In a new study, two scientists present a “longevity diet.” What does that mean?

It sounds like the diet that makes all the others obsolete: the longevity diet by Valter Longo and Rozalyn Anderson, literally translated the longevity diet. After sifting through hundreds of scientific papers, these two researchers… in the magazine cell with some specific tips.

Okay, let’s temper expectations right away: if you follow Longo and Anderson’s diet, you won’t live to be 140. “There is reasonable agreement in science that humans can live up to about 120 years old,” says Renger Witkamp, professor of nutritional biology at Wageningen University & Research. “Perhaps we can stretch that with genetic interventions one day, but we are a long way from that. ‘Longer living’ will therefore mainly mean ‘staying healthy for longer’.”

Big cleaning

Anyway, we all want to stay healthy for longer. How do we achieve that? To find out, Longo and Anderson put together a long list of studies. Some of those studies focused on short-lived organisms such as yeast cells, the worm C. elegans and the well-known fruit flies, others on mammals such as mice and monkeys.

These studies indicate, among other things, that a lower production of growth hormones and the hormone IGF-1 associated with a longer healthy lifespan. “The authors also point to research that would show that limiting a particular amino acid, methioninewould be beneficial,” says Witkamp.

Furthermore, the two researchers mention autophagy: the phenomenon in which cells do a ‘big cleaning’, by breaking down damaged proteins and foreign particles in their interior, among other things. More autophagy would also lead to more healthy years.

(Much) fewer calories

In order to be able to take advantage of all these beneficial effects, Longo and Anderson come up with a number of concrete recommendations. According to Witkamp, ​​how exactly is not entirely clear. But the main pillar of the longevity diet, he continues, is “caloric restriction.” In other words: reducing the amount of energy you consume, expressed in calories.

“Studies in animals suggest that this is as much as 30 to 40 percent,” says Witkamp. “That is quite a lot, difficult for people to sustain and it carries the risk of shortages. Recently a human study published which would show that a 14 percent reduction in energy over two years would have beneficial effects. But the evidence for that is still circumstantial.”

Nothing new?

The two researchers also tell you what to eat. Broadly speaking: Ideally, 45 to 60 percent of calories should come from (raw, complex) carbohydrates, 10 to 15 percent from protein (mostly plant-based), and 25 to 35 percent from fats (also mostly plant-based). “That is quite a lot of carbohydrates,” says Witkamp. “On the other hand, there are opinions that say that you should go for few carbohydrates and that also seem to have a point in a number of things.”

More specifically, Longo and Anderson recommend a diet high in legumes and whole grains, nuts, a little fish, and as little red and processed meat as possible. “Actually, that’s nothing new under the sun,” says Witkamp. “A diet like this is currently considered the best by many scientists.”

Fasting for five days

A final pillar of Longo and Anderson’s longevity diet is fasting. They recommend not eating for eleven to twelve consecutive hours per day. (In other words: no more bag of chips between dinner and breakfast.)

In addition, they suggest a five-day fast every three to four months. In addition, according to the authors, it is a good idea to fasting mimicking diet to follow. In other words: a diet in which you get enough nutrients and calories, but still have the effect of fasting.

Fine print

It is good to know that Longo has been trying to promote such a fasting diet for a while now. He does that in his book, among other things The longevity diet and through the quite pricey weight loss program ProLon† Also, the fine print below the new scientific article states, the scientist has “patents related to fasting-mimicking diets.” In addition, he is involved in the company L-Nutrawhich “helps people increase their longevity through diet and fasting”.

In other words: Longo is not a pure academic who is just trying to find out what the ideal diet is, he also wants to earn some money from it. That’s what the well-known scientific magazine cell won’t stop him from publishing his new article, but it might be something to keep in mind. However, according to the current state of affairs, “eat a varied, moderate and predominantly plant-based diet” is excellent – ​​albeit not very surprising – nutritional advice.