If you want to live a healthy and long life, it is recommended that you follow a so-called “longevity diet” that will help you do just that.
That being said, a professor from USC by the name of Valter Longo shared what the main characteristics of such a diet are, based on studies on lab animals, nutrition research and even epidemiological research in human populations.
The review of all of this varied research is meant to identify how nutrition contributes to people’s lifespan and aging.
The Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Professor was therefore able to come up with some rather clear guidelines of what the ideal diet for a healthier and longer life looks like.
The study was published late last month in the journal Cell and uses an approach based on a variety of other different studies on things like calorie intake, food composition and even the frequency and duration of fasting.
Longo explains that “We explored the link between nutrients, fasting, genes, as well as longevity in short lived species, and connected these links to clinical and epidemiological studies in primates and humans – including centenarians. By adopting an approach based on more than a century of research, we can now begin to define a longevity diet which represents a solid foundation for nutritional recommendations and for future research.”
Some of the most popular diets such as keto, vegetarian, vegan and Mediterranean were included in the overall research as well in order to obtain the most accurate answer to the question “What should we eat to life longer?”
What the authors were able to find was that the ideal diet tends to include a moderate to high carb intake from a number of non-refined sources, low to moderate protein from plant-based foods as well as just enough fats from plant-based sources to account for 30 percent of one’s energy needs.
Furthermore, it is recommended for all meals to be consumed in a window of 11 to 12 hours which also allows for a short period of fasting every day.
Speaking of fasting, they also found that fasting for a cycle of about 5 days every 3 to 4 months is also great for you since it may help with insulin resistance, blood pressure and other individual disease risk factors.
But what exactly does such a diet look like?
Lango described it as: “Lots of legumes, whole grains, and vegetables; fish; no red meat or processed meat and really low white meat; low sugar and refined grains; good levels of nuts and of olive oil, and some dark chocolate.”
