Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

by Eric Topol

We know it includes fruits and vegetables; legumes, such as lentils and garbanzo beans; whole grains; nuts and seeds; healthy fats, such as olive oil and avocados; and fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna, rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Consumption of olive oil, per se, has been tied to about a 20 percent lower all-cause mortality, along with reduction of cardiovascular-, cancer-, and neurodegenerative-related deaths. Among more than ninety-two thousand participants followed for twenty-eight years, there was a significant lower risk of dementia: 28 percent less risk if a person consumed 7 grams (half a tablespoon) a day or more of olive oil compared with rare or no consumption. In aggregate, these foods provide good sources of dietary fiber, something we all tend to need more of. The recommendation for about 30 grams of fiber per day, adjusted by age, gender, and body size, is derived from a meta-analysis of 185 studies that showed people who consumed a high fiber diet had 31 percent less heart disease and 16 percent less type 2 diabetes or colon cancer. Fiber is the polar opposite of ultra-processed foods—it slows digestion, lessens glucose spikes, and helps reduce cholesterol. What is referred to as the Western diet, rich in ultra-processed foods, is pro-inflammatory and linked with metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and colon cancer. A randomized trial of a high fiber, “microbiome enhanced” diet compared to the Western diet with the same percentage of...