An Italian Longevity Expert Reveals the Four Daily Diet Mistakes That Ruin Your Longevity

Longevity is the journey towards the eternal destination — death. You can’t escape it but with a few minor changes, you can postpone it.

It sounds bleak but it isn’t, living with a healthy caution to things that may end your life sooner than later is the key to longevity.

And who better to learn about longevity than a longevity guru who has made it his life’s aim to live up to 120 or maybe 130.

Dr. Valter Longo , a biologist has dedicated his life and his career to researching longevity diets that the centenarians in blue zones follow.

He believes that diet is the irrefutable factor when it comes to longevity and it’s impossible to ensure a good healthspan without a healthy diet.

So, here are the four diet mistakes we make due to our fast-paced lifestyle. And how to rectify them most easily.

1. The Unavoidable Five Poisonous P’s

Good habits will only work efficiently once you remove the bad habits that endanger your progress.

There’s a common pattern of bad habits that you need to give up now but you keep postponing the inevitable. Even if you succeed now these habits find their way back to you.

Dr. Longo prohibits the five poisonous “Ps” that are wrecking your diet and longevity.

This is tough news because I can assure you that you love at least three of these items, but this is a sacrifice Longo makes for longevity.

Pizza, pasta, potato, protein, and pane(bread), are worth giving up if you want to live a long life with a good health span.

A good diet highlights the food items you need to change to become healthier. That’s why most of them suck.

But an Italian telling you not to eat pasta and pizza is a travesty. According to Dr. Longo, even if the ingredients are healthy overconsumption in the long run can become problematic fast.

Maybe you can get away with small cheat meals as giving up these five foods is a dreadful challenge. Portion control will be your best friend when it comes to these foods.

Here’s what you can do:-

• It’s an impossible ask that most humans will deny outright, I respect that but it won’t hurt to review your junk food consumption.
• Cutting out junk food never harmed anyone. So, make it a point to have only 1–2 cheat meals every week.
• Protein is a building block for muscles but overconsumption can lead to fatal kidney and heart problems. So, make sure you don’t exceed the recommended limit like 60% of Americans.
• Potatoes are delicious and nutritious but not if you’re frying them and then topping off with liquid chees. Baked and boiled potatoes are the healthiest ways to make them.

2. The Safest Diet Is The One You Already Know

Food has changed a lot over the last few decades. The dinners you used to have at your grandparent’s place would contrast the junk you eat today.

The home-cooked meals were made with fresh produce and a little love. Their table had a variety of dishes to choose from most of which were healthy.

Your grandparents didn’t eat as much processed food, so if you want to improve your diet then pick something from their table.

Choose the items that are easily available and don’t hurt your pocket. It’s one way to avoid falling prey to the marketing gimmick that sells you a sugar-fueled snack as the god’s latest invention for a healthy life.

It can protect you from eating junk that you believe to be healthy. Pick the healthiest items from your grandparents or great-grandparents’ table and stick to them.

But make sure that the items you choose are healthy in the long run.
Do your research and pick wisely.

Dr. Longo believes both Mediterranean and Okinawan diets to be great for longevity. They both promote a mostly vegan diet with minimal animal products.

Vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains with fish dishes three times a week will boost your longevity.

Here’s what you can do:-

• The easiest way to get rid of processed junk is by going back in time to salvage the diet of our ancestors. Ask for the recipes that made everything better.
• But be wise, don’t revive the diet based solely on nostalgia. Do some research and pick the healthiest items on their table.
• Cooking was the major factor that made their diets delicious and healthy. So, make time to meal prep.

3. The Timing Is As Important As The Diet Itself

Food is an emotional regulator for many of us, we depend on our favorite foods to get us out of an emotional crisis.

So, you eat whenever you feel blue which almost always ruins your diet. Emotional eating has many disadvantages just like the trashy food you pick.

The top two choices are either delicious snacks dipped in sugar or highly processed junk with ingredients you can’t even pronounce.

But what’s worse is your timing. Stuffing your face in the middle of the night or after a heavy meal because you can’t process your emotions is a bad choice.

It ruins every chance of following a proven longevity diet that’s been studied by Logo’s team.

A fast-mimicking diet is your ticket to a long healthy life. Studies have shown that a calorie-deficit diet can slow down the biological aging process.

But you can’t achieve a diet that resembles fasting if you eat whenever you feel moody or depressed.

A strict schedule is the only way to break the dependence on food. Meals at regular intervals will keep you satiated and will build a foundation for a fast-mimicking diet.

The easiest way to follow a fasting diet is through intermittent fasting. You extend your fast by a few hours to ensure longevity.

Or you can have mini fasts between meals, the choice is yours. But you need to stick to the right meal times daily to make it a part of your schedule.

Here’s what you can do:-

• Depending on food for emotional assurance is a bad idea. Both the quality and timing of these unscheduled meals will hurt your health. So, choose better-coping strategies like journalling, running, and therapy.
• Let yourself feel hungry once in a while. Snacking can ruin your appetite for meals and it’ll prevent you from practicing a fast-mimicking diet.
• Intermittent fasting is associated with weight loss , lower risk of diabetes, and better brain and heart health. So, it is wise to practice it, and the easiest way to do so is by doing a 12-hour fast daily.

4. One Little Diet Mistake Won’t Ruin Longevity

There’s some truth in the old adages that we often ignore. One such saying is, “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”.

You would be surprised to know this statement is fully backed by science, so not just half-wit wisdom that you associate with the older generation.

Heavy calorie breakfast led to 2.5 times more weight loss and an extra reduction of 4 inches in the waistline as compared to heavy calorie dinner in an experiment where all subjects followed the same diet.
They knew what they were talking about.

Dr. Longo supports this ideal diet but he doesn’t follow it. He acknowledges his shortcomings but refuses to change them because it suits his lifestyle well.

He doesn’t have lunch on workdays so he ends up eating a big dinner late at night which he knows harms longevity but skipping lunch helps him fast during the day as well.

Eating big dinners late at night has negative effects, but he believes it doesn’t do significant harm.

It’s the one seemingly bad habit that he allows himself. Just because he can be lax about one habit doesn’t mean we all get that privilege.

He eats a healthy clean diet with regular intervals of fasting. Also, he is an expert in longevity so he would know what he can get away with.

But if you’re someone who follows a relatively healthy lifestyle then maybe you can allow yourself one compromise.

Try your best to make healthy habits a part of a routine that you love to follow. If not then don’t beat yourself about one habit that you failed at, instead look at the bigger picture.

Here’s what you can do:-

• Make dinner the lightest meal of the day. As it can boost the effect of your diet and lead to faster weight loss.
• Build a healthy lifestyle with better habits but don’t beat yourself if you do one thing wrong.
• It takes time to make a change, so start with a small step in the right direction.

Conclusion

Diet is the most important factor when it comes to longevity, without it you’ll have a disastrous health span.

And without a good healthspan, there’s no point in aiming for longevity. So, do yourself a favor and improve your diet.

Eat the right foods at the right time to ensure better longevity.