Can Certain Foods Make You Live Longer?

Live Longer with Healthy Foods

Today, there is more research than ever before relating to which foods are best at supporting the body. Unsurprisingly, whole, natural foods consistently show up as the best foods for maintaining health; these are simply where you find an abundance of nutrition necessary for promoting vitality and longevity. Eating these foods simply promotes health in a far more consistent way than the overly processed fare many are accustom to eating on a regular basis. 

Some foods, however, standout as being particularly beneficial for longevity. These foods are correlated with long, healthy lifespans in what are known as blue zones, or areas in the world where there is a disproportionately high number healthy individuals who live past 100 years old. 

An article in Eating Well recently identified nine of these foods: beans, cruciferous vegetables, berries, dark leafy greens, walnuts, olive oil, salmon, whole grains, and green tea. 

It is not surprising to find any of these foods on the list; they are all packed with fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Many of these are rich in a variety of nutrients, some are high in specific compounds that are known to be extra effective at preventing disease and promoting healthy aging. 

Unsurprisingly, most of these foods are on The Kaufmann Diet, with the exception of beans and whole grains. 

Beans, however, are allowed on The Kaufmann 2 Diet, which allows for more carbohydrates. Similarly, certain whole grains, like oats, buckwheat, and amaranth can be enjoyed in moderation on The Kaufmann Two Diet. So, neither of these food groups is altogether excluded. 

Even with these caveats, this list itself, however, likely tells an incomplete story about how these foods––and food in general––influences both health and longevity. Certainly other factors come into play:

• • • Likely, people living in these blue zones exclude many unhealthy foods in addition to simply consuming healthy foods. 
    • While grains are included in this list, if the people in these regions are eating whole grains, they are likely grains that haven’t spent any time in a silo where they have been exposed to mold and mycotoxins; instead they are much fresher. 
    • Furthermore, they are not eating the type of wheat that has been stripped of all fiber in nutrition and turned into white flour, which is the most common source of grain foods in most western countries. 
    • Beans are an excellent source of fiber, nutrition and plant-based protein; they are also high in carbohydrates. This can be problematic if you have an existing, underlying yeast problem. The high carbohydrate content of beans means that if you have an existing fungal problem, you can likely make it worse by eating lots of beans. 
    • People in these blue zones likely do not include the other foods in the diet that would damage intestinal flora, paving the way for a fungal or yeast problem, however, so it is less likely that the high carbohydrate content of beans and whole grains would be problematic. 

Certainly, the point is to enjoy health and vitality into old age, not just getting to old age. To that end, all of these foods likely can be beneficial. However, if you want to maximize your health and take it to a a higher level, consider eating these foods in the context of The Kaufmann Diet. The Kaufmann Diet addresses the component of health that many other over-simplified lists miss, which is the fungus/mycotoxin link to poor health. 

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