Valter Longo is used to getting strange looks at airports when he carries his luggage up the stairs instead of taking the escalator. No matter how many stories the building is, he always skips the elevator and heads for the stairs.
It’s part of Longo’s plan to live an extraordinary long life, just like the hundreds of centenarians he interviews as a longevity researcher.
He said that most of the 100-year-olds he meets have spent hours each day moving for decades. That’s why he does the same thing, but with a modern twist, such as carrying luggage.
“When I do this for five minutes at the airport, people look at me like I’m crazy,” says Dr. Longo, a professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California and director of the USC Longevity Institute in Los Angeles. he told TODAY.com.
“It’s our job to carry things. If we’re not used to carrying things, our muscles will eventually become weaker and weaker, leading to problems.”
Asked if he wants to live to be 100, Longo has more ambitious goals in mind.
“I want to live longer than that. 120 is fine,” says Longo, 55 and author of The Longevity Diet.
Although exercise is important, he says diet is the biggest factor in promoting a long and healthy life.
When Longo immigrated to the United States from Italy at age 16, he discovered that although his relatives in Chicago were essentially genetically identical to his family back home, many had cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. I noticed that. The difference, he points out, was the American diet, which was full of meat, sugary drinks and sweet foods.
Longo practices a healthy lifestyle to avoid such risks. His daily habits as he aims to live until he is 120 years old are:
go on a pescatarian diet
The researchers eat a plant-rich diet that includes seafood three times a week. Fish is one source of protein, but the main sources of protein are legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, and black beans.
He also It is recommended Plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and plenty of olive oil – 3 tablespoons per day. Nuts are also on the menu, about 1 ounce per day.
Nutritionists call olive oil one of the most nutritious foods on earth.
Beans, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts are staple foods in blue zones around the world, where people live long, disability-free lives.
For dessert, Longo eats 85% cacao dark chocolate, which he describes as “a religious retreat for me every night.” Nutritionists say cocoa beans are rich in powerful antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and support heart health.
He drinks one or two glasses of wine a week.
Longo also takes a multivitamin several times a week to ensure he’s getting all the nutrients he needs.
Keep your protein intake low
This may come as a shock to fans of high-protein diets, but studies of the longest-lived people show they have something in common: high-carbohydrate diets, Longo says. he points out.
The traditional daily menu of the people of Okinawa, one of the Blue Zones, contains about 80% carbohydrates, for example from locally grown purple sweet potatoes.
Longo’s eating style also focuses on complex carbohydrates found in vegetables and whole grains.
“The good thing about eating a lot of legumes is that it’s very difficult to get too much protein,” he says. Longo probably eats red meat once a month.
I skip lunch, but I skip breakfast.
During the week, Longo eats breakfast, skips lunch, has a snack such as a few almonds, and then eats dinner. He eats all his meals within his 12 hours.
The benefit of skipping lunch is that you can cut your calorie intake by about 500 calories without feeling as hungry or slowing down your metabolism. On the other hand, skipping breakfast is associated with: the study He points out that it has detrimental effects on health, including shortening lifespans.
Eat fruits casually
Longo recommends eating lots of vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and beans, but be careful not to eat too much fruit, as they contain a lot of sugar. Fruits are called nature’s candy.
“This idea about fruits and vegetables is not a good idea. It should be vegetables and fruits,” he says.
Consider all sugar sources
When it comes to sugar, Longo warns that while sugar has a role, as the human body is fueled by it, most people consume too much of it, leading to insulin resistance.
“Be sure to limit sugar,” he advises. But he noticed that while some people might worry about adding a bit of sugar to their coffee, others would mindlessly eat starchy foods such as potatoes, which spike blood sugar levels.
“Bread, potatoes, rice — there’s not much difference between eating that or just eating sugar,” he says. “Unfortunately, most people don’t understand this and just demonize sugar. But then they go and eat a big bowl of rice.”
challenge your mind
Longo has lived in both the United States and Italy, splitting his time between Los Angeles, Milan, and Genoa. He has stationary bikes at all three locations to ensure he gets his cardio in three times a week.
“I cloned my environment because I realized that if I didn’t have an environment at home, I wouldn’t exercise,” he says.
“So every other day, no excuses. I have a stationary bike, so I ride for an hour.”
The goal is to get your heart pumping and start sweating, so stationary bikes are set up to mimic climbing up a hill.
walk every day
In addition to aerobic exercise, Longo also walks for an hour each day. When I’m in Milan, I just walk to work and back. He walks to coffee shops and restaurants because that’s much harder in Los Angeles. He’s been doing so for decades to mimic the typical lifestyle (rather than sedentary) that centenarians report.
He points out that it’s important to do things your body is designed to do, such as walking, which activates all types of muscles and burns calories.
“You have to go all the way to get to the end,” Longo says. “I can’t say, ‘I have a perfect diet.’ I just sit at home doing nothing.” That doesn’t seem to be observed very often. ”
