Focusing on food and drink only (not supplements) which 10 Foods do you believe most contribute to your longevity?
My hope is that I’ll find some new things to try
Here’s my top 10 (in no particular order)
I like your list generally but what is your reasoning for eggs boosting lifespan? The stuff I’ve read on egg consumption shows either increased all-cause mortality or a non-significant trend towards increased all cause mortality.
There was a 2022 systematic review concluding a modest increased risk of all-cause mortality.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316623085991
Broccoli
Spinach
Walnuts
oyster mushrooms,
shiitake mushrooms
White Button mushrooms
Salmon
Herring
Garlic
Lean meat
Dark chocolate
Ginger
Hi good question I eat eggs primarily for choline which i struggle to get in my diet otherwise. The brain protective effects of choline are convincing.
Lifelong choline supplementation ameliorates Alzheimer's disease pathology and associated cognitive deficits by attenuating microglia activation - PubMed And I’m very focussed on that.
The observational studies on cvd and acm are mixed and the meta analysis you referenced only found an association in specific circumstances: "the association was restricted to women, Americans, and studies with adjustments for hyperlipidemia"
The fact that they could only find modest association through subgroup analysis makes me hopeful!
So while it does give pause for thought, I’m happy with reassurance from intervention studies suggesting no impact on apo b and some improvement in hdl.
Intake of 3 Eggs per Day When Compared to a Choline Bitartrate Supplement, Downregulates Cholesterol Synthesis without Changing the LDL/HDL Ratio - PMC.
I really like your list, but would combine kefir and cheese into one since they are almost the same food. Then add aronia berries. They are the berry highest in polyphenols, no other berry is close. They have almost no sugar to the point of being nearly inedible. The polyphenols will feed your gut buddies (akkermansia) and reduce microbial burden system wide. I use them frozen in a smoothie
Natto should be first or second with the fatty fish. Blueberries should be top 5. Mushrooms, pomegranate, purple/sweet potatoes, and avocado would be in my top 10.
Natto is a great call. I just struggle to get it in the uk. Miso was another that I belatedly thought of. Miso soup with shiitake is a favourite breakfast.
And you’re right, should definitely have some berries in there. I’m going to check out aronia berries - anything for more akkermansia
I am a fan of pickled beet root.
Oh no! Beetroot has to be in my top 10
I just order it off Amazon. You can even get it freeze dried there if you wanted and just put it in a smoothie.
Great list, besides eggs and blue cheese.
It’s kind of a long painful story. There were some people that promoted aronia as a high paying crop, slightly out of sync with our crop. It gets ripe in August. And it is adapted perfectly for our weather. We planted a couple acres, they grew so we planted a couple more. It costs a couple thousand per acre to plant and you plant by hand. Can’t use chemicals. So it’s a lot of work or you can just do a bad job. Any way my brother and I got in slowly. Some guys planted 40 acres and bought $50k machines to harvest. The market was wildly exaggerated. We harvested 20000 lbs a couple times but they never got sold and we got one very small check. Coops were formed and broken. Companies went broke. We still pick some of them and still had some in the freezer till now.
Finally now we are out and recently cut and revitalized the patches. We know a guy that didn’t spend too much that may help harvest them this year. We’re not getting rich, but will have berries again.
I need to get some more homemade salsa and guacamole. I still buy store bought hummus though!
Aronia:
@DeStrider here’s an idea …instead of baby carrots eat regular raw carrots to get a workout for your teeth and jaw. I made that switch a couple years ago…I think it made my teeth and jaw stronger, and I get a superior satisfaction from eating now that I have to chew hard.
One more quick tidbit on this:
10 lbs for $64 so $6.40/lb… just a few years ago (I’m sure it’s close now) it cost 50 cents to harvest and we were offered 50 cents a pound. Guys that had their own harvester actually did it, hoping for better times ahead. Also Poland did the breeding and most of the cultivation of aronia and they can be imported for under a buck a pound. Organic.
We and many many others put them in commercial freezer as they tried to come up with a plan and the fees ate up the value until they were free.