“Eat less to live longer” might be a good rule of thumb, but it’s horrible in practice. While animals living in laboratories may enjoy longer lives on calorie-restricted diets, humans living in the wild don’t enjoy starving themselves. To thread the needle, a new review published in Innovation Nutrition advances a longevity diet based on precision nutrition, with different recommendations for different ages.
Calorie restriction amounts to taking an axe to your diet, but this new approach argues for using a scalpel instead. Drawing on more than 30 longitudinal studies and meta-analyses of research on both humans and animals, the researchers sought to mimic the lifespan-boosting benefits of calorie restriction without the drawbacks. So they focused on finding the proper proportions and sources of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber) to min-max the molecular mechanisms of our metabolisms.
Read more: “Longevity Research Has a Bullshit Problem”
The result is a dietary framework that changes with age. Take protein, for example. According to the team, eating more animal protein during midlife correlates with a higher mortality rate (but not for plant-based protein), but after age 65, the relationship flips. As risks from muscle loss and frailty increase during old age, our protein intake should ramp up to combat them. We should get that protein from fish, legumes, and other sources, the researchers say.
Carbohydrates showed a J- or U-shaped relationship with mortality. The team found that risk of premature death was lowest in the middle of the graph, with 50 to 55 percent of the diet coming from carbs and emphasized that the source was important. Low-glycemic, plant-based, high-fiber carbohydrates from whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and whole fruits were much more conducive to a long life compared to refined grains and sugars.
The quality of fats was more important than the quantity, the researchers found. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats from nuts, olive oil, and fish were linked to better cardiovascular health, while saturated and trans fats were linked to reduced mortality. One study found that swapping just 5 percent of energy from saturated fats to polyunsaturated fats was associated with a 25 to 42 percent reduction in coronary heart disease.
Fiber showed the most consistent link to longevity for all age groups. Our gut microbiome ferments fiber into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate that protect against creeping inflammation as we age. Altogether, higher fiber intake was associated with a 10 to 23 percent reduction in all-cause mortality, with fiber from plants and cereals showing the biggest gains.
Of course, your diet is a vital component of healthy aging and a longer life, but it’s not the only one. Proper sleep, exercise, and hydration are also important pieces of the longevity puzzle. To drive that point home, the team proposed their own “Dietary and Lifestyle Pyramid of Longevity” with these healthy practices providing a sturdy foundation.
The good news is that if we all follow it, we may live long enough to see a graphical representation of dietary recommendations in a shape that’s not a pyramid.
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