Longevity Diet:Diet for a long life: Planetary health diet which can support longevity beyond 100 | – The Times of India
Until now, Mediterranean diet was considered to be the healthiest one. Recently, the limelight has shifted to planetary health diet. The term “Planetary Health Diet” was introduced by the EAT-Lancet Commission in their 2019 report titled “Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.” This commission, comprising 37 experts from 16 countries, was a collaboration between the non-profit organization EAT and the medical journal The Lancet. The concept emphasizes a dietary pattern beneficial for both human health and environmental sustainability, advocating for increased consumption of plant-based foods and reduced intake of animal-based products.
“It is estimated that a widespread shift to this diet form would reduce global dietary emissions by 17% and potentially prevent approximately 11 million deaths a year,” the LANCET study has said. “Climate change has our planet on track for ecological disaster—use of fossil fuels is the largest contributor, and our food system plays a major role,” said Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, played a lead role in the study.
What will your food plate look like if you follow planetary health diet?
The proposed reference diet—known as the planetary health diet (PHD)—emphasises a shift towards a more plant-based diet, comprised mostly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, plant protein (ie, beans, lentils, and pulses), unsaturated plant oils, modest amounts of dairy, and small quantities of meat and fish, the LANCET study says.
How is the planetary health diet superior to other diet forms?
According to a study by Harvard Chan School researchers, people who follow this Planetary Health Diet (PHD) have a lower risk of every major cause of death, including cancer, heart disease, and lung disease. The findings of the study has been published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The researchers used health data from more than 200,000 individuals. Participants were free of major chronic diseases at the start of the study and completed dietary questionnaires every four years for up to 34 years. “The study found that the risk of premature death was 30% lower in the top 10% of participants most closely adhering to PHD compared to those in the lowest 10%. Every major cause of death, including cancer, heart disease, and lung disease, was lower with greater adherence to this dietary pattern,” an official statement from Harvard Chan School says.
Does it support longevity?
A study published in April 2025 has shed light on the benefits of this diet form. A cohort study was conducted in Spain to compare the health and environmental benefits of the diet. The planetary health diet involved energy intake of around 2,500 kcal/day and focused primarily on high consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and unsaturated oils; moderate intake of dairy, starchy vegetables, poultry and fish; and low consumption of saturated fats, red meat and added sugars.
The researchers found that following this diet form was associated with lower all-cause mortality. Comparing the similarity between Mediterranean diet and planetary health diet, study author Dr. Mercedes Sotos Prieto of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain said, “higher adherence to both diets was similarly associated with lower all-cause mortality and with comparable low environmental impact, highlighting the substantial health and planetary advantages of adopting one of these plant-based diets.”
Now, let’s discuss the shortfalls of this diet
The LANCET report discusses the antinutritional factors of the planetary health diet. “Appropriate absorption of micronutrients is particularly important in terms of the physiological requirement for iron in women of reproductive age. The bioavailability of certain nutrients in plant-based foods—such as iron, zinc, and calcium—can be lower than in animal source food due to their forms (eg, haeme or non-haeme iron) and antinutrient content (eg, phytates, oxalic acid, and polyphenols),” the report says.
Without careful planning, the diet could lead to deficiencies in nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, or omega-3 fatty acids, typically found in animal products.
The diet leans heavily toward plant-based eating and significantly reduces animal products, which may not align with the traditional eating patterns or cultural preferences of many communities around the world. For populations that rely on animal products for nutrition due to climate, geography, or tradition, this can feel exclusionary.
