Eating a plant-based, fiber-rich diet could help you live a longer, healthier life. A plant-based diet could be the secret recipe for a longer life — as long as you do it right.
That’s the advice from Dr. Luigi Fontana in his new book, which presents a science-backed plan for eating more plant-based meals to boost health and longevity.
“Healthy longevity is about fueling your body with the right nutrients to activate cellular repair and gut health,” said Fontana , director of the healthy longevity research program at the University of Sydney. “We recommend people start to experiment by shifting to two plant-based days a week, trying new recipes, discovering new flavors, and eventually increasing this to five days a week.” Plant Power by Dr. Luigi Fontana features more than 80 recipes from Healthy Longevity Chef Marzio Lanzini. The book, Plant Power: The Essential Plant Food Guide to Enrich Your Health , builds on Fontana’s past research, which found that longevity is driven by two key factors: nutrient-sensing pathways and the gut microbiome.
“The right foods, predicated on a predominantly plant-based diet, activate mechanisms that slow aging, reduce inflammation, and enhance metabolism,” he explained. “Secondly, without enough fibre-rich plant foods, beneficial gut bacteria die off, weakening immunity and increasing disease risk.”
But simply going plant-based won’t guarantee better health. For instance, ultra-processed foods like Oreos, Ritz crackers and even Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos are all vegan — but not exactly nutritious.
“The reality is that achieving a well-rounded, nutritious diet involves much more than the exclusion of animal products,” Fontana said. “People may cut out meat but continue to eat a diet full of ultra-processed foods, which increase the risk of diseases like stroke and dementia, and premature death.”
In one study , researchers found that for every 10% increase in calorie intake from plant-based ultra-processed foods, such as packaged breads, chips and cereals, participants had a 5% increased risk of heart disease and a 12% increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
Conversely, people who ate primarily plant-based, non-ultra-processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables and pasta, saw their risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality decrease.
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