Dan Buettner delved into a specific diet choice that anyone can make if they ‘actually want to live to 100’ – it may surprise you
A researcher of the world’s longest-living people has debunked a common myth about one particular food, claiming it isn’t ‘the enemy’. Dan Buettner has spent his career exploring the habits of the world’s elusive ‘Blue Zones’ – areas reportedly known for their high rates of centenarians.
In a new TikTok, he delved into a diet choice that anyone can make if they ‘actually want to live to 100’. Although such a choice usually gets a ‘bad name’, Dan said the whole picture is frequently overlooked.
“The worst word in the nutritional dictionary is ‘carbs’, or ‘carbohydrates’,” he said to his 152,000 followers. “Why? Because both lentil beans and jelly beans are carbs, and the most unhealthy foods in our food systems tend to be very simple carbohydrates.
“Basically sugar and doughnuts and cookies, etcetera, and candy. But also, the best food in our food system is carbohydrates.” Dan spotlighted various common staples, including beans, whole grains, greens, and sweet potatoes as part of this.
He continued: “We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people who live the longest, that we can actually record, were eating mostly complex carbohydrates. But the problem is the doughnuts and the cakes and the candies give carbohydrates a bad name.
“…You need fat, you also need protein, but you should be eating mostly complex carbohydrates if you actually want to live to 100.”
The key distinction between simple and complex carbohydrates lies in the structure of their sugar molecules. Complex carbs are arranged in lengthy chains, and research indicates that consuming them may curb any temptations to snack on unhealthy treats.
While the amount required depends on personal characteristics like age, sex, and activity levels, the Reference Intake, based on findings from the European Food Safety Authority, is presently 260g carbs per day.
Advice from the American Heart Association also explains: “The type of carbohydrates you eat can impact your health. Foods that contain high amounts of simple carbs (added sugars), especially fructose, raise triglyceride levels, which may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
“…In contrast, complex carbohydrates, such as an apple or a slice of whole-grain bread, take longer to digest and absorb, leaving you to feel fuller longer. These types of complex carbohydrates give you energy over a longer period of time.”
Besides this, Dan has previously shared numerous other lifestyle tips practiced across the world. He recently dubbed coffee one of the ‘greatest longevity beverages out there’, encouraging people to drink it before noon.
“I think one of the greatest longevity beverages out there is coffee, but I think one of the most important secrets to drinking it and living longer is to drink it before noon,” he explained in a separate TikTok.
“If you drink your cup of coffee or two before noon, it actually lowers your chance of cardiovascular disease. Whereas, if you are drinking your coffee [in the] afternoon or in the evening, it doesn’t seem to do that. Plus, if you are drinking coffee too late in the day, it may interrupt your sleep. [And] bad sleep equals shorter life.”
Dan’s thoughts align with recent findings from the European Heart Journal, which examined data from more than 40,000 adults to unpack the effects of coffee consumption at varying points in the day.
Interestingly, morning drinkers were 31% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease and 16% less likely to die from any cause. But this wasn’t the same for all-day and non-coffee drinkers, with no risk reduction noted.
In light of this, Dr Lu Qi, its lead author at Tulane University, said in January: “This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes. Our findings indicate that it’s not just whether you drink coffee or how much you drink but the time of day when you drink coffee that’s important.
“We don’t typically give advice about timing in our dietary guidance, but perhaps we should be thinking about this in the future…This study doesn’t tell us why drinking coffee in the morning reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
“A possible explanation is that consuming coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms and levels of hormones such as melatonin. This, in turn, leads to changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure.
“Further studies are needed to validate our findings in other populations, and we need clinical trials to test the potential impact of changing the time of day when people drink coffee.”