2024-04-01 14:26:04
Live long and healthily – that is the goal of most of us. And everyone can do a lot to achieve this. An expert interview on the latest scientific findings.
On average, men in this country live to be 78.5 years old, women 83.4 years old. Is there more? Absolutely certain, because there are regions in the world where people live much older. Science is constantly discovering new parameters in the aging process that we can tweak to give ourselves more happy years. t-online spoke to science journalist Bas Kast.
t-online: Mr. Kast, from the insights you have gained: What is the most effective method to live a long time?
Bass Cast: First of all, it’s more about the question of how to live healthily for as long as possible. People don’t necessarily want to live long, they want to live healthy lives for a long time. It’s not about how they grow old, but how they grow old. What we do know is that there are certain regions of the world where people live particularly long lives.
Exactly and one of these regions is Okinawa in Japan. There is a saying there that suggests that you should only eat until your stomach is about 80 percent full. So people are never completely full, they still feel a residual appetite, but they don’t satisfy this feeling. This principle of fasting actually extends life significantly. By the way, we also see this in other creatures: mice, nematodes or Drosophila, i.e. the fruit fly. Such a fasting program extends life.
But what’s behind it, you would think that eating less food would lead to stress in the body and lead to a shorter life? So that long-term fasting would have the opposite effect: the body would be so stressed that it would age more quickly…
The explanation approach is different. You have to imagine our body like a huge factory where cells are constantly being produced. This also creates a lot of waste. And this garbage ages us. Alzheimer’s, for example, is caused, among other things, by an accumulation of protein plaques.
Bas Kast studied psychology and biology and works as a science journalist. In 2018 his book “The Nutritional Compass” was named “Knowledge Book of the Year”. His current book “Compass for the Soul” was recently published.
And what happens when you fast?
When fasting, a process of recycling these residues takes place, also called autophagy. This refreshes or renews the body. So fasting has a great impact on extending life.
But eating too much is not the only cause of premature aging. What role does inflammation play?
Inflammation is not a bad thing per se. They indicate that the body – or rather our immune system – is taking action against an intruder and is trying to eliminate it. Chronic, subthreshold inflammatory processes are more problematic. They can cause a variety of diseases, from atherosclerosis to certain types of cancer.
What promotes this inflammation?
Due to certain hormones in the belly fat, i.e. excess weight. But also through the usual other suspects that are not good for our bodies: alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise. But also when it comes to nutrition: saturated fatty acids (which are mainly found in animal products) or sugar.
Studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet is a particularly healthy diet. Why is she so healthy?
Because a lot of vegetables are consumed here, healthy olive oil, little meat and more often fish. Incidentally, pescetarians – as people who eat a predominantly vegetarian diet but also eat fish – are called, are the group that lives the longest. Studies show this. A variety of vital substances in this form of nutrition have proven to be particularly health-promoting.
Omega-3 fatty acids play a special role in this, right?
Yes, our cells have special receptors for these fatty acids, they are essential for our existence. If you don’t eat fish or only eat it rarely, I recommend Omega-3 in capsule form.
In your new book you deal with the psyche. Can a healthy diet also help depressed people?
Depression is a highly complex illness, but studies have actually shown that changing diet can help around a third of patients.