Nutrition

Can the ‘longevity diet’ help you live longer?

6 December, 2022 . 0

Could your approach to eating help you beat the average lifespan? Fans of the longevity diet say yes – so how does it work?

Drawing on evidence from hundreds of studies, the longevity diet promotes nutrition that offers the best chance of living a longer, healthier life.

Developed by researcher Professor Valter Longo from the University of Southern California’s Longevity Institute, the key characteristics of the longevity diet include:

a moderate-to-high carbohydrate intake, all from non-refined sources
low-but-sufficient protein, mostly from plant-based sources
and enough plant-based fats to provide about 30 per cent of energy needs.

When the new research was released, Prof Longo – who says he hopes to live to 120 by following this diet – described what eating for longevity looks like in real life.

“Lots of legumes, whole grains and vegetables; some fish; no red meat or processed meat and very low white meat; low sugar and refined grains; good levels of nuts and olive oil; and some dark chocolate,” he says.

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Is the longevity diet really that different to healthy eating guidelines?

Prof Longo prescribes two other things – eating in an 11-12 hour window to deliver a daily 12-13 hour fast and taking a multivitamin once every three days – but that aside, the longevity diet isn’t dissimilar to the well-known Mediterranean diet.

University of South Australia nutrition and food sciences program director Dr Evangeline Mantzioris isn’t surprised, saying it’s not too far away from the Australian dietary guidelines, either.

“This is what the evidence has always been pointing to,” Dr Mantzioris says.

“If we look at the dietary recommendations that have been made over the years, there’s been slight changes around the edges but what’s good for us has always been eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, having whole grain breads and cereals, considering processed meats as ‘sometimes foods’ and steering clear of ultra-processed foods.

“And a large study called the Seven Countries Study, which began in the late 1950s, highlighted the fact that it’s not the total fat in the diet that’s important, it’s the type of fat that matters, so that a Mediterranean diet containing a significant amount of olive oil is associated with lower rates of heart disease and cancer.”

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Where the longevity diet gets a big tick

Dr Mantzioris says the fact the longevity diet has such a strong emphasis on eating more fruit and vegetables is key.

“The first thing many of us could do to improve our diet is to increase our intake of vegetables and fruit, considering they contain so many phytonutrients that are beneficial for so many reasons,” she says.

Worryingly, the latest official data shows 94 percent of Australians aren’t eating the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables – which for adults, is two serves of fruit and at least five serves of vegetables a day.

Dietitians Australia CEO Robert Hunt is calling for a coordinated approach to help turn this around, including education campaigns to improve nutrition uptake.

“If we keep eating the way we do, the most recent data available shows Australia is on track to foot an over 80 billion dollar bill to deal with obesity-related health costs,” he says.

“We’ve proven we can turn around public health education campaigns quickly in this country, with most of us understanding the concepts of masks and social distancing.

“Yet most of the Australian public are unaware of how critical fruit and vegetable intake is to prevent chronic disease and even death.”

So, will the longevity diet really help you live longer?

It’s not an exact science, and Prof Longo’s next plan is conducting a 500-person study to research how effective his specific longevity diet is.

But existing research already suggests it might add up to 13 years to your lifespan if you start eating this way at age 20, and more than eight years even if you don’t adopt the diet until you’re 60.

Dr Mantzioris adds that while there’s no guarantee, it’s a great place to start – with one proviso.

“I think what we all want is not just a longer life, but as much functionality for as long as possible,” she says.

“Following diets like the longevity diet, the Mediterranean diet and the Australian dietary guidelines is one of the best ways of helping to ensure that’ll happen.

“The only thing I’d mention is that Valter Longo recommends taking a multivitamin supplement and not only does this seem a bit counterintuitive, we only advise taking supplements if you’ve been diagnosed with a specific deficiency after a blood test.”