Your 100th birthday might seem like a distant dream, but what if the foods sitting on your dinner plate tonight are secretly sabotaging that goal? 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 by studying his home country of Italy in a major interview with The New York Times in March 2024. The concept he revealed is both shocking and surprisingly simple. Italy’s youth are facing obesity because of what Longo calls the “poisonous five P’s – pizza, pasta, protein, potatoes, and pane (or bread).” These everyday staples could be what stands between you and those extra healthy decades.
Let’s be real, this isn’t exactly what most of us want to hear. Still, the science behind these warnings is compelling enough that it demands our attention.
Pizza
Pizza often combines refined flour, processed meats, and excess cheese, delivering high levels of saturated fat, salt, and empty calories. Think about your average slice loaded with pepperoni and extra mozzarella. It’s delicious, sure, but your body pays a hefty price for that momentary pleasure. The refined white flour crust causes rapid blood sugar spikes, while the processed toppings contribute to inflammation and cardiovascular stress.
Eating higher levels of ultraprocessed food may be associated with a 10% increased risk of premature death, according to a study of over 500,000 people. Pizza sits squarely in that ultraprocessed category when you’re ordering from chain restaurants or grabbing frozen varieties. The good news? You don’t have to eliminate pizza entirely from your life, but maybe think twice before making it a weekly ritual.
Pasta
Here’s where things get controversial, especially for anyone who grew up believing pasta was the ultimate comfort food. Pasta, particularly refined varieties, can cause blood sugar spikes and leave you feeling sluggish, though wholegrain versions in modest portions are a better option for long-term health, offering fiber and slower-digesting carbs. White pasta behaves similarly to pure sugar in your bloodstream, triggering insulin responses that can accelerate aging processes at the cellular level.
White pasta is considered a highly refined carb that has been heavily processed to remove almost everything besides the starch, and these foods very quickly are metabolized to sugar, which can drive up inflammation, according to research published in 2021 indicating that high-carb diets were more likely to predict inflammation than high-fat ones in pre-menopause women with overweight or obesity. The solution isn’t necessarily giving up pasta forever. Switching to whole grain alternatives and watching portion sizes can make a meaningful difference.
Protein (Excessive Amounts)
Protein is vital for building and repairing tissues, but overconsumption can accelerate ageing pathways. This one catches people off guard because we’ve been bombarded with messages about protein being essential for health, muscle building, and weight loss. The problem isn’t protein itself but the excessive amounts many people consume, particularly from animal sources like red and processed meats.
In two large prospective cohorts of U.S. men and women, higher intake of red meat was associated with significantly elevated risk of total, CVD and cancer mortality, observed for both unprocessed and processed red meat, with a relatively greater risk for processed red meat, while substitution of fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains for red meat was associated with significantly lower risk of mortality. A meta-analysis found that eating one serving of processed red meat per day raises the risk of all-cause mortality by about 15%, with the same study showing a similar increase in cardiovascular mortality. It’s hard to say for sure, but the evidence pointing toward moderation rather than excess is pretty compelling.
Potatoes
Potatoes get a bad rap partly because of how we typically prepare them. French fries, hash browns, loaded baked potatoes smothered in butter and sour cream – these preparations transform a relatively innocent vegetable into something that contributes to chronic disease. These items are thought to contribute to a range of chronic diseases and accelerate aging, with pizza and pasta often high in refined carbohydrates, which have been stripped of nutritional value.
The issue with potatoes centers on their high glycemic index, meaning they cause rapid increases in blood sugar levels. When consumed frequently, especially in fried or heavily processed forms, they promote insulin resistance and inflammation. Sweet potatoes offer a better alternative with more fiber and nutrients, though even these should be consumed in reasonable amounts rather than making them a daily staple.
Pane (Bread)
Bread, particularly the refined white varieties that dominate supermarket shelves, rounds out Longo’s list of poisonous Ps. These items contribute to a range of chronic diseases and accelerate aging. The modern bread-making process strips away most nutrients and fiber, leaving behind rapidly digestible starches that spike blood sugar just like refined pasta.
Eating too much ultra-processed food could speed up the biological aging process, according to research showing an association between ultra-processed food consumption and accelerated biological aging. Most commercial breads fall into that ultra-processed category. Honestly, switching to genuine whole grain sourdough or other minimally processed bread options makes a tangible difference, though portion control remains crucial.
What You Should 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 also staples in the diet. This isn’t about deprivation or following some impossible restrictive plan. For 40-year-olds, estimated life expectancy gains ranged from 6.2 years for Chinese females to 9.7 years for United States males following sustained changes from typical country-specific dietary patterns to longevity-optimized dietary changes, and these changes included more whole grains, legumes, and nuts and less red and processed meats and sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Researchers examined sugar intake separately and found that consuming foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated biological aging, even in the presence of an otherwise healthy diet, with women in the study reporting consuming an average of 61.5 grams of added sugar per day, and high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor. For each additional gram of sugar people ate a day, there was an increase of 7 days in their GrimAGE2 score, while participants who adhered to a Mediterranean diet, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index and a researchers’ nutrient index had lower GrimAGE2 scores.
The evidence is remarkably consistent. Whole foods that haven’t been stripped of their nutrients, plenty of vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, and occasional fish create the foundation for longevity. Among all food groups studied, nuts and whole grains demonstrated the most robust association with reduced all-cause mortality, with higher intake consistently linked to greater longevity, as these foods are rich sources of many essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers, antioxidants, bioactive compounds, and healthy fats, which are crucial for reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, improving metabolism and endothelial functions, and preventing chronic diseases.
Making these swaps doesn’t require perfection. Even modest reductions in the poisonous Ps while increasing nutrient-dense alternatives can shift your trajectory toward a longer, healthier life. The beauty of this approach is its flexibility – you’re not signing up for an all-or-nothing diet but rather making informed choices that accumulate benefits over time. What’s on your plate tonight might seem insignificant, but your 90-year-old self will thank you for the changes you make today. Are you ready to reconsider those five Ps?
