Studies agree and suggest the best diet

Recently, researchers looked at hundreds of nutrition studies from a cellular to epidemiological perspective to identify a “common dietary pattern” for longevity.

They found that diets that included moderate to high levels of unprocessed carbohydrates, low but adequate protein intake and regular consumption of fish were associated with longer life expectancy and health.

Today that diet is defined as a dietary lifestyle rather than a weight-loss strategy, although maintaining a healthy weight is the key. All aspects of nutrition are linked to long-term health and longevity.

To draw conclusions, the researchers analyzed hundreds of studies that looked at diet and delayed aging in short-lived species, nutrient response pathways, calorie restriction, fasting and diets with different levels of macronutrients and dietary supplements. .

The studies analyzed nutrition from many angles, from cell and animal studies to clinical and epidemiological research investigating the lifestyle of the centenarians.

In the end, the researchers found that the “longevity diet” includes:

• A vegetarian or vegetarian diet rich in legumes and whole grains
• 30% of calories from vegetable fats such as nuts and olive oil
• A low but adequate protein diet until age 65 and then moderate protein intake
• Low sugar and processed carbohydrates
• No red or processed meat
• Limited white meat
• 12 hours of food and 12 fasts a day
• About three cycles of a five-day diet that mimics fasting a year

The researchers further noted that instead of aiming for a certain number of calories, diets should aim to maintain a Body Mass Index below 25 and maintain ideal levels of body fat and lean body mass depending on gender and age.

In addition, they wrote that diets should be tailored to individual needs — especially those over the age of 65 — to avoid malnutrition. People over the age of 65, for example, may become weak from a low-protein diet.

For those who do not have insulin resistance or obesity, high intake of complex carbohydrates could reduce weakness in this age group and in others, the researchers wrote, as it provides energy without increasing insulin and activating the glucose signaling pathways.

The researchers also found that periodic fasting between the ages of 18 and 70 could reverse insulin resistance generated by a high-calorie diet and regulate blood pressure, total cholesterol and inflammation.

A recent study supports these findings. He found that the shift from a typical Western diet to a legume-rich, whole-grain cereal and nuts with reduced red and processed meats is associated with an 8-year life expectancy if started at age 60.