaten whole: fats, minerals and vitamin A together.

• Omega-3 + calcium, bones included

Where the number comes from

Fish sits in the fish group of the Fadnes model, the only peer-reviewed model that converts eating into years of life. The lifetime gain for that group is spread across the days you actually eat it — a daily serving from age 20 to 80 — which gives +13 min per serving. The authors rate the evidence behind this group as moderate.

What it is made of

• EPA / DHA
• Calcium (bones)
• Vitamin A

Which kind

• Mola — eaten whole — vitamin A and calcium
• Sardine — small, oily, low mercury
• Large predator fish — more mercury the higher up the chain

How to eat it

Whole and small beats big and filleted.

Minutes derived from Fadnes LT, Økland J-M, Haaland ØA, Johansson KA. Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. PLOS Medicine 19(2):e1003889, 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889