Experts Reveal Foods Linked to Longevity

Nutrient-dense foods like leafy greens, legumes, and fermented foods can help you live a longer, healthier life.

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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According to medical experts, certain foods are linked to longevity and can help people live longer, healthier lives. These nutrient-dense foods, commonly found in "Blue Zones" around the world where people live the longest, include legumes, yogurt, leafy greens, berries, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and fermented foods. Experts say these foods can influence key aging mechanisms like inflammation, cellular repair, and insulin sensitivity, minimizing the risk of chronic diseases that often shorten lifespans.

Why it matters

Understanding the dietary patterns and specific foods associated with longevity can help people make healthier choices to increase their chances of living a long, vibrant life. Adopting a "Blue Zone" style of eating focused on whole, minimally processed plant-based foods can provide a sustainable, community-based approach to improving health and lifespan.

The details

Experts recommend embracing a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, imagining food as a spectrum with nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory options like colorful vegetables, berries, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and legumes on one end, and highly processed, sugar-laden foods on the other. Transitioning to a more plant-based diet by gradually increasing meatless meals and incorporating plant-based proteins can help replicate the Blue Zone way of eating. Moderation is also key, as people in Blue Zones tend to stop eating when they're about 80% full.

  • The research on the link between diet and longevity has been ongoing for decades.
  • Experts have been studying the dietary habits of people living in Blue Zones, areas around the world where people live longer than average, since the early 2000s.

The players

Dr. Darshan Shah

The founder of Next Health, a longevity clinic, who explains how diet can influence key aging mechanisms.

Carolina Schneider

A registered dietitian who works with brands and recommends transitioning to a more plant-based, Blue Zone-style diet.

Dr. Resham Uttamchandani

A double board-certified physician who points to the practice in Okinawa of stopping eating when 80% full.

Maria Emerick

A registered dietitian and owner of Homegrown Nutrition in Honolulu, Hawaii, who notes that the longest-lived individuals did not follow fad diets.

Professor Tim Spector

The scientific co-founder of ZOE, a science and nutrition company, who recommends specific longevity-boosting foods.

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What they’re saying

“Choose from the nutrient-dense end as often as possible.”

— Dr. Darshan Shah, Founder, Next Health (Good Housekeeping)

“Gradually increase the number of meatless meals each week, starting with 'Meatless Mondays' and eventually incorporating plant-based proteins like tofu, edamame, tempeh, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas in place of animal proteins.”

— Carolina Schneider, Registered Dietitian (Good Housekeeping)

“The oldest lived individuals of the world who have arrived into old age with sound mind and body did not do so by following the latest fad diet or newest weight loss supplement.”

— Maria Emerick, Owner, Homegrown Nutrition (Good Housekeeping)

What’s next

Experts suggest gradually incorporating more plant-based, nutrient-dense foods into your diet to reap the longevity benefits, while also focusing on moderation and sustainable lifestyle changes.

The takeaway

Adopting a diet rich in whole, minimally processed foods like leafy greens, legumes, berries, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and fermented foods can help support longevity by reducing inflammation, improving cellular function, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases. This holistic, community-based approach to eating is more sustainable than short-term fad diets.