Book Review: The Longevity Diet

The Longevity Diet is a somewhat strange combination of a vegan diet, supplemented with fish and shellfish 2 to 3 times a week. Meat is not included and other animal foods such as eggs, cheese and yogurt are only advised to a limited extent to people over 65 who are losing muscle mass, muscle strength and weight. The menu mainly consists of vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grain products and olive oil, supplemented with a portion of fresh or dried fruit. On the days when you don’t eat fish, shellfish or shellfish, there are legumes on the menu. And vegetables are not only eaten with the evening meal, but also with lunch. Longo also recommends nutritional supplements to be on the safe side: a normally dosed multivitamin with minerals and a fish oil capsule every other day. The latter seems somewhat exaggerated, given the high consumption of fish in the Longevity Diet.

Eat like your ancestors

To get all the necessary nutrients, variety is important. But Longo advises not to vary too much. In the book, he says, “It’s best to choose from foods that your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents already had on the table. Whether it’s milk or kale, quinoa or turmeric, think about whether these ingredients are common. were on the table when you, your parents or grandparents were growing up. If not, then you should avoid them or eat only occasionally.” A striking piece of advice, for which there is not yet a lot of scientific substantiation, as Longo himself admits. But he does not rule out that eating ‘new’ foods is linked to food intolerances and intestinal inflammation. As an example, he mentions lactose intolerance, which often occurs in countries where milk has traditionally not been on the menu. It is not yet clear whether this also applies to other foods.

Do not eat too often and little sugars

Did you grow up with the advice to eat 3 times a day and have a snack up to 4 times to satisfy hunger? According to Longo, you eat way too often. According to him, it is best to eat breakfast and 1 large meal per day, along with a nutritious but low-sugar and low-calorie snack. If you are not overweight, you can take an extra meal. Furthermore, Longo advises to take as few bad fats and sugars as possible. According to him, you can achieve the latter by using few added sugars and opting for a limited consumption of, for example, white pasta, white rice and white bread.

Eat time-limited and fast

Do you have breakfast at 8 in the morning? In that case, according to Longo, it is better not to eat in the evening after 19.00 to 20.00. This way you only eat within a time frame of 11 to 12 hours a day. In addition, Longo advises healthy people under the age of 65 to fast regularly. He is in favor of a fasting-mimicking diet of 5 days that contains relatively many calories for a fasting diet: 800 kcal per day from vegetables, nuts and olive oil. Unfortunately, no examples are given of what you can eat on a fast day, while the cover of the book reads, “Includes the 5-Day Fast-Mimicking Diet.” Longo has established a company that sells special fasting products for this fasting diet. They are pricey: more than 200 dollars for 5 days of fasting and that while you can eat little. It also gives the impression that you cannot create the fasting diet yourself from ordinary foods and supplements. Longo will donate the proceeds from the sale of the fasting products as well as the book to a foundation he founded that funds research into the longevity diet. Unfortunately, this kind of conflict of interest detracts somewhat from his message, which he bases on scientific research.

Yummy?

It is often thought that a healthy diet is not tasty. Rather, according to Longo, the opposite is true: “Vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil and other plant foods offer much more variety and flavor than unhealthy foods rich in saturated fats and sugars that mask a natural taste.” He has a good point there and the Health Council also advises eating more vegetables, legumes, nuts and fish to reduce the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Nevertheless, the Longevity Diet deviates a lot from the average Dutch diet. The breakfast with, for example, 2 whole-wheat sandwiches with jam and coffee or tea is recognizable. And legumes or fish instead of meat on the menu for dinner fits in with the flexitarian trend that is currently going on. But for example, a lunch with boiled Brussels sprouts and a salad will be a step too far for many people.

Recommended?

The Longevity Diet contains many ingredients that are generally considered healthy in science, such as more plant-based foods and an emphasis on pure, unprocessed products such as vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains and fish. Yet it has not been scientifically proven that this diet really ensures that you live longer and have less chance of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. No research has been done yet. It is only Longo’s translation into practice of all the research done to date. This mainly concerns research in the laboratory and in animals and hardly ever in humans.

Valter Longo is director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and the longevity and cancer program of the IFOM (FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) in Milan. He was named one of the most influential people in healthcare in 2018 by Time magazine.