Diet secrets of centenarians

Executive Summary Video

Many studies have been conducted on people who have lived 100 years and beyond. From them, some common diet habits have emerged. Here are some that matter:

1. Centenarians stop eating once they are about 80% full. It may just be the difference between gaining weight and staying at a healthy weight. Confucius called this “Hara hachi bu”.
   
2. They eat a mostly plant-based diet, with beans being the main staple.
   
3. They eat meat only once or twice a week if they eat at all.
   
4. Their last meal of the day is in the early evening.
   
5. Some of them drink wine regularly. They drink moderate amounts, which is one to two glasses a day.

My views

1. In most people, only 20% of our life span is determined by genes. That means, how long you live is predominantly (80%) determined by your lifestyle. That would include your dietary habits.
   
2. In many religions and cultures, eating after sunset is not encouraged. Perhaps, that canon came out of a similar longevity-related observation.
   
3. In modern times, there is a feeding pattern called intermittent fasting, which advises people to take a couple of meals with a big gap between the second meal of the day and the first meal of the next day. That gap is advised to be 16 hours. So if one is to have a meal at 10 am in the next morning, the previous meal should be at 6 pm the previous night, which is again the time after which typical centenarian stops eating. Read on this website: Benefits of intermittent fasting.
   
4. Moderate drinkers are found to live longer than non-drinkers. The exact reason is not known. The important part is to drink little but regularly. Binge drinking once in a while is not a great strategy, even if it involves a similar amount of alcohol consumption over the weeks.
   
5. The wine was the most preferred alcohol.

To read more

• CNBC: 9 food rules from the world’s longest-living people
• MBG Health: Habits That The World’s Healthiest & Longest-Lived People Share
• CBC: How to live to 100: Life advice from centenarians
• Restorative Health: Live To 100 – Health Secrets Of Centenarians
• Eating Well: 7 Secrets to Living Longer from 100-Year-Olds
• Everyday Health: How to Live to 100: Secrets From Centenarians

First published on: 7th February 2022
Image credit: Jeff Gendelman on Pexels
Last updated on: 21st June 2022