- As the desire for longevity spreads across the country, people are taking supplements and prescription drugs to reverse aging.
- Research shows that diet plays a role in determining and even extending a person's lifespan.
- Below is a list of fruits, vegetables, and drinks that experts say may lead to a longer life.
Some billionaires, like Elon Musk, choose donuts for breakfast. Some, like biotech entrepreneur Brian Johnson, carefully make smoothies with compounds like creatine, spermidine, and collagen peptides, and consume large amounts of vegetables.
Tech billionaires clearly don't eat the same diet or have the same health goals. Still, people like Johnson aren't following strict nutritional plans just to stay healthy; they're aiming to live longer.
Watch your protein intake
While there is certainly some overlap between eating for general health and eating for longevity, longevity experts say there are also some important differences.Dr. Ananth Binjamouli, Chief Medical Officer of a Longevity-Focused Healthcare Company present daysuggests looking at protein intake as an example.
“Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle mass, and having adequate muscle mass is important for healthy aging.” “It is also known to negatively impact some beneficial recovery pathways.”
That idea is supported by the following research. Dan Buettner, founder of the longevity brand Blue Zones.
Butner spent years studying the habits of people in regions of the world known as “Blue Zones.” people tend to live to be 100 years old.
across all five blue zone — Loma Linda, California. Nicoya, Costa Rica. Sardinia, Italy. Ikaria, Greece. Okinawa, Japan — Buettner and his team found that people eat less protein, especially animal protein, than in other parts of the world.
become a vegetarian or vegan
David Sinclair, a Harvard Medical School professor and longevity researcher, takes the argument against animal protein a step further, arguing that the best way to live longer is to cut out meat altogether.
Sinclair said in an interview on The Knowledge Project podcast. Said A diet high in animal protein may make people look and feel better, but only in the short term.
“I believe that the data from population studies shows that a carnivorous diet is not a longevity-promoting diet in the long term,” he said.
Some of the biggest names in the tech industry don't eat meat. Sam Altman of OpenAI is a vegetarian, while Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is vegan.
break down to the cellular level
Binjamouli said it's also helpful to think about eating for longevity from a cellular level.
“I start with the question of what cellular processes I want to optimize, identify which compounds research shows optimize those processes, and then select foods that have high concentrations of those compounds. I will find it,” he said.
Business Insider set out to understand exactly which foods optimize these processes and ultimately help you live longer. See below for details.