You can’t attend a dinner party or listen to a podcast these days without the topic of longevity being discussed. For the uninitiated, longevity is a term that focuses on increasing the number of active, healthy years an individual has in their life (often referred to as “healthspan”). Conversations around longevity often center around pushing back against the typical slow decline associated with aging in most cultures and social spheres.
Living with longevity in mind means prioritizing actions and habits that promote a healthy lifestyle. Some of the big ones include eating nutrient-dense food, regularly engaging in strength and cardiovascular training, implementing stress-reduction protocols, getting quality sleep, and limiting exposure to toxins and chemicals. Of these, one of the most influential is what you eat, according to physician and hormone specialist Suzanne Jeannette Ferree, M.D., F.A.A.R.M., author of Counterclockwise; Using Peptides to Renew, Rejuvenate and Rediscover. That’s why we put together this guide to eating for a longer (and happier!) life.
Ahead, learn what research suggests is the best diet for increased healthspan, plus additional tips for eating with longevity in mind.
- ABOUT OUR EXPERTS: Suzanne Jeannette Ferree, M.D., F.A.A.R.M., is a physician, hormone specialist, and author of Counterclockwise; Using Peptides to Renew, Rejuvenate and Rediscover. William Kole is a wellness journalist, anti-aging expert, and author of The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging. Lisa Richards C.N.C., is a nutritionist from Alberta, Canada, and founder of The Candida Diet, a platform dedicated to helping people with gut issues
What You Eat Absolutely Impacts Longevity
Exactly how your food supports (or detracts from) a longer lifespan comes down to foods’ impact on your body at the cellular level, according to wellness journalist and anti-aging expert William Kole, author of The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging. When we eat a diet balanced in macronutrients (i.e. fat, protein, and carbohydrates) and rich in a diversity of micronutrients (i.e. vitamins and minerals), these nutrients can work together to provide cells with the fuel they need to function optimally, he says.
More specifically, eating nutrient-dense foods helps reduce systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, while also supporting cell membrane integrity and function, proper cell repair and growth, and energy production at the cellular level, according to Lisa Richards C.N.C., a nutritionist from Alberta, Canada, and founder of The Candida Diet, a platform dedicated to helping people with gut issues.
On the flip side, when we eat nutrient-poor foods, “we rob our cells of the fuel they need, which sets in motion a whole range of negative consequences, including compromised immune function and inflammation,” says Kole. The issue with having a compromised immune system, he explains, is that it makes us more vulnerable to diseases that can interfere with our quality of life (in addition to jeopardizing our lives completely). Meanwhile, chronic inflammation can lead to irreparable damage to the cells, which fast-tracks aging, adds Richards. In some instances, this damage is marked by shortened telomere length. “Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that gradually shorten when the cell divides,” she explains. “As telomeres become progressively shorter, cells can no longer divide properly, leading to cellular aging and eventual cell death.”
Read More: 6 Sneaky Contributors To Chronic Inflammation
Don’t panic: Cellular death doesn’t directly translate to the death of the human who contains the cells. However, the mass cellular death process is linked to various age-related diseases and overall declines in health, says Richards. Research suggests that the rate at which telomeres shorten can impact an individual’s lifespan and healthspan. Therefore, “maintaining cellular health, including telomere length, through lifestyle factors like a healthy diet, may play a role in extending both lifespan and healthspan,” she says.
Exactly What To Eat For A Longer Life
As for what to eat for a long-as-possible healthspan? The research clearly suggests that whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and other lean protein sources are vital, says Kole.
In one 2023 JAMA Internal Medicine study, scientists followed nearly 120,000 adults for thirty years. They found that those who adhered to a diet inclusive of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes had a lower risk of death overall, including from cancer, cardiovascular illness, and respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases. Meanwhile, in a 2024 JAMA Network Open study, researchers tracked the diets, medical events, and health markers of 25,000 women for twenty-five years. They found that women who centered their meals around vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish, and heart-healthy fats—and reduced their intake of red and processed meats—had a lower risk of dying than those who did not center those foods.
In both of these studies, the researchers call out that the eating practices associated with a longer lifespan reflect the Mediterranean diet. By definition, “a Mediterranean diet emphasizes fresh fish, fruits, leafy vegetables, nuts, and whole grains,” explains Kole. Typically, it also incorporates low-fat or fat-free dairy products while limiting added sugars, highly processed foods and meats, refined carbohydrates, and saturated fats, according to the American Heart Association. All in all, this means that if increasing lifespan is your objective, you’d do well to adhere to a Mediterranean diet, Kole says. (If you’re not sure what eating a Mediterranean diet looks like in practice, this guide breaks down what to put on your plate throughout the day.)
4 Additional Eating Tips For A Longer Life
Sticking to a Mediterranean diet isn’t the only thing you can do come mealtime to slow the hands of time. Keep these other tips in mind for an eating pattern that supports longevity from all angles.
1. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Calories Overall
Eating enough calories is crucial for maintaining cellular health and living a long life, according to Richards. Why? “Cells require a steady supply of energy to perform their functions and repair damage,” she explains. So, on a cellular level, inadequate calorie intake can lead to several detrimental effects, she says.
To start, insufficient calorie intake means insufficient fuel for protein synthesis, which negatively impacts repair and growth, says Richards. “A caloric deficiency can lead to increased stress and damage as cells struggle to maintain homeostasis without adequate resources,” she says. “Low calorie intake can disrupt critical processes like cell division and waste removal, which are essential for healthy aging and function.”
The best way to ensure you’re consuming the Goldilocks amount of calories is to work with a registered nutritionist or dietitian. They’ll be able to assess your current physique, activity level, health and fitness goals, age, and more to determine your “just right” calorie intake.
In the event that a nutritionist is not financially or otherwise accessible, the Mayo Clinic calorie counter or MyFitnessPal app are good starting points for figuring out how many calories you need. From there, a food scale and tracking app can work together to help you make sure you’re not eating much more or less than that.
2. Don’t Eat Until You’re Stuffed
People who eat with longevity in mind “don’t pig out and push themselves away from the table feeling stuffed,” says Kole. Instead, they stop when they are comfortably, or about 80 percent, full. The benefit of this approach is that it ensures they don’t consume excess calories, which could lead to excess body fat and related health complications, he says.
One of the best ways to stop eating before you’re stuffed is to make meals mindful, says Kole. Essentially, that means doing anything that helps you slow down and be fully present with your food—including chewing more thoroughly, using chopsticks, turning the TV off, and putting your phone away while you eat. Practicing deep breathing ahead of the meal and periodically pausing to smell, look at, and feel your food on your tongue can all also support mindful eating, per the Harvard School of Public Health.
3. Plan Ahead
The foods people reach for when they’re hangry rarely line up at all with their nutritional needs, according to Kole. Often, “people find themselves jonesing for a burger, fast food, or salty snack, none of which satisfy what our cells need to function in a healthy way,” he says.
The best way to keep imminent hunger from interfering with your pursuit of a healthy—and longer—life is to plan for it. Keeping Mediterranean diet-friendly snacks like pistachios, hummus, tuna or salmon canned in oil, pumpkin seeds, and crispy chickpeas in the cupboard can help, Kole suggests. Meal-prepping lean meats, quinoa, and hard-boiled eggs can also ensure you have something healthy to turn to in a pinch.
4. Drink Plenty of Fluids
“Proper hydration is crucial for cellular function and overall health,” says Richards. In fact, adults who stay well-hydrated throughout their lives appear to develop fewer chronic conditions and be healthier overall compared to those who do not get sufficient fluids, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Interestingly, one 2023 review published in eBioMedicine found that individuals with markers associated with inadequate hydration (such as high serum sodium) are more likely to show signs of advanced cellular aging.
Read More: 6 Tasty Drink Mixes That’ll Help You Stay SO Hydrated
With that, “drink adequate water throughout the day, adjusting intake in response to activity level and climate,” says Richards. Fluid intake is highly individual, based on factors like body size, metabolism, weather, activity levels, and more. But the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies posits that women should generally aim to consume 91 ounces of total fluid daily while men should average 125 ounces. If you’re not sure whether you’re hydrating properly, consider incorporating an electrolyte supplement into your routine to support optimal fluid balance.
Also: If slowing down aging is your ultimate goal, you should aim to drink from a reusable water bottle whenever possible, suggests Ferree. Since chemicals can seep from single-use plastic bottles into the water, “drinking from plastic water bottles is a habit that can interfere with longevity and speed up cellular aging,” she says.
The Bottom Line
One of the best ways to help yourself live a long, happy life is to introduce eating habits that keep you healthy on the cellular level, long before you’re up there in age or otherwise sickly.
While there is never any one-size-fits-all approach for healthy living, research has shown that eating a Mediterranean diet—or otherwise centralizing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and lean protein sources—can support longevity. Eating the right amount of calories day-to-day and maintaining proper hydration levels can help, too.
If you have specific questions about what your current diet has or is impacting your cellular health, or about how to make the Mediterranean diet work for you, talk to a healthcare provider or dietitian. (Healthy Awards members can schedule a complimentary consultation with one of The Vitamin Shoppe’s credentialed nutritionists for individualized support on their health journeys.)