Dr. Valter Longo is an Italian-American scientist and researcher—he’s currently a professor of gerontology and biological sciences and the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. The 56-year-old is also the director of the Oncology and Longevity Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Oncology IFOM in Milan, so he splits his time between Los Angeles and Italy.
His 2018 book, “The Longevity Diet,” is a New York Times bestseller that recommends a plant-based diet that also includes fish, with only two meals per day plus one small snack, ideally within a 12-hour window. (Longo believes this method is superior to the more restrictive 16:8 intermittent fasting mode that’s gained popularity in recent years.)
As part of the Longevity Diet, Longo also advises that you “eat at the table of your ancestors,” focusing on foods that your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents ate, given they are compatible with the Longevity Diet. For Longo, whose ancestors are all Italian, this entails a diet “rich in tomatoes, green beans, garbanzo beans, and olive oil.”
The book also promotes a “fasting-mimicking diet,” (FMD) a 4-5 day period of consuming foods high in unsaturated fats but low in calories, proteins, and carbs. It’s meant to mirror the effects of a water-only fast while providing enough calories to be considered safe outside of clinical settings. In a randomized study conducted at USC’s medical center, people who deployed FMD for five days per month for three months showed improvements in muscle mass, cholesterol, blood pressure, and other areas.
As Longo writes in the book, there are many people who should not do FMD, such as pregnant women, people who are underweight, and people with liver or kidney diseases. For those who do opt to try FMD, Longo suggests that it’s “preferably under the supervision of a registered dietitian or physician.”
GQ caught up with Longo to hear more about his daily routine, his research, and why he advises getting all your meals in a 12-hour window.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: What does an average day of eating look like for you?
Dr. Valter Longo: I came up with something called the Longevity Diet and and I follow it with some violations, but not too many. So it starts with: I have this old grain. It’s called friselle. It’s bread that I get from Southern Italy, from a place nearby called Alta Mura, where they make some of the best bread in the world. I combine that with something else from this area of the world, which is an almond spread. So it’s the whole grain friselle with almond product that is very high in almond and cocoa and almost nothing else. And then I have an apple and tea. I mix green tea and black tea. So that’s my breakfast.
What’s the reason for combining green and black tea?
Because I like the health benefits of green tea. I don’t like the taste as much, and I like the black tea taste more. So that was the my way to to get both. I have been doing that for a long time.
How is that what you’ve arrived at for breakfast?
I spend all my time thinking about how to make people live longer. Whole grains just provide a lot of nourishment and, at the same time, taste really good to me. We have a number of foundation clinics, and that’s what we focus on: not just giving people something that is healthy, but something that is healthy and the people are going to enjoy for years, if not for the rest of their lives. That, to me, is the whole grain from the region of Italy, where I’m from, trying to pick the place where they make the best bread in Italy.
