The ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, whether or not you should skip that first meal of the day…you’ve probably heard a lot of arguments for and against each, so how do you know what’s “right”? What will provide YOU with healthful longevity? Valter D. Longo is a biogerontologist, cell biologist, and author of several books, the latest of which is The Longevity Diet. He joins the podcast to discuss his views on these issues and shed light on some of the main arguments in his book, each of which is based on the scientific evidence that’s available today.

The Longevity Diet is divided into two sections: the first utilizes an approach that’s based in part on findings of epidemiological and clinical studies to decide how best to eat on a daily basis, and the second discusses the benefits of the fasting mimicking diet. He’s a proponent of diets rich in legumes and vegetables, 12-hour daily fasts, and making time for breakfast each morning.

While he admits that the ketogenic diet may benefit some individuals with particular health issues or diseases, he references a Harvard study that followed 120 subjects over a 30-year span and drew conclusions about the long-term effects of high fat, high protein, low carb diets: significantly shorter lifespans, and higher rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease. He also discusses how daily fasts that exceed 12 hours lead to a mechanism by which the body essentially begins eating itself, and how the concept of “irrational exuberance” is largely at play in many people’s devotion to diet fads.

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