Longevity is influenced by several factors, such as age, race, gender, genetics, lifestyle, activity levels, social relationships, alcohol consumption, and smoking status. Diet can also play a key role in determining a person's lifespan.
Indeed, in an article entitled 'Crucial factors affecting longevity', published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, experts noted that diet "can be an important driver of disease in the context of excessive assumption of unhealthy fats, refined sugar, and artificial food additives".
They also acknowledged that consumption of certain foods can mean different things in terms of longevity, depending on the socioeconomic factors at play.
"Some studies from low-income countries, a diet can be considered healthy if it contains a sufficient amount of animal protein," experts explained, "whereas in studies from high-income countries, excessive consumption of protein from meat, fish, cheese, and eggs is often considered a risk factor".
'The best Blue Zone breakfast for longevity is porridge'
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The Mediterranean diet is widely considered to be the healthiest diet out there, and one that succeeds in boosting longevity.
Among other foods, whole grains - as opposed to refined grains - are an important component of the Mediterranean diet. Whole grains include oats, barley, buckwheat, bulgar, corn, freekeh, quinoa, rye, and types of rice.
On his TikTok account, widely recognised longevity researcher and founder of Blue Zones, Dan Buettner (@danbuettner), emphasised the benefits of eating porridge.
Blue Zones, as defined by Dan, refer to "the places in the world with the healthiest, longest-living populations".
The expert said: "The best Blue Zone breakfast for longevity is porridge. Why? It's full of fibre, you can make it taste delicious, and everybody can afford it."
Dan recommended using steel-cut oats, also known as pinhead oats, Irish porridge, or coarse porridge in the UK, when making it.
The expert explained that these cook slowly and release glucose slowly in the body, therefore "spreading out" the insulin spike.
"That makes it more likely that the calories from this porridge end up as energy as opposed to material on your backside," he said.
He added that not all oats are made equal, advising the use of steel-cut/coarse porridge over rolled oats, and even more so, fast-cooked oats, which spike insulin levels.
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Harvard Medical School confirmed the link between whole grains and longevity
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For an extra longevity booster at breakfast, add a Mediterranean diet-friendly addition to your porridge: a handful of fruit.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School confirmed that a whole grain-rich diet is associated with longevity.
They said: "Regularly eating whole grains can help you lower 'bad' cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure."
A diet rich in whole grains is also "associated with a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and certain types of cancer", added associate professor Dr. Qi Sun.
For those who want to follow a Mediterranean diet, this is characterised by lots of vegetables and olive oil, some fish, smaller amounts of dairy and meat products (with typical avoidance of red or processed meat), and moderate amounts of alcohol (in the form of wine during meals).
In other longevity news, Dan Buettner also named the pantry staple that "could add four years to your life".
