Gerontologists have developed a diet to maximize life extension

A diet that maximizes longevity has been identified by gerontologists from the University of Southern California. The study was published in the journal Cell.

Scientists analyzed several hundred studies on nutrition, its relationship to disease and longevity, the impact on health of different diets, from ketodiet to vegan and fasting.

The main features of a diet capable of providing the longest life span were a moderate to high intake of complex carbohydrates, a low but sufficient amount of protein, mostly vegetable protein, and enough vegetable fats to cover about 30% of energy needs.

All meals should ideally occur between 11 and 12 hours, and a five-day cycle of a mimicking starvation diet (eating between 750 and 1,000 kcal, with no animal proteins and a minimum of vegetable proteins) can reduce insulin resistance and blood pressure in people at high risk of disease.

"Lots of legumes, whole grains and vegetables; some fish; no red meat or processed meat and very little white meat; little sugar and refined grains; plenty of nuts and olive oil, and some dark chocolate," the researchers described the ideal diet.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that adjustments to the diet may be necessary - for example, people over 65 need to eat more protein to compensate for age-related loss of muscle mass. The researchers recommend that you consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet.