Foods That Help You Live Longer

[thalassa]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

You should eat your ancestral foods. The bacteria in your gut has evolved to process those foods better than others. Go back five generations and see what they ate. It is likely that at least some of the foods are missing from your diet. In the USA we eat more protein than most other cultures and as a result we are, on the average taller than most other national average. On the down side we eat more trans-fats than most cultures and as a result have more obesity and heart health issues.

Actually, your gut bacteria is mostly a function of things like whether you were born via csection or breastfed and what region you grew up in, if your water came from a well, etc. Your own genetics though, can help or hurt how you process foods...but that is way more complicated than saying you should eat ancestral foods because those same genetics have other functions. As an example, people have melanin to protect folate (it breaks down in sunlight), but because melanin also inhibits vitamin D production, the body came up with ways to conserve vitamin D and manufacture it more efficiently...higher blood cholesterol (a gene that shows up in people's that live very far north as well). Some of these people were forcibly removed from their native homeland...millions upon millions of them, in which a significant number of them died from the journey. The Middle Passage was quite frankly terrible...genocide, anyway you look at it. Because of the number of people being transported and the manner in which they were carried and the resources on board by which to feed them and the ease with which illnesses spread, a significant proportion of them died. It's controversial, but some of the people that do genetic epidemiology think that some genes for salt (electrolyte) conservation helped a number of them survive and that those genes were conserved at a higher rate among African Americans than Africans. Add that to the modern salt and fatty food diet, and it makes sense why African Americans have a higher incidence of salt-related hypertension and premature heart disease than white Americans or Africans. At this point, it's a hypothesis with some support (if you wade through the articles, it's explained and supported and countered and some of the countering is done poorly and then the countered arguments are refuted, and in the end it's hard to say if it's causation or correlation...and either way, because of the political implications, the research has a lot of bias to wade through) , but there are plenty of other food-gene connections....lactose digestion, alcohol metabolization, supertasters, fast metabolizers of medications, etc.

Genetics solve the immediate problem, and leave you with a problem that will kill you (or save you) 500 years later...

[habbalah]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

Lean meats and greens are always good for you. Garlic is good for your heart. Fish is good for your brain.

[THANK...]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

How does that work if you are a mutt? I am predominately Japanese, so it is easier for me, but what if someone is an equal mix, of say, Irish, Mexican, and Korean? A fusion?

[DragonsFriend]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

You should eat your ancestral foods. The bacteria in your gut has evolved to process those foods better than others. Go back five generations and see what they ate. It is likely that at least some of the foods are missing from your diet. In the USA we eat more protein than most other cultures and as a result we are, on the average taller than most other national average. On the down side we eat more trans-fats than most cultures and as a result have more obesity and heart health issues.

[THANK...]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

It is interesting. Some very healthy foods to certain cultures or groups are said to be the complete opposite for others. Like spicy foods are for the Diaspora but are said to be bad for the Daoists. Some say dairy and eggs are very good for you, while I have heard others say that dairy and eggs should be avoided lest you die a horrible, gut wrenching death.

[thalassa]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

I only brought it up because I find it interesting

[THANK...]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

Interesting. I was just naming the most common longevity foods I have found to be popular from various cultures and modern strength and conditioning literature.

[thalassa]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

Actually, fava is bad for quite a few people....one of the most common genetic mutations in humans means that too much cava can cause sudden, severe, and even deadly anemia. Also, iron rich foods are bad for certain northern Europeans that have a gene that causes them to be unable to clear excess iron from their bodies and their insides literally rust (the cure for this is frequent bleeding)...that excess iron causes them to be more susceptible to types of infection, but also allowed them some interesting environmental advantages.

[THANK...]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

What B de. Corbin said is true for most people that haven't taken the time to study longevity foods, and it is basically true if you stick to American diets.

Mediterranean food has lots of effects on general health and longevity - humus, baba ganush, tzatziki, fava beans, are all very good for you.

Any monastic diet is good for you, considering they are grown by the orders themselves and are usually vegan. Certain Tibetan sects eat eggs, and Yogi sects eat gi, a butter like curry, because they say it is good for ones prana (it's a good source of protein and fats).

Shaolin and Wudang monks mainly eat vegan food (some Daoist masters are said to eat fish on an irregular basis), and never eat garlic or onions or other spicy food because it is said to interrupt the most efficient process of qi flow and harnessing (qi is said to reside in the lower dan ti'en, which is basically in the center of the belly region - too much spicy food usually causes stomach irritation).

Many cultures eat spicy foods for its great benefits on the immune system (hoodoo sects and other folk witches have been known to use cayenne pepper to cast sacred circles or pour around entrances to keep evil away).

Foods for longevity are useless without proper lifestyle habits, though. A hunter gathering lifestyle, martial arts, fitness, meditation, proper stress relief, positive and loving thought and feeling, et cetera, all help the body in their own ways with the added benefit of a good diet.

Fats (oils and animals), raw fruits and vegetables (in smoothie or juice form are very good when you are in a time crunch), complete proteins (nuts, seeds, legumes, beans and rice, fish and lean meats), and water are basically what sum up eating for longevity.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Foods That Help You Live Longer

Is there foods that help you live longer?

Yes.

Never eat anything you enjoy, or that doesn't taste like cardboard.

Then, you'll live long enough to wish you had died much sooner.

[Bartmanhomer]

Is there foods that help you live longer?