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Introduction
The following article focuses on the project of Professor Valter Longo, director of the department of gerontology at the University of California.
The wide media emphasis given to the alleged benefits of this diet does not find sufficient scientific confirmation (see the chapter "negative and critical aspects").
Nutrition and Longevity
For nearly two centuries, modern medical science has been looking for the correlation between nutrition and an increase in health and life expectancy.
In addition to the well-known research on the Mediterranean Diet by Ancel Keys (continued by various scholars), there are many testimonies on the beneficial effect of foods.
Generally, the over one hundred year olds Italians they follow a diet based on pasta, legumes, vegetables, fruit and extra virgin olive oil.
The oldest person in the world (data updated to October 2016) is Emma Morano, 116, an Italian from Verbania (a town on the shores of Lake Maggiore). The lady consumes mainly pasta, rice, semolina and vegetable soups.
However, it is the island of Okinawa (south of Japan) that holds the absolute record for the number of ultra-centennial inhabitants in full shape. tuna) and very little meat. Another very important aspect that characterizes the dietary style of the inhabitants of this Japanese island is caloric moderation; in this regard, a famous local saying suggests eating about 80% of the food necessary to feel full .
On the other hand, before Professor Longo, several researchers have obtained important results, in terms of increasing the longevity of laboratory guinea pigs, by adopting the principle of caloric restriction; the late Professor Veronesi and the European Institute of Oncology in Milan suggest partial fasting and calorie restriction as pillars of the "anti-aging diet".
