Healthy Longevity Diet is not just for the elite and it tastes good too!

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October 6, 2025

On October 6, 2025

Introduction to The Healthy Longevity Diet

I am finally addressing a topic that I have wanted to discuss for a long time.
Following a long period of preparation and research for a conference on the relationship between nutrition and well-being in the unique setting of Caccavelle Resort in the National Park of the Sila mountains, managed by a marvellous lady, Clementina Cizza, I am finally able to share my thoughts on this important topic.
This topic is important because I believe that we all want the same thing: to live long, healthy and happy lives.

Many of us try to achieve this by taking different approaches, some of which are extreme or unsustainable:

some people spend more time at the gym than at home;
others rely entirely on supplements;
Others follow absurd, complex and dreary diets that are neither sustainable for the planet nor feasible in the long term.

I propose a simpler, more natural and economical approach that is also realistic. I assure you that you don’t need a fat wallet or the determination of a Shaolin monk.
In a nutshell, it’s about ‘eating better, consuming less, and doing so with respect for the Earth, animals, and the next generations‘.

Is living a long life a pipe dream?

On the contrary, we are fortunate to have been born in such an extraordinary era. Thanks to advances in medicine, science and public hygiene, human beings now have a life expectancy of up to 82 years — at least in Italy. In thıs article I want to cite Italy because its population is considered one of the longest-living in the world.

However, this data alone is not enough to make us happy, because If we want to achieve longevity in good health, there is another factor we also need to consider.

We are living longer, but are we healthier?

While life expectancy has increased, there has also been an explosion in chronic diseases, such as obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, autoimmune disorders and cognitive disorders like dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as anxiety and depression.
In fact, although the average age has risen to 82, healthy life expectancy remains much lower, at less than 57 years for women and almost 60 years for men, according to the 2025 Italian Istat annual report(1).
These statistics are confirmed by the fact that many of us have a family member who is long-lived but dependent on pills and medical visits, and has a compromised quality of life.
So, to reiterate, we are living longer, but also sicker!

Chronic diseases: is genetics to blame?

Current data shows that over 40% of Italians live with one or more chronic diseases. This equates to over 24 million people(2). As if that were not enough, around 13 million of these individuals have multiple chronic conditions. These are alarming figures!

Genes are not the only culprits, however. In fact, our well-being and ill-being are strongly influenced by lifestyle and dietary choices. A Danish study of over 2,800 pairs of twins demonstrated that genetics are responsible for only 25% of health conditions(3).
So how can we avoid chronic diseases? The answer is simple: follow a healthy, sustainable and enjoyable diet.
The surprising thing is that you don’t have to be rich to do so.

Healthy Longevity Diet is possible for everyone!

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to follow difficult and expensive diets or take miracle supplements to live a long and healthy life.
The only thing you need to do to ensure longevity is embrace a balanced lifestyle and a healthy, genuine and sustainable diet — preferably long before you develop a chronic illness.

I can almost hear you saying, 'Yeah, right, but who can afford a healthy diet? Healthy eating is for the wealthy.'
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll let you in on a secret:

It's not healthy food that's expensive; what's expensive is not knowing which foods are healthy!

Healthy Longevity Diet is budget-friendly

The Healthy Longevity Diet does not consist of engineered and industrialised foods. Nor does it involve the use of expensive supplements loaded with microplastics and unpronounceable substances.
A diet rich in seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, small amounts of white meat, fatty fish, and cheese and eggs in moderation, alongside the occasional intake of alcohol and red or processed meat — or ideally none at all — will help us to live long and healthy lives.

Let me introduce you to the CHEtarian diet (find out about the food pyramid and all the details here), which is designed to help you live to 100 in good health, in complete harmony with the Earth, animals and future generations. The foods listed are inexpensive anywhere in the world.
Still have doubts? Just look at the Blue Zones.

The eating habits of Blue Zone residents

These are the five Blue Zones: Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Ogliastra (Sardinia, Italy), Nicoya (Costa Rica) and Loma Linda (California, USA). The people who live there often exceed 100 years of age and enjoy good health. As you might expect, these are some of the most remote and poorest places on Earth. Their diet is mainly plant-based, consisting of seasonal vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains, with little meat and moderate amounts of fish.
This is in perfect alignment with my advice: eat better and consume less.
Rather than adding expensive extras to their basic diet, these people remove the superfluous and follow a genuine diet that excludes industrialised food.
If they can eat healthily despite having limited resources, then so can we.
Returning to the Blue Zones, it has been discovered that the inhabitants have similar nutrition routine, including what they choose not to do:

They do not eat meat six days a week, but only consume it occasionally;
They do not eat until they are uncomfortably full; instead, they adopt one of the wisest strategies of healthy nutrition: leaving the table feeling slightly hungry, a practice known as the '80% method';
They do not eat junk food, but prefer dried fruit and nuts;
They do not eat wheat exclusively, but a variety of whole grains.
They are unfamiliar with “all you can eat” restaurants and don't eat strawberries in December;
They don't seem to know what fizzy drinks, protein shakes or energy drinks are;
They don't take the lift up two floors or the car to travel 100 metres; they do it on foot;
Finally, they don't use social media, but they are socially active in that they enjoy convivial meals and organise their future by tending their vegetable garden, for example.

Foods to avoid for a healthy longevity diet

Sugar and industrial sweets: sugar is cancer's favourite fuel. Industrial sweets are also rich in trans fats, which are carcinogenic too. Furthermore, they cause chronic inflammation.
Refined flours, such as white pasta and bread, are responsible for diabetes, cognitive disorders and chronic inflammation.
Red meat and processed meats: Red meat is a possible carcinogen, while processed meats are classified as Type 1 carcinogens (4), on a par with smoking and asbestos.
Ultra-processed industrial foods such as snacks, ready meals and ready-made sauces: They are a precursor to diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression and cognitive disorders.
Carbonated beverages, soft drinks, industrial fruit juices, and fruit in syrup cause diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and cognitive disorders.
Alcohol, spirits and liqueurs cause depression, liver and brain fatigue. Combining alcohol with sugar multiplies these negative effects.onsabili del diabete e disturbi cognitivi e di infiammazioni croniche.

The Best Healthy Longevity Diet Foods

Fresh, seasonal vegetables: rocket, chicory, fennel, spinach, Swiss chard, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, savoy cabbage, cabbage, asparagus, pumpkin, beetroot, sweet potatoes, okra, garlic and onions.
Seasonal and local fruit: like persimmons, quinces, jujubes, pomegranates, apples, citrus fruits, red berries and mulberries.
Plant-based proteins: like legumes such as broad beans, beans, peas, green and red lentils, chickpeas, tofu and tempeh.
Fermented foods should be consumed regularly, but in moderation: milk kefir, water kefir, yoghurt (or plant-based yoghurt) and kombucha, as well as lacto-fermented vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, beets and cucumbers.
Whole grains: wheat, bulgur, rice, oats, spelt, barley, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, and others.
Nuts: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios.
Local fatty fish: Moderate consumption for those who eat fish, or seaweed such as wakame, spirulina and chlorella for vegans.
Oilseeds: sesame, flax, pumpkin and chia seeds.
Honey and grape molasses (pekmez, petimezi or saba): Moderate consumption instead of sugar .
Healthy oils and fats: Extra virgin olive oil and, occasionally, butter from traditional farms and pasture-raised animals.
Water and beverages: such as green tea, herbal teas and loose-leaf infusions of rosehip, chamomile, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon and fennel.
Spices such as turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cumin.
Herbs: parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, dill, coriander and fennel.

Does living healthily on a sick planet make sense?

To conclude, I would like to refer to a study published in PNAS (The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), which analysed life expectancy in 23 developed countries and revealed something surprising: despite advances in medicine, those born after 1939 are unlikely to reach 100 years of age.
This is because the rate of increase in life expectancy has slowed down and even stopped. This is not due to genetics, but rather to our unhealthy lifestyles, our diet, our lack of exercise, and — increasingly — the pollution, exploitation and alteration of the environment.
Heat waves, pollution and loss of biodiversity, alongside increasingly industrialised food, are taking a toll on our health and reducing our ability to live longer and better.
This confirms a concept close to my heart, and consequently to the revolution I am promoting: there can be no human health on a sick planet.
However, we have the solution at our fingertips. If we moderate our consumption and choose genuine, seasonal and local food over industrial food, we can reduce the impact of intensive agriculture on our planet. After all, it is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions (almost as much as the entire transport sector), irreversibly pollutes the soil, air and groundwater, and causes 80% of deforestation.
You will understand that eating better is not just a strategy for living longer in the future; it is a way of living healthier and better right now. It is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and also a gift to the people we love and to this Earth that hosts us so generously.

Enjoy your healthy longevity diet and have a good life and a good revolution

Bibliography
1) Rapporto ISTAT Rapporto Annuale 2025 – POPOLAZIONE E SOCIETÀ – QUADRO DEMOGRAFICO E FAMIGLIE
2) Rapporto di Unisalute Assicurazioni, del Gennaio 2022
3) Christensen, Kaare, and James W. Vaupel. “Determinants of longevity: genetic, environmental and medical factors.” Journal of internal medicine 240.6 (1996): 333-341.
4) Anika Knuppel, Keren Papier, Georgina K Fensom, Paul N Appleby, Julie A Schmidt, Tammy Y N Tong, Ruth C Travis, Timothy J Key, Aurora Perez-Cornago, Meat intake and cancer risk: prospective analyses in UK Biobank, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 49, Issue 5, October 2020, Pages 1540–1552,
5) J. Andrade, C.G. Camarda, & H. Pifarré i Arolas, Cohort mortality forecasts indicate signs of deceleration in life expectancy gains, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (35) e2519179122,