The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight

by Valter Longo

The same applies to the human body: we can try to understand how it ages and attempt to slow that down, or we can identify ways to eliminate aged components and periodically replace them with young ones. In this case, it doesn’t matter how the body ages, whether by oxidation or some other mechanism. The goal changes from protecting the body from damage to improving protection and, more importantly, repair and replacement/regeneration.

Among the longevity factors within your control, what you eat is the primary choice you can make that will affect whether you live to 60, 80, 100, or 110—and more important, whether you will get there in good health. So when it comes to dietary recommendations, it’s crucial to listen to the right people.

THE FIVE PILLARS OF LONGEVITY: Basic/juventology research. Without understanding how nutrients—such as proteins and sugars—affect cellular function, aging, age-dependent damage, and regeneration, it is difficult to determine the type and quantity of nutrients needed to optimize healthy longevity.

Epidemiology. This is the study of the causes and important risk factors for disease and other health-related conditions in defined populations. Studying population-based risk factors is crucial to testing hypotheses generated by basic research.

Clinical studies. Hypotheses formulated in basic and epidemiological studies eventually must be tested in randomized, controlled clinical trials. This is the gold standard to demonstrate efficacy.

Centenarian studies. Once the data from basic/juventology, epidemiological, and clinical studies are available, there is still uncertainty about whether a specific diet or nutritional indication is in fact safe and beneficial after long-term use, and whether it is palatable enough for people not just to adopt it but to stick with it for the rest of their lives.

Studies of complex systems. This pillar is the result of my fascination with reductionism, physics, and the need to simplify the human body’s complexity by identifying machines that can serve as models to teach us about the function and loss of function of human organs and systems.

Nutrition is clearly the most important factor you can take control of to affect how long you live, whether you will be diagnosed with certain major diseases, and whether you will be active and strong or sedentary and frail in old age.

By reducing calorie intake, particularly reducing calories from proteins and sugars, you can decrease the activities of the growth hormone receptor, and thus of the TOR-S6K and PKA genes known to accelerate aging. These findings represent the “basic/juventology research” pillar, necessary to establish how nutrients act on the aging process.

What follows is the optimal diet for minimizing disease and maximizing a healthy lifespan based on the Five Pillars.

Follow a pescetarian diet. Aim for a diet that is close to 100 percent plant- and fish-based, limiting fish consumption to two or three portions a week and avoiding fish with high mercury content (tuna, swordfish, mackerel, halibut).

Consume low but sufficient proteins. Consume 0.31 to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Minimize bad fats and sugars, and maximize good fats and complex carbs. Part of the confusion and constantly changing recommendations around diet stem from the oversimplification of food components and their categorization into fats, carbs, or proteins. Every day we hear about “low carb versus high carb” or “low fat versus high fat.” It shouldn’t be a question of either/or, but of which type and how much of each. In fact, your diet should be rich in good unsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil, salmon, almonds, and walnuts, but as low as possible in saturated, hydrogenated, and trans fats. Likewise, the diet should be rich in complex carbohydrates, such as those provided by whole bread, legumes, and vegetables, but low in sugars and limited in pasta, rice, bread, fruit, and fruit juices, which are easily converted into sugars by the time they reach the intestine.

Be nourished. You can think of the human body as an army of cells always at war. The enemy includes oxygen and other molecules that damage DNA and cells; bacteria; and viruses, which are constantly trying to defeat the immune system. Like an army in need of rations, ammunition, and equipment, the body needs proteins, essential fatty acids (omega-3, omega-6), minerals, vitamins, and, yes, sufficient levels of sugar to fight the many battles raging inside and outside cells. When your intake of certain nutrients becomes too low, the body’s repair, replacement, and defense systems slow down or stop, allowing the damage to accumulate or fungi, bacteria, and viruses to proliferate. (The appendixes include a list of foods rich in each of the important nutrients, as well as sample weekly diets that meet established nutritional targets.) As extra insurance, take a multivitamin and mineral pill, plus an omega-3 fish oil soft gel every two or three days. Purchase these products only from reputable companies, where quality control ensures appropriate supplement content and stability.

Eat a variety of foods from your ancestry. To take in all the required nutrients, you need to eat a wide variety of foods, and it’s best to choose from foods that were common on your parents’, grandparents’, and great-grandparents’ table. This does not mean you should eat like your grandparents, but that...

Eat twice a day plus a snack. Unless your waist circumference and body weight are in the normal or low range, it is best to eat breakfast and one major meal plus a nourishing low-calorie, low-sugar snack daily.

Observe time-restricted eating. Another common practice adopted by many centenarian groups is time-restricted eating, or confining all meals and snacks to within eleven to twelve hours or less a day.

Practice periodic prolonged fasting: People under age sixty-five who are neither frail nor malnourished and are free of major diseases should undergo two periods of five days a year in which they consume a relatively high-calorie fasting-mimicking diet, or FMD.

The Longevity Diet in Summary Eat mostly vegan, plus a little fish, limiting meals with fish to a maximum of two or three times per week. Choose fish, crustaceans, and mollusks with a high omega-3, omega-6, and vitamin B12 content (salmon, anchovies, sardines, cod, sea bream, trout, clams, shrimp; see appendix B). Pay attention to the quality of the fish, choosing those with low levels of mercury. If you are below the age of sixty-five, keep the intake of protein low (0.31 to 0.36 grams per pound of body weight). That comes to 40 to 47 grams of protein per day for a person weighing 130 pounds, and 60 to 70 grams of protein per day for someone weighing 200 to 220 pounds. Those beyond age sixty-five should slightly increase their protein intake, including fish, eggs, white meat, and products derived from goats and sheep, to preserve muscle mass. Consume beans, chickpeas, green peas, and other legumes as your main source of protein. Minimize saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources (meat, cheese) and sugar, and maximize good fats and complex carbs. Eat whole grains and high quantities of vegetables (tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, legumes, etc.) with generous amounts of olive oil (3 tablespoons per day) and nuts (1 ounce per day). See the biweekly diet program in appendix A. Follow a diet with high vitamin and mineral content and complete it with a multivitamin buffer every 3 days.

Select ingredients among those discussed in this book that your ancestors would have eaten. Based on your weight, age, and abdominal circumference, decide whether to have two or three meals per day (see chapter 8 for diabetes guidelines). If you are overweight or tend to gain weight easily, consume two meals a day: breakfast and either lunch or dinner, plus two low-sugar (less than 5 grams) snacks with fewer than 100 calories each. If you are already at a normal weight, or if you tend to lose weight easily or are over 65 and of normal weight, eat three meals a day and one low-sugar (less than 3 to 5 grams) snack with fewer than 100 calories. Confine all eating to within a twelve-hour period; for example, start after 8 a.m. and end before 8 p.m. Don’t eat anything within three to four hours of bedtime. Until age 65–70, depending on weight and frailty, undergo five days of a fasting-mimicking diet (see chapter 6) every one to six months, based on your goals and, if possible, a dietitian’s or medical doctor’s advice. Follow points 1 through 8 in such a way that you reach and maintain a healthy weight and abdominal circumference.

The following guidelines are for exercising to maximize health and longevity: Walk fast for an hour every day. The goal of walking for an hour a day can easily be achieved.

Ride, run, or swim thirty to forty minutes every other day, plus two hours on the weekend. The best way to achieve this goal is to have both a stationary bike and a road bike.

Use your muscles. Humans evolved as a species that walks, runs, climbs trees and hills, and uses a variety of muscles all the time.

OPTIMIZING ENERGY IN SUMMARY Walk fast for an hour every day. Take the stairs instead of escalators and elevators. On the weekend, walk everywhere, even faraway places (avoid polluted areas as much as you can). Do moderate exercise for 2½ to 5 hours a week, with some of it in the vigorous range. Most of the beneficial effects appear to be caused by the first 2.5 hours of exercise, making the additional exercise optional. Use weight training or weight-free exercises to strengthen all muscles. To maximize muscle growth, consume at least 30 grams of protein in a single meal one to two hours after a relatively intense weight-training session.

(see my TEDx talk, “Fasting: Awakening the Rejuvenation from Within,” on YouTube).

The FMD Day 1 1,100 calories 500 calories from complex carbohydrates (vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, mushrooms, etc.) 500 calories from healthy fats (nuts, olive oil) 1 multivitamin and mineral supplement 1 omega-3/omega-6 supplement Sugarless tea (up to 3 to 4 cups per day) 25 grams of plant-based protein, mainly from nuts Unlimited water Days 2–5 800 calories 400 calories from complex carbohydrates (vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, mushrooms, etc.) 400 calories from healthy fats (nuts, olive oil) 1 multivitamin and mineral supplement 1 omega-3/omega-6 supplement Sugarless tea (up to 3 to 4 cups per day) Unlimited water The above components can be divided between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or they can be taken as two meals and a snack. Day 6 Transition diet For 24 hours following the end of the five-day FMD, patients should follow a diet based on complex carbohydrates (vegetables, cereals, pasta, rice, bread, fruit, etc.), and minimize the consumption of fish, meat, saturated fats, pastries, cheeses, milk, etc.