Research
Energy balance
Calorie restriction and specific dietary patterns (e.g., low-protein/Mediterranean) extend lifespan and healthspan in model organisms and are associated with exceptional human longevity in specific geographic regions.
Adopt a diet that mimics the effects of calorie restriction, such as the Mediterranean diet, which is low in protein and high in nutrients. This may activate longevity pathways like IGF-1 and FOXO, potentially extending healthspan.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Studies on calorie restriction and on the variability of genes associated with nutrient-sensing signaling, have shown that ipocaloric diet and/or a genetically efficient metabolism of nutrients, can modulate lifespan... dietary restricted mice, which live much longer and show a very delayed aging phenotype than mice fed at libitum... Okinawa, Sardinia and Calabria) which are characterized by ipoproteic diets, such as the 'Mediterranean traditional diet'.
Why this rating
Strong evidence in model organisms; observational evidence in humans (Okinawa, Sardinia).
Source
Human longevity: Genetics or Lifestyle? It takes two to tango
Giuseppe Passarino et al. · Immunity & Ageing · 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12979-016-0066-z
narrative_reviewCited 178×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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