What foods to eat if you want to live a long life

THE secret to a long life lies in what you eat, breakthrough research will reveal at a conference in Sydney. And the advice might surprise you.

CARBS are good and so is starvation, if you want to live longer. And to add some extra years, stay away from red meat, sweets and big nights out.

The Australian Biology of Ageing Conference in Sydney will be told that in order for Australians to live longer — we need to start living like the Greeks.

Or at least adopting their diet.

The gathering today will hear the wellbeing of Greek and Italian migrants suffered when they ate the food recommended in the Australian dietary guidelines.

They had more illnesses, they took more medications and they were frailer.

The Mediterranean diet includes more tomatoes, legumes, seafood and unsaturated fat and less dairy than recommended by the Australian dietary guidelines.

Also black-listed are: polyunsaturated fats like vegetable oils, safflower and sunflower oils commonly used to make margarines, cakes, biscuits, burgers, pizza and chips.

Saturated fats may not be the enemy new research claims. Picture istock

Instead, healthier fats from nuts, olive oil avocado oil and oily fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines have been given a big tick.

The finding comes as another report revealed starvation is linked to longevity.

But the good news is that a high carbohydrate diet could also be the key to long life.

Mediterranean diet expert Dr Catherine Itsiopoulos from La Trobe University says for the average punter this means:

* Use extra virgin olive oil as the main added fat;

* Eat vegetables with every meal;

* Include at least two legumes meals per week;

* Eat at least two servings of oily fish like salmon, canned sardines

* Eat smaller portions of meat (beef, lamb, pork and chicken) and no more than once or twice a week;

* Eat fresh fruit every day and dried fruit and nuts as snacks or dessert;

* Eat yoghurt and cheese (preferably goats cheese) in moderation

* Include wholegrain breads (sourdough rather than pasta) and cereals with meals;

* Consume wine in moderation with meals

* Have sweets or sweet drinks for special occasions only.

Italian and Greek migrants fared better on their native Mediterranean diet. Picture: iStock

The findings come as experts engage in another fat war with a new meta-analysis finding the widely held belief that saturated fats clog up the arteries, and so cause coronary heart disease, is just “plain wrong”.

Researchers say in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that coronary heart disease is caused by chronic inflammation, which can be lowered with a Mediterranean style diet rich in nuts, extra virgin olive oil, vegetables and oily fish.

RELATED: Mediterranean diet can beat depression

A study of around 800 men in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men project run out of Concord Hospital in Sydney found when Greek or Italian men tried to follow the Australian dietary guidelines “they didn’t do so well,” says researcher Rosilene Waern from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre

Ms Waern’s research found older men who followed the dietary guidelines were in better health than those who didn’t.

However, migrants of Italian and Greek origin in the study had an overall a lower dietary intake of all the key nutrients as recommended by the Australian dietary guidelines.

One reason they may have appeared to do worse on the Aussie diet was they only started following Australian dietary guidelines on the advice of health professionals after they became ill.

It may have been the illness rather than the diet that was the problem but the findings suggest the need for further research on the advantages of the Mediterranean diet over our dietary guidelines, she says.

The conference – hosted by the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre - will also hear from Rafael de Cabo from the National Institute on Aging, in the United States about how reducing calorie intake is a proven way of living longer.

Monkeys on a 30 per cent calorie restriction diet lived much longer than those not subject to calorie restriction and one lived to age 43 a longevity record for the species his research found.

But the good news is that a high carbohydrate diet could also be the key to long life.

Mice fed a low protein high carbohydrate diet lived longer and Ms Waern is currently recruiting people who will participate in a new study that will pit high carbohydrate low fat diets against high fat low carbohydrate diets.

The meal delivery program will manipulate the amount of plant- versus animal foods on low-moderate protein diets.

Monkeys lived longer when they were put on a calories restricted diet. Picture: Istock

Experts at the conference will also reveal how a the polyamine “spermidine” found in beans, fermented cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms can help you live longer.

Polyamines are involved helping cells remove damaged bits and in keeping DNA subscription and translation stable and in regulating planned cell death.

Yeast, flies and worms lived longer when fed spermidine and it also delayed age related memory loss and motor impairment in flies.

Humans given spermidine had lower markers of cardiac failure.

Other compounds linked to longevity in rodents include the diabetes drugs metformin and acarbose and resveratrol a chemical found in red wine.

Rapamycin, a drug used to prevent organ rejection after kidney transplantation and in cardiac stents has been found to extend lifespan by suppressing cancers.

News Corp reported recently that middle aged mice given a vitamin, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), that helps cells repair DNA damage lived 20 per cent longer and were able to run faster.

“The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice, after just one week of treatment,” said Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School Boston.

The conference starts as experts go to war again over whether the saturated fats our dietary guidelines warn against are really the enemy.

The authors argue it’s time to shift the focus away from lowering blood fats and cutting out dietary saturated fat, to eating well, taking a brisk 30 minute walk three times a week and minimising stress to stave off heart disease.