The creator of the Longevity Diet, Walter Longo, shares what he eats in a day

• Biochemist Valter Longo developed the Longevity Diet, which can 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 nutritional supplements.

a longevity The expert told Insider how he incorporates his nutritional research into his daily eating habits to stay off blood pressure and cholesterol medications and maintain a healthy weight, with the goal of living longer.

Valter Longo, 56, a professor of gerontology and director of the University of Southern California’s Longevity Institute, researches… Diet that mimics fastingwhich involves following a healthy diet with periods of three to five days of calorie restriction every few months.

In a clinical trial, these periods of calorie restriction were associated with lower blood pressure, lower levels of cancer-related biomarkers, lower body fat, and improved blood sugar levels — all things that can help a person extend their health period. However, fasting isn’t safe for everyone, as Insider previously reported.

When he’s not doing the restrictive portions of the fasting-mimicking diet, which entails eating 800 to 1,100 calories a day, Longo follows his own longevity diet, which is mostly a healthy diet. Vegetarian diet In addition to fish.

Here’s how Longo regulates his food throughout the day to prolong his life and maintain a healthy weight.

Small breakfast with tea

Longo starts his day with a small meal breakfast Contain whole grains, nuts, and fruits, as recommended in the Longevity Diet. His favorite breakfast consists of almond butter with whole-grain Italian bread called friselle, plus an apple.

He also has a cup of tea made from a green and black tea bag, for the health benefits of green tea, which is thought to lower blood pressure, and the taste of black.

Short fasting during the day

To mimic fasting, Longo tries not to eat 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.

Non-calorie beverages, such as black coffee, unsweetened tea, and water, are widely considered to be non-caloric beverages Good for consumption during fasting. But some experts say it is Break your fast To add milk and sugar to your coffee.

A small snack in the late afternoon, followed by a large dinner

Longo eats a snack, Again consisting of whole grains, nuts and fruits, at about 4 to 5 p.m., then it contains a Bigger dinner.

You can also do it the other way around, by eating a larger lunch and a smaller dinner if you can’t go from breakfast to dinner time without eating, he said. In fact, he said eating a larger lunch and a smaller dinner might be easier for most people, but it doesn’t fit into his schedule.

On his website, Longo recommends snacks including: Cornmeal biscuits With fruits, nuts, and Cabbage fritters.