Fit4100 brings you the latest information on how to eat well for longevity and advice on turning nutritional science into practical and meaningful change – so you can live better for longer.
Food means more than fuel.
It is so fundamental to being human that it is at the centre of almost every cultural tradition in recorded memory. Even when a vegetable makes a simple journey from paddock to plate, it becomes entangled in a web of symbolism – where it comes from, how it was grown, and who ends up eating it are litmus tests that society measures itself against.
While we’ve long known about the links between food and health, we’ve rarely reconciled ourselves to the emotional and cultural baggage that complicates this relationship.
Because of this, making nutritional change is not always simple. Often, it feels that if we limit our eating, we will be limiting our lives. The idea of eating better for a longer and healthier life can feel like sacrificing the real and the present in order to gain a small amount of something distant and theoretical.
The Fit4100 approach to nutrition acknowledges this challenge. For us, making healthy change based on the most up-to-date scientific evidence does not start with food, behaviour, or research.
The first step is to connect with your own reasons for change. There are myriad reasons to live better and live longer – there’s work to be done, discoveries to be made, history to rewrite, new ideas to learn, and people to love. We can’t know the reason that a good and long life is important to you. We do know that until you identify and understand the reason, none of the other information on this site will matter.
The clarity of knowing why you want to change transforms the process of eating differently. It makes you feel that you’re gaining something, not giving it away.
The next best way to foster this feeling is by being confident in the changes you’re making.
Nutrition is a living science. This is an amazing thing, because it means new potential for longevity is being discovered all the time, but it can also be overwhelming. Sorting through the vast volume of nutrition information available and working out what is worth your time and trust can feel like being lost in a dense and dark forest.
At Fit4100, we simplify this process. We bring together expert opinions and current scientific research with ideas on how to transform this information into realistic and practical everyday actions.
The nutrition information you find here is up-to-date and from sources that apply rigorous testing – no fad diets or unreliable get-healthy-quick schemes. Accordingly, what we write about will evolve as the science does, but there are three broad categories where current evidence dictates we place our focus –
#1 – Eat like people in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Diet has been at the forefront of nutritional advice for years. Not all the evidence backing it is flawless, but it has reliably and repeatedly shown itself to be effective in reducing the risk of serious life-shortening conditions like heart disease and diabetes and in controlling lifestyle factors including weight.
Part of the appeal of the Mediterranean diet is that it is not overtly restrictive – it allows for huge variety, encouraging the consumption of vegetables, seafood, and grains as well as nuts, olive oil, and red wine. This makes it a great choice for those who find the idea of change daunting.
#2 – Eat only at certain times
The popularity of intermittent fasting has sky-rocketed in recent years and with good reason. The intervention has been proven to aid in weight loss and to lower blood insulin and sugar levels – both of which are connected to diabetes. Studies have also tentatively indicated that fasting could improve mental clarity, improve blood cholesterol and increase energy.
This method of eating better to improve health and longevity is also simple. It doesn’t involve deep knowledge about what is in every bite of food you eat and doesn’t make it difficult to accommodate things like intolerances. Instead, intermittent fasting is about creating a window in each 24-hour period where no food is consumed – an act that triggers a series of positive changes in the body.
#3 – Eat less calories
Calorie Restricted diets can sound complicated, but the evidence of their benefits is steadily mounting. While scientists had been confident that restricting calories improved health and longevity in other species such as rats, worms, and hamsters, recent studies are beginning to show similar effects in humans.
The key to sustainably embracing a calorie restricted diet is ensuring that while you eat less calories you maintain healthy intakes of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. An easy example of reducing calories in a healthy way would be substituting processed foods for things like veggies, low-fat dairy, lean meat, fish, berries, and eggs.
Fit4100 will be bringing you ideas and information about breakthroughs in these three key areas and broader nutrition research, as well as practical tips on how to follow the expert advice. In amongst this all, you’ll find stories and insights from older people who are living long and happy lives.
The best time to start making change, though, is today. Take the first step of your journey to a healthy and long life with this quick guide on how to start making nutritional change.
How to eat well for longevity: Three steps you can take today.
1) Recognise why you want to live better and longer
2) Acknowledge what pace of change is realistic for you
3) Make one small change today. Pick what suits you best from our suggestions:
A) Take a prompt from the Mediterranean diet and eat a meat-free dinner.
B) Gently introduce yourself to intermittent fasting by extending your food-free window by two hours. This might mean that if you usually eat between the hours of 7am and 9pm, you don’t begin eating until 9am instead.
C) Try out a snack that fits with a calorie restricted diet – one readily available possibility is cucumber, a food that is high in water content and therefore low in calories.