{"id":461510,"date":"2026-02-06T04:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T04:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/461510\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T04:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T04:22:10","slug":"what-longevity-experts-eat-to-live-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/461510\/","title":{"rendered":"What Longevity Experts Eat to Live Well"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In your younger years, you need about 0.8 grams of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/how-protein-got-turned-into-cultural-trend\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">protein<\/a> per kilogram of your bodyweight a day (that\u2019s 0.36 grams per pound for the non-metric system users among us). As you age, that number goes up to about 1.0\u20131.2 g\/kg (0.45\u20130.54 g\/lb) each day. Older bodies get less efficient at using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/protein-powder-quiz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">protein<\/a> to build muscle, so you need to give it more to work with to keep up the same muscle mass.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping up with your protein helps ward off sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass, strength, and function), and it also supports metabolic health, immunity, and hormone regulation, says Lon Ben-Asher, MS, RDN, LD\/N, registered dietitian\/nutritionist at <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.pritikin.com\/\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.pritikin.com\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pritikin.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pritikin Longevity Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But when it comes to the type of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/best-protein-staples-pantry-award-winners-2025\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">protein you serve up at mealtime<\/a>, most experts agree (Ben-Asher included) that plant sources are superior to meat for long-lasting health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProcessed or red meats such as beef, bacon, ham, consistently linked to cardiovascular disease, increased cancer risk as a Group 1 carcinogen per WHO classification,\u201d says Ben-Asher.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why he sticks to plant protein sources such as tofu, tempeh, TVP (textured vegetable protein, a meat substitute made from soybeans), beans, lentils, peas, and chickpeas. He rounds out his protein quota with healthy fish sources like salmon, trout, and mahi-mahi.<\/p>\n<p>Favoring plant protein comes with a bonus, says Ben-Asher, because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/how-to-eat-more-fiber\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dietary fiber<\/a> and phytonutrients only found in plants is fuel for healthy microorganisms that colonize gut microbiota.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis helps support a healthy immune response, proper GI function, mental health, hormonal balance, reducing inflammation, nutrient absorption, and brain health\u2014all factors linked to healthy aging,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>ROYGBIV for cell protection<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Food Food Presentation and Plate\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-eNxvmU cfBbTk responsive-image__image\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SHAW-Southwestern-Egg-Frittata-Muffins-1-2%20(1).jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Courtesy Elizabeth Shaw, MS RDN CPT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In your younger years, you need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of your bodyweight a day&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,1295,137,15353,10485,532],"class_list":{"0":"post-461510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-food","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-healthy-eating","13":"tag-longevity","14":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}