
Longevity
A six-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found three behaviors exerted enormous impact on longevity: not currently smoking, consuming a healthier diet, and moderately exercising at least 21 minutes a day. People with all three behaviors reduced their chances of dying in that time by 82 percent.
A similar study measured how much vitamin C subjects had in their bloodstreams, as vitamin C level was considered a good biomarker of plant food intake (and hence was used as a proxy for a healthy diet). The drop in mortality risk among those with healthier habits was equivalent to being 14 years younger.
The mitochondrial theory of aging suggests that free radical damage to our cells’ power source (mitochondria) leads to a loss of cellular energy and function over time. According to the theory, the resulting cellular damage is what essentially causes aging. Aging and disease have been thought of as the oxidation of the body, but eating antioxidant-rich foods may slow down this oxidant process. On average, plant foods may contain 64 times more antioxidants than animal foods. Including a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices each meal continuously floods our body with antioxidants to help ward off stroke and other age-related diseases, promoting longevity.
Consuming fruits and veggies, and not smoking, has also been associated with longer protective telomeres, the caps on the tips of our chromosomes that keep DNA from unraveling. Each time our cells divide, a bit of that cap is lost. Telomeres can start shortening as soon as we’re born, and when they’re gone, we’re gone. The food we eat may impact how fast we lose our telomeres: Consumption of refined grains, soda, meat, and dairy has been linked to shortened telomeres, while fruit, vegetable, and other antioxidant-rich plant food intake has been associated with longer ones.
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The information on this page has been compiled from Dr. Greger’s research. Sources for each video listed can be found by going to the video’s page and clicking on the Sources Cited tab. References may also be found at the back of his books.
Popular Videos for Longevity


How to Boost FGF21 with Diet for Longevity
Fasting and exercise can boost the longevity hormone FGF21, but what can we eat—or avoid...
How to Increase Your Life Expectancy 12 to 14 Years
What can physicians do to promote healthy, life-extending, lifestyle changes?
Does Intermittent Fasting Increase Human Life Expectancy?
Alternate-day modified fasting is put to the test for lifespan extension.
The Benefits of Calorie Restriction for Longevity
Though a bane for dieters, a slower metabolism may actually be a good thing.
Increased Lifespan from Beans
The intake of legumes—beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils—may be the single most important dietary...
Caloric Restriction vs. Animal-Protein Restriction
The lifespan extension associated with dietary restriction may be due less to a reduction in...
The Okinawa Diet: Living to 100
What would happen if you centered your diet around vegetables, the most nutrient-dense food group?
How to Prevent High Blood Pressure with Diet
High blood pressure, the #1 killer risk factor in the world, may be eliminated with...
Telomeres: Cap It All Off with Diet
Is the reversal of cellular aging Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrated with lifestyle changes due to...
Survival of the Firmest: Erectile Dysfunction and Death
Because penile arteries are only about half the size of the coronary arteries in the...
Longer Life Within Walking Distance
Researchers find exercise often works just as well as drugs for the treatment of heart...
Turning the Clock Back 14 Years
Four simple health behaviors may cut our risk of chronic disease by nearly 80%, potentially...
How to Slow Brain Aging by Two Years
The consumption of blueberries and strawberries is associated with delayed cognitive aging by as much...
Methionine Restriction as a Life-Extension Strategy
Plant-based diets may prove to be a useful nutrition strategy in both cancer growth control...
Do Flexitarians Live Longer?
Does just reducing one’s intake of meat, dairy, and eggs significantly reduce mortality?
Fruits, Veggies, and Longevity: How Many Minutes Per Mouthful?
The first study to gauge how much longer we live based on the number of...
How to Counter the Inflammation of Aging
What can we eat to combat “inflamm-aging,” the chronic low-grade inflammation that accompanies the aging...All Videos for Longevity
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How Not To Age – Live Presentation
In this live lecture, Dr. Greger offers a sneak peek into his latest book, How Not to Age.
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Is It Possible to Reverse Aging and Live Forever?
Some animals, like the immortal jellyfish, can effectively live forever, so why can’t we?
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Update on Vegetarian Stroke Risk
Those eating more plant-based diets have lower risk of having a stroke, including both bleeding and clotting strokes.
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Dietary Sources of the “Longevity Vitamin” Ergothioneine
It may be even more important to include mushrooms (or tempeh) in our diet as we age.
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Book Trailer for How Not to Age
Preorder my new book How Not to Age, out this December!
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Why Vegans Should Eat More Plant-Based
One cannot assume that simply avoiding animal foods will necessarily produce a healthy diet.
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What to Eat to Prevent Telomere Shortening
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of plant-based diets may explain why they can effectively reverse cellular aging by elongating telomeres.
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Fecal Transplants for Aging and Weight Loss
Does poop from centenarians have anti-aging properties?
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How Hot Peppers May Extend Your Life
Spice can hack your brain by making foods taste saltier.
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Is Spicy Food Good for You?
Those who eat spicy foods regularly tend to live longer, but is it cause-and-effect?
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The Negative Effects and Benefits of Plant-Based Diets
What are the pros and cons of plant-based eating?
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Plant-Based Diet for Treating and Reversing Stage 3 Kidney Disease
I share a touching story of the power of plant-based eating for chronic kidney failure.
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Dietary Guidelines: “Eat as Little Dietary Cholesterol as Possible”
Why do the official federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting the intake of dietary cholesterol (found mostly in eggs) as much as possible?
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The Harms Associated with Eating More Southern-Style Food
Diet appears to mediate the majority of the racial health gap.
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Diet and Lifestyle for Cancer Prevention and Survival
What kind of diet should cancer patients eat?
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The Purported Benefits of Vitamin K2: Should You Take Supplements?
Our body can make vitamin K2 from the K1 in green leafy vegetables.
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How to Avoid the Boomerang Effect of Remedy Messaging
How can mandating healthy eating messaging on fast-food ads ironically make things worse?
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The Potential Harm in Unnecessary Gluten-Free Diets
How might we prevent the inflammation from gluten-free diets?
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Is Allulose a Healthy Sweetener?
Are rare sugars like allulose a healthy alternative for traditional sweeteners?
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The Best Diet for Healthy Aging
Swapping just 1 percent of plant protein in place of animal protein was associated with significantly less age-related deficit accumulation.
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The Role of Kimchi and H. Pylori in Stomach Cancer
What explains the Achilles’ heel in certain Asian diets?
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How Much Does Meat Affect Longevity?
If you care about your health so much that it would be unthinkable to light up a cigarette before and after lunch, maybe you should order a bean burrito instead of a meaty one.
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How Big Meat Manipulated the Science
Big Meat downplays the magnitude of meat mortality.
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The Health Risks vs. Benefits of Meat Consumption
The meat industry’s own study concluded that meat consumption increased the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and premature death.
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Failing GRADE for Annals of Internal Medicine Meat Studies
The meat industry comes up with a perversion of evidence-based medicine.
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How Big Sugar Undermines Dietary Guidelines
International Life Sciences Organization, a nonprofit, is accused of being a front group for Coca-Cola and other junk food giants.
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The Impacts of Weight Bias in Health Care
How might weight stigma be a vicious cycle?
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Are the Health Benefits of Nuts Limited to Those Eating Bad Diets?
Do nut eaters live longer simply because they swap in protein from plants in place of animal protein?
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Animal Protein vs. Plant-Based Protein
I discuss a public health case for modernizing the definition of protein quality.
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Are Potassium Chloride Salt Substitutes Effective?
Is potassium chloride win-win by decreasing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake?
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Natural Dietary Remedy for Insomnia
Lactucin, the hypnotic component of lettuce, is put to the test in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of lettuce seeds.
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Ultra-Processed Junk Food Put to the Test
What happened when ultra-processed foods were matched for calories, sugar, fat, and fiber content in the first randomized controlled trial?
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Do the Health Benefits of Peanut Butter Include Longevity?
Why are nuts associated with decreased mortality, but not peanut butter?
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How to Boost FGF21 with Diet for Longevity
Fasting and exercise can boost the longevity hormone FGF21, but what can we eat—or avoid eating—to get similar effects?
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Life Extension with FGF21
What can we do to boost the longevity hormone FGF21?
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How to Keep Your Microbiome Healthy with Prebiotic Foods
We co-evolved a symbiosis with our good gut bacteria, but we are not holding up our end of the bargain.
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How to Increase Your Life Expectancy 12 to 14 Years
What can physicians do to promote healthy, life-extending, lifestyle changes?
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How to Reduce the Glycemic Impact of Potatoes
Broccoli, vinegar, and lemon juice are put to the test to blunt the glycemic index of white potatoes.
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Glycemic Index of Potatoes: Why You Should Chill and Reheat Them
If you eat potatoes when they’re cold, as in potato salad, or chilled and reheated, you can get a nearly 40 percent lower glycemic impact.
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Do Potatoes Increase the Risk of High Blood Pressure and Death?
Do potato eaters live longer or shorter lives than non-potato eaters?