Kerri Waldron
Hacking one’s health in the name of longevity can often lead to an unyielding assortment of trends, takes, and tips each one more unaligned with the last. Do a cold plunge. Sit in a sauna. Walk 10,000 steps a day. Bryan Johnson, leader of the Don’t Die regime, pops supplements like sweets – but, of course, he’s not eating any sweets.
When it comes to eating, and specifically how what we eat affects how long we live, the information out there regarding any links between diet and longevity can be equally conflicting. Some people will tell you to eat lots of meat. Others are on record saying that isn’t exactly the case. (“Meat is like radiation,” Walter Willett, a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health nutrition researcher, once said. “We don’t know the safe level.”)
Walter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, even spells out precisely what to do if you want to live a long time. It’s right there on his website, where the first line reads, “Eat mostly vegan.” Protein intake? Low. When to eat? Stick to a fasting diet, confining all meals between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
What, you might ask, are we supposed to do then, if the idea is to optimise a diet in the name of our health so that we can live a long, healthy life?
“Certainly there is no one-size-fits-all diet that’s best for everyone,” says Dr. Frank Hu, Harvard professor of nutrition and epidemiology. “The good news is there are different patterns that can help prevent chronic disease and improve longevity.”
First, the why
Sometimes the oldest adages teach us the most – like ‘You are what you eat’. “Diet is more than fuel — it’s the foundation of how well you age,” says Lucy Joslin, nutritionist and head coach at Cali Kulture.
Anna Markusson, Clinical Nutitionist at Bettervits agrees. “If we can’t survive without food, imagine the power the right food has on our longevity,” she says. “Diet plays a pivotal role because it directly influences every system in the body: metabolic health, inflammation, immune function, brain ageing, gut health and even the rate at which our cells age.”
While dropping cash on the latest anti-aging creams and LED face masks is a great mode of preventive care — with the market expect to top 2 billion in the next 7 years — no investment beats a well-chosen, healthy diet.
Keep it real
By far, the overarching principle across all diets, if you’re looking to live a long life mostly free of disease, should be the elimination of ultraprocessed foods. Packaged snacks, cookies, fast-food burgers, carbonated drinks: all are examples of the sort of food that will do more harm to your body, regardless of how good a sleeve of chocolate chip cookies might taste in the moment.
“Nowadays ultra processed foods are everywhere and ubiquitous in our food supply, but they’re very high in sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats,” says Hu.
The importance of protein also can’t be overstated, whether you’re a fitness fanatic or not. “Muscle is an organ for longevity,” says Joslin. “Since we naturally lose muscle as we age — getting enough protein helps maintain strength, balance, and metabolism.”
The best diet for longevity will also be one that focuses on gut health, as recent studies have shown. Markusson explains the correlation: “A balanced gut microbiome supports immune function, digestion, and even mental health. Emerging studies show that a diverse microbiome can reduce inflammation, improve nutrient absorption, and lower the risk of chronic diseases, all of which are key for healthy ageing.”
Med, Blue, DASH — what’s the best diet for longevity?
For those of you who like a clear roadmap when it comes to diet planning, these three expert-endorsed diets have the highest anti-age rating in the world.
Source: bing.com
