I think that’s a good idea. I don’t know why he’d be biased against salt though, for example.
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More ruminations on this study. what if we want to avoid altogether personal bias and rely on the logical inference of AI? I asked to build a daily omnivorous menu according to the results of the article, what comes out seems overly interesting.
Based on the findings of the study (Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging, Tessier et al., 2025), here’s a daily omnivore menu designed to optimize healthy longevity, emphasizing foods linked to intact cognitive, physical, and mental health, survival to 70+ years, and reduced chronic disease risk:
Breakfast
-
Oatmeal bowl:
- Steel-cut oats cooked with unsweetened almond milk.
- Topped with blueberries, walnuts, and chia seeds (rich in fiber, antioxidants, omega-3s).
- Side of low-fat Greek yogurt (probiotics, calcium).
- Optional: Drizzle of honey (≤1 tsp).
Mid-Morning Snack
- Apple slices with almond butter (fiber, healthy fats).
- Green tea (polyphenols for cognitive health).
Lunch
-
Mediterranean-inspired salad:
- Base: Mixed greens (spinach, kale), cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted chickpeas, olives.
- Protein: Grilled salmon (omega-3 fatty acids) or skinless chicken breast (lean protein).
- Whole grain: Quinoa or farro.
- Dressing: Extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, turmeric, black pepper.
Afternoon Snack
- Crudités: Carrot sticks, bell peppers, and broccoli with hummus (fiber, plant protein).
- Handful of mixed nuts (almonds, pistachios).
Dinner
- Grilled sardines or mackerel (omega-3s, vitamin D) or tofu stir-fry (plant-based option).
- Steamed vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus (sulforaphane for detoxification).
- Whole grain: Brown rice or barley.
- Side: Lentil soup (plant protein, iron).
Dessert
- Dark chocolate (≥70% cocoa, 1-2 squares) + orange slices (vitamin C, flavonoids).
Key Principles
- Plant-forward: ≥50% of calories from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes.
- Healthy fats: Olive oil, avocado, nuts, fatty fish (anti-inflammatory).
- Lean proteins: Fish (2–3x/week), poultry, legumes; limit red meat to ≤1x/week.
- Low-fat dairy: Yogurt or kefir for gut health.
-
Minimize:
- Processed meats, sugary drinks, refined grains.
- Sodium (<2,300 mg/day; use herbs/spices instead).
Rationale
- Vegetables & fruits: Associated with 1.92x odds of healthy aging (Fig. 4).
- Whole grains: Linked to reduced chronic disease risk (OR 1.45–1.86).
- Fish/nuts: Omega-3s support cognitive health and lower inflammation (EDIP/rEDIH scores).
- Legumes: Improve insulin sensitivity (EDIH reversal).
Hydration
- Water, herbal teas, black coffee (antioxidants).
- Optional: 1 glass red wine (5 oz) with dinner (AHEI component; polyphenols).
This menu aligns with the AHEI, Mediterranean, and DASH patterns, which showed the strongest associations with healthy aging in the study. Adjust portions to meet individual caloric needs (e.g., ~2,000 kcal/day for average adults). 
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He evidently assigns a high degree of reliability to the DASH protocol, which si also described in the article with ORs in Figure 2 and appears to be very much correlated to the results of the MNEditerranean protocol
Greger is more radical, he suggests no added sodium consumption, based on an argument to prevent increase in risk of HBP with age based on ecological studies.
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I do not criticize Dr. Greger for such suggestions, which are generally healthy; rather, he often omits to state the evidence contrary to a pure vegan regimen, and people notice that, he loses credibility.
Back to sodium, he also suggests the alternative of KCl, which is very useful to limit sodium intake and increase potassium. To eliminate added sodium completely is not easy; it may also limit the palatability of vegetables and, as a consequence, limit the consumption of such a very healthy food group.
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I need to learn how to use AI like this… love it
Just adding that the menu you laid out also closely aligns with Valter Longo’s advice, more or less.
Be vegan + fish aprox 2x per week. Add in some more animal products when you are in your later years.
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Ah, yes, it also seems that Deepseek read Longos’ longevity diet (it probably did it) and liked it!
I find the AI is less extreme than Valter Longo, suggesting daily yogurt and fruit, with less emphasis on legumes. But they are pretty similar, I agree. I’m going to ask for a weekly plan to submit to my wife, maybe with a caloric constraint.
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EDIT:
I didn’t know it was this easy!!!
I simply asked my question to perplexity and it came up with a daily plan. I thought there were some sorcery skills needed!
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The sorcery is all in the algorithm, although every output needs to be critically reviewed.
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Meat or veg? Plant-based protein is linked to a longer life, research shows
A global study has shown that countries that consume more plant-based proteins – such as chickpeas, tofu and peas – have longer adult life expectancies.
A global study by experts at the University of Sydney has shown that countries which consume more plant-based proteins – such as chickpeas, tofu and peas – have longer adult life expectancies.
Published in Nature Communications, Dr Alistair Senior, PhD candidate Caitlin Andrews and their team in the Charles Perkins Centre studied food supply and demographic data between 1961-2018 from 101 countries, with the data corrected to account for population size and wealth, to understand whether the type of protein a population consumed had an impact on longevity.
First author Caitlin Andrews said: "Our study suggests a mixed picture when it comes to comparing the health impacts of meat- versus plant-based protein at a population level.
“For the under-fives, a food system that supplies large amounts of animal-based proteins and fats – such as meat, eggs and dairy – lowered rates of infant mortality. However, for adults, the reverse was true, where plant-based proteins increased overall life expectancy.”
The open access paper:
Associations between national plant-based vs animal-based protein supplies and age-specific mortality in human populations
Transitions to sustainable food systems require shifts in food production and availability, particularly the replacement of animal-based protein with plant-based protein. To explore how this transition may relate to demographic patterns, we undertake an ecological analysis of global associations between age-specific mortality, total national macronutrient distributions, and protein substitution. Our dataset includes per capita daily food supply and demographic data for 101 countries from 1961–2018. After adjusting for time, population size, and economic factors, we find associations between low total protein supplies and higher mortality rates across all age groups. Early-life survivorship improves with higher animal-based protein and fat supplies, while later-life survival improves with increased plant-based protein and lower fat supplies. Here, we show that the optimal balance of protein and fat in national food supplies, which correlates with minimal mortality, varies with age, suggesting that reductions in dietary protein, especially from animal sources, may need to be managed with age-specific redistributions to balance health and environmental benefits.
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Appearing today in my favorite rag The Daily Mail.
Unscientific survey by Thomas DeLaur (of YouTube fame) of ~200 people with less than 12% body fat.
While granted it’s unscientific, it fits my case perfectly except in the beginning I started to skip breakfast because I was following a keto diet.
I think this approach would work for most people regardless of diet choice. After skipping breakfast for some time, your body adapts to the new feeding schedule, and you don’t miss it.
Also, I like to work out on an empty stomach. I have been on the two meal a day schedule for almost 20 years.
DeLauer says:
"One common habit? Skipping breakfast - unintentionally.
These accidental fasts could lead to lower insulin levels and a boost in glucagon, a hormone that may help burn fat more efficiently, DeLauer says.
DeLauer says another big thing he noticed with people who are slim is that they tend to prefer operating on an empty stomach.
He says these people report preferring to train on an empty stomach, and they say they can ‘think clearer’ when they are not full from a meal.
Also, lunch is their biggest meal of the day."
“One observation that has shocked DeLauer is how many slender people love chocolate.”
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LOL, fits me too, except I skip breakfast quite intentionally, as I do TRF 18-20 hours daily and also 5:2, so two days a week of low calories skipping dinner. My weight training is on an empty stomach, but not cardio, since I split my workouts, and jog later in the day after lunch, but before dinner. And not a big fan of chocolate.
That said, mostly it’s down to convenience. Fewer meals in a shorter period means more productive time without having to work around meal timing. Doing weights without having a full stomach somehow feels better - I do it after my overnight fast if 18-20 hours, perfect preparation for shower and first meal of the day, big lunch.
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Duh, it’s because we desperately need some joy in our lives 
Fwiw, I eat a lot early and then stop as the day goes on… but I’m very food motivated… if I wasn’t going to eat until lunch, I might not ever get out of bed!
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That’s interesting, because I’m never hungry in the morning, and eating breakfast would mean forcing myself to eat. I did that for a while, because of research showing that in TRF, it’s best to eat early breakfast and dinner and then do your fast of 16+ hours. Shifting everything to lunch and dinner was actually somewhat health negative, particularly for glucose control, so I really tried. But I just couldn’t do it.
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skipping breakfast unintentionally…
Blood glucose level is a fuel gauge. If still above 5.5 (~100) or so, no need to break a fast. Thus, given cortisol wakes me up and gives me high BG, skipping breakfast is not even any further decision needing to be made.
Can you share the prompt you used for that response? I’d like to try it on some of the other AI systems.
Nothing special
What I quoted is at the end of a detailed discussion.
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What do you think mechanism here would be?