A healthy, balanced diet is - should be - a lifestyle foundation for anyone interested in their health and longevity. After which supplements can be added based on specific deficiencies or desires. This is an area that some biohackers get right and some wrong. While there is no single 'best' diet, when it comes to health and longevity the balance of evidence points towards a plant forward diet rich in sufficient protein for one's age activity and levels, high in fibre and polyphenols.
We are lucky to be based in Singapore, a globally connected city with a strong tradition of ethnic cuisine - even if many of the modern options are increasingly based on processed foods. We have access to foods and flavours from around the world, either in the local markets or ordered online.
Whether you are a fan of walking longevity experiment Bryan Johnson (and his Blueprint protocol), Drs. Peter Attia, Michael Greger or leading researchers at the cutting edge of geroscience, we thought to explore what longevity foods might be found in a regular kitchen. Our own to be exact. Many of these foods (homemade or store bought) are easily available and can be included into daily eating.
As ever, please talk to your doctor, or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle; especially if you are under treatment. See links to related studies at bottom of page.
Longevity Promoting Polyphenols
Eating a wide variety of foods provides maximum opportunity for nutrition, macro and micro-nutrients for ourselves and fibre for our gut microbiome. Many health promoting foods are rich in anti-oxidant, polyphenols, that provide a host of benefits that support health. These health promoting chemicals, often bound to fibre, are the very colours and tastes of the foods themselves e.g. herbs, spices, berries to name a few.
To note, polyphenols are found in plant foods, and it is plant forward eating practices that have the best associations with longevity.
Herbs & Spices
Culinary doses of common herbs and spices can positively affect health due to their high polyphenol content.
Herbes de Provence (French mixed herbs, as above)
Ceylon Cinnamon. This is not the same as Cassia (Chinese) Cinnamon that is commonly found on sale.
Cumin
Curry Powder
5 Spice Powder
Homemade Spice Mix (cloves, nutmeg, allspice)
Other foods, neither herbs nor spices, that we keep on the same shelf:
Amla Powder. This is dried Indian gooseberry, high in polyphenols.
Cacao Powder. From fermented beans. Rich in polyphenols, can also be high in heavy metals.
Capers. Flavonol rich, great in a salsa verde.
Ferments, Probiotics
To support gut - microbiome health and diversity. A healthy gut microbiome (ingested or internal) need fibre to flourish, so be sure to consume fruit and vegetable, nuts, seeds, whole grains and beans.
Tepache (pineapple beverage)
Sauerkraut. The classic fermented cabbage dish.
Kiam Chye. Homemade fermented mustard greens, as the store bought is often coloured using (banned in the EU) tartrazine.
Many people enjoy kefir and kombucha. If store bought, make sure that you are buying products with live cultures.
Produce and Prebiotics: Fresh, Frozen & Other
Gotta get your 5 servings per day to stay healthy!
Vegetables. All the colours, including oftentimes ignored white (e.g. cauliflower) and especially leafy green brassicas.
Garlic. White (bleached) garlic is most commonly available, we try to buy any non-bleached with purple streaks in them if possible.
Onions. Our preferred option are red / purple onions.
Tinned Tomatoes, rich in lycopene.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Rich in polyphenols; just be aware that any oil is highly calorific.
Pickles. Another way to enjoy more veggie. We make low salt 'quick' (overnight) homemade pickles whenever we have the opportunity.
Sprouts. Once in a while we like to sprout. Seed mixes are easily bought online, lentil sprouts are a great addition to salads.
Frozen Mixed Berries. With frozen berries there is never any wastage. Many are rich in polyphenol anthocyanins, supporting cognitive health.
Fruit. Whatever is in regional and in season, plus year round global items e.g. apples, oranges.
Tapenade. A Mediterranean classic.
Nuts and Seeds
A source of protein, fibre, healthy fats and polyphenols. We choose raw - unbaked nuts where possible.
Walnuts, Almonds etc
Flax Seed, ground, rich in α-linolenic acid, phenolic compounds, and lignans. Store in the fridge or freezer.
Black Sesame, ground. As above.
Grains and Legumes
Whole grains - meaning minimally processed - and legumes are often missing from the diet. These are healthy carbohydrates associated with reducing chronic illness and promoting longevity.
Muesli. One of the few products where we always go for organic options. We mix our own using rolled oats plus, as available, barley, spelt or rye for added texture and variety.
Wholewheat pasta
Couscous
Bulgur Wheat
Green French (Puy) Lentils
Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
Pinto, Kidney, White beans
Soybeans
Protein Sources
Tinned Sardines, also a source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Frozen Mackerel, delicious grilled. Also a source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
Frozen Dumplings. Ready to cook in ten minutes.
Tofu. We enjoy the silken type prepared as a cold dish.
Soy Milk. Go for brands with the fewest ingredients, or, buy fresh from the hawker.
Protein Isolate Powder. I often use a scoop of whey isolate, mixed with my muesli and yogurt. It is relatively cheap and very convenient.
Eggs. We don't eat many but once a week in a tomatoey and rich shakshuka we love them.
Other
Coffee. Ground for use in our mocha pot. However, we normally go out for kopi because we live in Singapore and the kopi is great.
Water. We have used carbon filter jugs and, at present, have a simple counter-top (installed) water filter tap.
Supplements. A multivitamin, omega-3 and what else? Addressing any deficiencies is important. For the rest, what does the evidence actually say and how does it apply to you? Do supplements complement your needs? Once consumed do they complement or antagonise each other?
Cooking Techniques
Now some people may enjoy or find it practical to buy pre-packaged foods, longevity meals. This is entirely a personal decision and if it makes sense as part of your lifestyle and allow you to gain health and longevity, fantastic. We enjoy cooking, and have made shopping and the cooking process part of our lives. We appreciate that not everyone has the opportunity and capability to do this.
While we enjoy all types of cooking, soups, braises and steaming are key features of our home kitchen. There are many delicious recipes using these techniques, to reduce the amount of inflammation and cancer causing chemicals that grilling and roasting can produce, namely: heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Equipment
Steamer pot. A stovetop pot, the steamer basket and lid.
Mocha coffee pot. The Italian classic.
Herb / spice grinder.
Weighing scales.
Yogurt thermal pot / maker
Digital thermometer, needed for yogurt but all round useful.
An Instant Pot (pressure cooker) is great but by no means essential.
What is in your 'longevity larder' and kitchen?
This above list is what works for us, under our circumstances. You have to do what works fo ryou. Making changes to nutrition and eating practices is not always easy but there are many ways to approach a healthier diet. Whether you cook or not, meeting the recommendation for 5 fruit and vegetables per day, adding some herbs and spices, eating berries a few times a week are achievable, and in the long-term make a massive difference to health.
While the biohacker might be tempted to start with the pharmacy, the foundation of nutritional longevity practices - where the largest gains are to be found - remain firmly in the kitchen. This provides the foundation upon which other techniques and tactics can be developed.
Improving health is about finding motivation, prioritising self-care and taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps that fit into your unique lifestyle, The Whole Health Practice is here to help.
Whether your interest is healthspan and longevity, to beat chronic illness or to enhance your mental health and well-being, our consultations and programs deliver results that are tailored to your needs.
Our foundational Whole Health Consult identifies and prioritises the key factors - known and unknown - that affect health and wellbeing. It provides targeted recommendations tailored to you, the individual, and your unique lifestyle.
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies and Resources
Fadnes, L.T., Celis-Morales, C., Økland, JM. et al. Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom. Nat Food 4, 961–965 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00868-w
Whitton C, Rebello SA, Lee J, Tai ES, van Dam RM. A Healthy Asian A Posteriori Dietary Pattern Correlates with A Priori Dietary Patterns and Is Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in a Multiethnic Asian Population. J Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;148(4):616-623. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxy016. PMID: 29659965.
Cordova R, Viallon V, Fontvieille E, Peruchet-Noray L, Jansana A, Wagner KH, Kyrø C, Tjønneland A, Katzke V, Bajracharya R, Schulze MB, Masala G, Sieri S, Panico S, Ricceri F, Tumino R, Boer JMA, Verschuren WMM, van der Schouw YT, Jakszyn P, Redondo-Sánchez D, Amiano P, Huerta JM, Guevara M, Borné Y, Sonestedt E, Tsilidis KK, Millett C, Heath AK, Aglago EK, Aune D, Gunter MJ, Ferrari P, Huybrechts I, Freisling H. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases: a multinational cohort study. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2023 Nov 14;35:100771. doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100771. PMID: 38115963; PMCID: PMC10730313.
Barber TM, Kabisch S, Pfeiffer AFH, Weickert MO. The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 21;12(10):3209. doi: 10.3390/nu12103209. PMID: 33096647; PMCID: PMC7589116.
Serafini M, Peluso I. Functional Foods for Health: The Interrelated Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Role of Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Spices and Cocoa in Humans. Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(44):6701-6715. doi: 10.2174/1381612823666161123094235. PMID: 27881064; PMCID: PMC5427773.
Jungwon Kwon, Inhwan Kim, BoKyung Moon, Kwang-Won Lee, MunYhung Jung, Jihyun Lee,
The effects of different cooking methods and spices on the formation of 11 HCAs in chicken wing and pork belly, Food Control, Volume 147, 2023,109572, ISSN 0956-7135, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.109572.
Fontana L, Partridge L. Promoting health and longevity through diet: from model organisms to humans. Cell. 2015 Mar 26;161(1):106-118. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.020. PMID: 25815989; PMCID: PMC4547605.
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