A 78-year-old doctor lowered his biological age by 20 years after following four dietary rules essential to preserving youth.
A healthy diet helps us to age gracefully. Photo source: archive
Dr. Michael Roizen, an anesthetist by profession and head of wellness at the Cleveland Clinic in the US is 78 years old but, he says, his biological age is about 57.6 years. How is that possible? The secret of his youth lies in his diet, but also in adopting a healthy lifestyle. Here are the 4 dietary principles he follows.
Mediterranean diet, health on bread
The Mediterranean diet consists mainly of whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, legumes, protein and low-fat dairy. At the same time, limit red meat, processed foods and alcohol. It has been named the healthiest diet for seven consecutive years by US News & World Report, and research has linked it to better heart health, weight loss and prevention of cognitive decline.
Generous meals at lunch
Roizen eats his most important meal of the day at lunch and eats very little. For dinner, for example, eat only a salad. The doctor says he can’t sleep well after a heavy meal. “I feel sick the next day.”
Calorie restriction, the secret to longevity
Roizen also follows the longevity diet, created by Valter Longo, a professor of gerontology and director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. He has been on this diet for seven years. Essentially this consists of restricting calories five days a month to mimic the effects of fasting.
Calories are reduced to 1,100 on the first day of the fast, then to about 700 on days two through five. As a parenthesis: on average, a woman needs to consume almost 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight and . 1500 calories to lose 0.5 kg per week. On average, a man needs 2,500 calories to maintain his weight and 2,000 calories to lose 0.5 kg per week.
This diet, experts say, cannot be followed by everyone. David Clancy, who studies the biology of aging at Lancaster University in the UK, believes that “between ages 40 and 60, at least, this twice-a-year regimen can add three to four years of healthy life. Maybe even more, in the case of those with a high body mass index, blood pressure or high blood sugar.But, he added, the diet is “difficult,” and active people might have trouble following it. “Scheduling days four and five for weekend days would help,” he recommended.
Good night for a restful sleep
Dr. Michael Roizen does intermittent fasting, eating between 11am and 7pm every day. “I feel great and very energetic. I sleep much better and seem to have much more energy“, he confessed.
Roizen used these principles, which he says have kept him young, to develop a wellness institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Here, he offered those involved in his program financial incentives to implement healthy lifestyle changes. The program has saved about $200 million a year in healthcare costs for 101,000 patients studied since 2008, says the doctor, who also co-authored a study related to research on healthy aging.
