How you can fine-tune your eating habits to live longer and healthier A bowl of oatmeal every morning, a handful of nuts, five servings of fruits and vegetables a day — researchers seem to be slowly compiling a grocery list of foods that can extend your lifespan. At the same time, there are quite a few 95- to 100-year-olds in The Longevity Genes Project, a large ongoing study at Albert Einstein College in New York, who haven’t made healthful lifestyle changes. They smoke. They don’t eat a lot of vegetables. They don’t pay much attention to diet at all. Longevity: Diet Vs. Genes That raises a question: How much does diet influence longevity and how much is due to genes? Right now, scientists offer no definitive answer. Estimates are that genes might roughly influence 20 to 35 percent of lifespan length. And some fiftysomethings probably have genes strong enough to override negative lifestyle and eating habits, although they’re likely a small group. For the majority of us, the way we eat and live is likely going to play a huge role in the length, and perhaps more importantly, the quality of our lifespan. Rather than piece together a grocery list of specific anti-aging foods, it looks as if the best way to tap into these dietary longevity benefits is by gradually shaping and fine-tuning eating habits to make them healthier. The Mediterranean diet is one good plan. So is the Okinawan diet. So is the U.S. government’s DASH diet. But we think the following four little culinary rules, based on current research, are a good place to start: Rule No. 1: Drink wine like a Mediterranean; sip moderate amounts with meals Italian researchers suggest that part of the health...
