Food: here’s what to eat to extend your life expectancy by 30 years

Italian-American gerontologist and professor of biology, Valter Longo is known for his work on therapeutic fasting, the response of genes and nutrients to cellular aging. In a new book titled The Longevity Diet (Ed. Actes Sud) Valter Longo gives nutritional advice to extend his life expectancy by at least 30 years. The conclusion of a very long observation of the diet of different hundred-year-old people.

Reduce your consumption of animal proteins

According to him, it is essential to reduce your consumption of animal proteins, in order to promote the ingestion of good fats: 0.7g of meat per kilo and per day would thus be sufficient.. For example, a 60 kg woman should eat 42g of meat per day and a 80kg man should be content with 56g.

This advice also applies to cold meats, cheese and eggs. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience in 2016, show that the saturated fats contained in animal proteins promote weight gain. Previous work had also shown that saturated fat disrupts the brain’s functioning of the reward circuit and leads to consuming more of it.

Valter Longo therefore recommends favoring fish, seafood, vegetables, cereals, dried fruits and olive oil, spacing out the three daily meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) of at least 12h. IndeedAccording to the American Cardiovascular Association, for example, eating raw fish twice a week would significantly reduce the risk of heart disease.

Fast 3 to 4 times a year

This fasting specialist also recommends fasting three to four times a year for a few days and consuming only soups, cereal bars and tea. According to him, this allows organs to regenerate and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer.

Be careful, however, Valter Longo makes it clear that this advice is valid for people under the age of 65 who have received a favorable medical opinion. So talk to your doctor before starting this diet.