- Biochemist Valter Longo developed the Longevity Diet, which could help slow aging.
- He also studies fasting for longevity, which he incorporates into his daily eating patterns.
- Longo eats specific foods for breakfast, fasts between breakfast and dinner, and takes supplements.
A longevity expert told Insider how he incorporates his nutrition research into his daily eating habits to stay off blood pressure and cholesterol medication and maintain a healthy weight, with the aim of living longer.
Valter Longo, 56, a professor of gerontology and director of the USC Longevity Institute, researches the fasting-mimicking diet, which involves interspersing a healthy diet with three to five-day periods of calorie restriction every few months.
In a clinical trial, these periods of caloric restriction were associated with lower blood pressure, lower levels of biomarkers associated with cancer, lower body fat, and improved blood sugar levels — all things that could help a person extend their healthspan. However, fasting isn't safe for everyone, as Insider previously reported.
When he's not doing the restricted portions of the fasting-mimicking diet, which entails eating 800 to 1,100 calories a day, Longo follows his own Longevity Diet, which is a mostly vegan diet plus fish.
Here's how Longo structures his eating throughout the day for longevity and to maintain a healthy weight.
A small breakfast with tea
Longo starts his day with a small breakfast containing whole grains, nuts, and fruit, as is recommended for the Longevity Diet. His go-to breakfast is almond butter on an Italian whole-grain bread called friselle, along with an apple.
He also has a cup of tea made with both a green and a black tea bag, for the health benefits of the green tea, which is thought to lower blood pressure, and the taste of the black.
Short fasts during the day
To mimic fasting, Longo tries not to eat from breakfast until around 4 or 5 p.m. during the week, but he does have an espresso at lunchtime to keep his energy levels up.
Drinks that don't contain calories, such as black coffee, unsweetened tea, and water, are widely considered fine to consume during a fast. But some experts say it's breaking your fast to add milk and sugar to your coffee.
A small late-afternoon snack, followed by a big dinner
Longo eats a light snack, again consisting of whole grains, nuts, and fruit, at around 4 to 5 p.m., then has a larger dinner.
He said you can also do it the other way around, by having a bigger lunch and a smaller snack-size dinner if you can't make it from breakfast to dinner time without eating. In fact, he said that a larger lunch and smaller dinner might be easier for most people, but it doesn't fit his schedule.
On his website, Longo recommends snacks including cornmeal cookies with fruit and nuts, and cabbage patties.