Shocking for fans of calorie bombs.. A diet to prolong life with advice from two scientists

In an article published in the US-based journal Cell, two gerontologists, Valter Longo and Rosalynn Anderson, examined hundreds of aging and nutrition studies conducted in simple organisms, animals, and humans in the laboratory, and combined them with their studies. own, and they came up with a "long-term diet".

It is unfortunate that fans of foods that are considered “calorie bombs”, such as burgers, chips and cola drinks, or foods that give one a sense of comfort, such as white chocolate, will be disappointed by the study, as the researchers link between eating foods with limited calories and fasting. intermittent, on the one hand, and a reduced risk of disease and life expectancy on the other.

Their longevity diet requires that one eat between 45% and 60% of calories from unrefined complex carbohydrates, between 10% and 15% of calories from mostly plant proteins, and between 25% and 35% of calories. Most calories are from vegetable fats.

Translated into practical terms, this means: “Eat plenty of legumes, whole grains, vegetables, and some fish.

Not eating red meat or processed meat, very little white meat, little sugar and refined grains, lots of nuts and olive oil, and some dark chocolate,” Longo said in a press release issued by the University of Southern California, where he works. Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences, and Director of the Longevity Institute.

Anderson is a faculty member in the Department of Geriatrics and Geriatrics and the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Medicine.

The Life Extension Diet also calls for gerontologists to restrict eating to a time frame, 11 to 12 hours per day, and a few annual cycles of five-day fasting-mimicking diets, a plan made up of low-calorie meals developed at the Longevity Institute. Age» according to a formulation to simulate the body's fasting state.

Born in Italy, Longo is also the Director of the Longevity and Cancer Program at the IVUM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, and considers longevity to be the focus of his work.

He is the author of several books and has a website with advice on how to stay healthy and young and "recipes for a longer life".

Longo and Anderson emphasize that their diet, which works to extend life, must be adapted to individuals according to gender, age, lifestyle, health status, and genetics, as there is no diet that is equally suitable for everyone.

They write that those over the age of 65, for example, may need to eat more protein to avoid developing weakness and diseases resulting from low bone or muscle mass, or low blood cell counts.

The more than a century of research examined by Longo and Anderson includes species studies ranging from simple, short-lived organisms to extremely short-lived yeasts, flies and worms to rodents, as well as clinical and epidemiological studies of primates. And humans too.

They also investigated traditional diets in centenarian societies, such as Okinawa, Sardinia, and Loma Linda, California.

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