Your dietary choices could determine whether you make it to 100. In a major interview with The New York Times in March 2024, Valter Longo, PhD, a professor of gerontology and biological sciences and the director of the USC Longevity Institute in California, shared remarkable findings about longevity from studying Italy. His warning centers on five specific foods he calls the “poisonous Ps,” which he believes are undermining healthspan worldwide. Longo notes that Italy’s youth are facing obesity because of what he calls the “poisonous five Ps – pizza, pasta, protein, potatoes, and pane (or bread).”
These aren’t your typical dietary villains. Honestly, most of us grew up thinking carbs from bread and pasta were perfectly acceptable, maybe even essential. The real twist? Almost nobody in Italy eats the Mediterranean diet anymore, and daily meals consist of cured meats, layers of lasagna, and fried vegetables, which Dr. Longo considers to be “horrendous and a source of disease.” Here’s what the science actually tells us about these five culprits.
Pizza: Convenience at a Cost to Your Healthspan
Pizza is often made with lots of cheese and processed toppings, which are tasty but not so great for your health if eaten too often. The issue isn’t just the refined flour in the crust or the saturated fat from excessive cheese. Observational analyses in youth show that eating pizza adds substantial calories, sodium, and saturated fat, which can raise daily energy intake beyond necessity.
Think about the typical slice loaded with processed meats like pepperoni or sausage. Research from 2024 demonstrates a sobering reality about ultra-processed foods, which pizza often represents. Eating too much ultra-processed food could speed up the biological ageing process, with studies finding this association is partly independent of diet quality, suggesting that food processing may contribute to biological ageing acceleration. Higher ultra-processed food consumption has been linked to increased risks of mortality and chronic diseases.
Pasta: Not the Mediterranean Staple You Think It Is
The data on pasta is surprisingly nuanced. Some studies have found no clear association between pasta consumption and overweight or even an inverse association with BMI and adiposity. Still, the devil is in the details here.
Longo’s concern isn’t about occasional pasta consumption within a balanced diet. It’s about daily overreliance on refined carbohydrates at the expense of nutrient-dense whole foods. Modern pasta dishes often come drenched in cream sauces or paired with processed meats, transforming what could be a reasonable meal into something far less beneficial. The problem compounds when these foods displace vegetables, legumes, and other foods that support longer healthspan.
Protein: When More Isn’t Necessarily Better
This one surprises people. We’ve been told for decades that protein is king, especially for muscle maintenance and metabolic health. Yet Longo’s warning focuses specifically on excessive animal protein, particularly red meat. Some researchers have found a statistically significant increase in mortality risk associated with moderate consumption of red meat compared to no red meat.
Processed meat was the type of food most strongly associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, with sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages, dairy-based desserts, and ultra-processed breakfast foods also showing associations with higher all-cause mortality. Highly processed meat and soft drinks were a couple of the subgroups of ultraprocessed food most strongly associated with mortality risk. The key takeaway isn’t eliminating protein entirely but choosing plant-based sources like legumes, nuts, and moderate amounts of fish instead of relying on red and processed meats.
Potatoes: The Starchy Trap We Rarely Question
Potatoes present a complex nutritional picture. They’re whole foods in their natural state, rich in potassium and vitamin C. The problem emerges with preparation methods and portion sizes that dominate Western diets. When fried, mashed with butter and cream, or served in supersized portions alongside other refined carbs, potatoes contribute to blood sugar spikes and excess caloric intake.
Prolonged sitting can have unintended consequences for health; sitting time greater than seven hours per day is linked to higher all-cause mortality risk, even when considering physical activity levels. Combine that sedentary lifestyle with frequent potato consumption in processed forms like fries or chips, and you’ve got a recipe for metabolic trouble. Let’s be real: most people aren’t eating plain baked potatoes as their primary starch. They’re consuming them as French fries or loaded with sour cream, which fundamentally changes their health impact.
Pane (Bread): The Refined Carbohydrate Culprit
Modern bread bears little resemblance to the whole-grain loaves consumed in traditional Mediterranean regions. Longo is a proponent of the original Mediterranean diet, which consists of plant-based foods and nuts. Industrial bread production strips away fiber and nutrients, leaving behind rapidly digested starches that spike blood sugar levels.
People who consumed significant amounts of ultra-processed food had higher risks of death – especially from heart disease and diabetes – during a study’s two-decade follow-up period than those who did not. White bread and other refined grain products often fall into this ultra-processed category. High consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a significant acceleration in biological aging, which may lead to chronic diseases and decreased lifespan.
Beyond the five poisonous Ps, lifestyle factors matter enormously. Smoking, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and living conditions were the factors that had the most influence on mortality and biological aging. Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for noncommunicable diseases mortality, with people who are insufficiently active having a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active. Environmental exposures also play a role. Particulate pollution is set to reduce global average life expectancy by 1.9 years, while smoking reduces global life expectancy by about 1.7 years and child and maternal malnutrition reduces life expectancy by about 1.4 years.
So what should you eat instead? The original Mediterranean diet consists of plant-based foods, healthy fats like olive oil, and moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and poultry, with very limited red meat, while whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and nuts are staples in the diet. It’s not about perfection or completely eliminating these foods overnight. Small, sustainable changes add up over time, and your body will thank you with better health markers, more energy, and potentially years added to your life. Are you ready to rethink what’s on your plate?
