What to eat every other day, to aim for a long life? What are the foods of longevity in essence?
There are many foods that due to their various properties we can consider allies of long life. An example for all is nuts : science has clearly shown that those who regularly consume nuts, hazelnuts & c live longer. Here we are now dealing with those foods covered by the diet called "Smartfood" , which describes them as fasting-mimicking, because they activate the same metabolic reaction as a fast.
The basic idea of this regimen is that fasting is good (controlled, of course): it cleanses and activates the metabolism. And experts say it should be done at least one day a month: it gives health and longevity.
The Smartfood diet has been developed for some time now by Eliana Eliotta in collaboration with the nutritionist Lucilla Titta and the scientist Giuseppe Pelicci, the first in the world to have demonstrated the existence of aging genes in mammals. Thousands of scientific researches were consulted , and the diet was set up with the collaboration of the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan.
The result is a list of 30 foods, identified as “Smart", which not only help you lose extra pounds, but also prevent a range of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. In short, foods that extend life.
The 30 foods are in turn divided into: 20 "longevity" and 10 "protective". Let's start with the aforementioned nuts, but also fresh fruit . And then the proteins: few and vegetable, that is legumes . And what about carbohydrates? Whole grains .
To season? Chilli , which contains capsaicin with anti-aging properties and tends to inhibit appetite, thus counteracting unnecessary calories.Turmeric , with its versatile and powerful curcumin, which has been used for millennia to cure, flavor and not age. And then garlic, onions and capers , whichcontain quercetin, an important flavonoid.
What to drink? The, both green and black: contains epigallocatechingallate, one of the molecules that mimics the effects of fasting. Wine no, because it is toxic, despite coming from grapes which, especially in the skin, contain resvatrol, which acts precisely on the longevity gene.
And for dessert? Strictly dark chocolate (minimum 70%). It contains - like apples and persimmons - physethrin, another of the smart molecules with respect to longevity . Among these, anthocyanins stand out , present in most longevity foods: strawberries, blood oranges, red cabbage, cherries, berries, aubergines, red apples, black grapes, purple potatoes, purple plums and red radicchio.
Another Italian scientist, Valter Longo, director of the Oncology and longevity program of IFOM and defined by Time as the "guru of long life", experimented in the laboratory with a mimicking diet ( DMD ) , to be followed for 5 days every 3 -6 months: in addition to making you lose weight, it would give you 10 more years of life, if followed regularly.
Its Longevity Diet - which contains DMD - has some points in common with Smartfood: legumes as the main source of protein - and then fish two or three times a week, and zero meat for adults. Whole grains and other complex carbohydrates (which are also, and preferably, found in vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes). Good unsaturated fats found for example in nuts. The differences are on fruit: no more than one a day, to reduce sugars as much as possible. And then, olive oil to gogo .
Differences aside, there is a fundamental common concept: food is medicine , and eating well means preventing disease and healing health.
