How long you live depends not on the genes you inherited from mom and dad, but on the tiny guests that make up yours bacterial flora: billions of ferments that, like so many tenants, live for rent in the same condominium, yours intestine. The American doctor Steven Gundry, 68, a world-renowned heart surgeon, whose book has just been published in Italy, is absolutely convinced of this. The anti-aging diet.
“For many years I was as obese as my father, I suffered from the same migraines he had every day, and I suffered from arthritis so severe that I had to wear knee braces to run,” he says. “I did 40km a week, went to the gym for an hour a day and ate in a way that I thought was healthy. This is why I thought that my ailments and premature aging were due to my DNA ». Instead…
It is the gut that makes you age
At that time, Dr. Gundry was working at Loma Linda University, in California, one of the “Blue Zones”, where life expectancy is considerably higher than the planet’s average. Here he had met several centenarians in excellent health and, studying their lifestyle, he had come to a conclusion as simple as it was unexpected: “I discovered that my father and I shared those problems not because we had the same genetic heritage, but because we had identical habits and lived in similar environmentswhich had shaped our microbiome in incredibly similar ways ”.
Since then, and almost 20 years have passed, the American doctor has taken care of himself and his patients, combining the diet with traditional medical therapies. “The results have been incredible,” he enthuses. “When you start taking care of the bacterial flora, the lifespan increases dramatically. And the beauty is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, how old you feel and what your health is. If you host only the good tenants in your condominium and throw out the unwanted ones, the benefits will not be long in coming: you will have more energy, you will regain your weight and a fresher skin and you will erase many of the typical ailments of aging ».
The microorganisms living in the intestine, with the help of gastric juices and various digestive enzymes, transform what you eat into amino acids (from proteins), fatty acids (from lipids), sugars (from carbohydrates), which then pass through the wall intestinal under the strict control of white blood cells (60% are concentrated right here) to pass into the blood or lymphatic system.
But if there are breaches between the cells that line the intestine, the enemies of your health can enter and exit freely. “The immune system tries to run for cover by releasing cytokines, substances with an inflammatory action which, if forced to intervene every day, end up causing fires and stimulate the development of various diseases: from autoimmune diseases of the intestine to diabetes, from cardiovascular disorders to tumors, from Parkinson’s to cognitive impairment ”, explains Dr. Gundry.
The pillars of the anti-aging diet
However, keeping the intestinal wall intact is not difficult. Enough stay away from some enemies. «First of all the lectins: a type of protein that plants produce to defend themselves », warns the American doctor. «The best known is the gluten, which in genetically predisposed people triggers celiac disease. But there is another far more harmful one to keep under control, the agglutinin of wheat germ: being very small, it manages to pass through the intestinal wall even when it is intact, triggering an inflammatory reaction. Sugar should also be avoidedbecause it is the favorite food of the bad enzymes present in the bacterial flora, e reduced animal protein intake which, requiring a lot of energy to digest, prevent the metabolism from taking a break. Finally, no to cow’s milk because, unlike that of goat, it contains casein A1, which can trigger an immune reaction ».
What, on the other hand, is it good to include in the anti-aging menu? “Certainly the foods rich in prebiotic fiber which, as the name implies, help good bacteria to grow and multiply, ”Gundry advises. “They are present in many vegetables, from artichokes to cabbages and leeks. They are also good for the bacterial flora polyamines (in squid, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, tea, nuts and pistachios, lentils), i polyphenols (a family of antioxidants to which the resveratrol of red wine also belongs), the resistant starches (in sweet potatoes and underripe bananas and pears), i Omega 3 fats of salmon, blue fish and flax seeds and the monounsaturated ones of olive oil and avocado, which quench inflammation ».
THE ANTI-AGING DIET PROGRAM
Below the entire program of the anti-aging diet: it is spread over 4 weeks. And it alternates days of free diet with others of calorie restriction which, as has now been demonstrated, extends life by reducing inflammation and promoting intestinal wall repair.
RECIPE
- Pears cooked in red wine
Ingredients for 4 servings: 2 cups red wine, 2 cups coconut milk, 2/3 cup erythritol powder (natural sweetener), 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 orange peel, 2 cloves, 2 pears semi-ripe.
In a saucepan, heat the wine, coconut milk, erythritol powder, anise, cinnamon, orange peel and cloves, stirring often until the mixture …
