Valter D. Longo (born 1967) is an Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist known for his studies on the role of fasting and nutrient response genes on cellular protection aging and diseases and for proposing that longevity is regulated by similar genes and mechanisms in many eukaryotes. He is currently a professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology with a joint appointment in the department of Biological Sciences as well as serving as the director of the USC Longevity Institute.
Early life and education
Longo was born in Genoa, Italy to Calabrian parents.[1] He moved to Chicago in the United States as a teenager in order to become a professional rockguitarist, and lived with extended relatives.[2] While there, he observed that his relatives in the United States, who were eating diets rich in fat, meat and sugar, were suffering from cardiovascular disease, which was rare among his family living in Italy.[2] He joined the United States Army Reserve as a way to pay for college, attending recruit training in Fort Knox.[2] He then attended the University of North Texas College of Music due to its renown as a jazz school, studying under Dan Haerle and Jack Petersen, among others.[2] While in college, Longo decided to change focus and study nutrition and longevity instead, inspired in part by his observations about his relatives, as well as his experience in military training.[2][3] He graduated from the University of North Texas in 1992 with a degree in biochemistry.
With regard to longevity, Longo's promotes a mostly plant-based diet that also includes fish.[8][9] In addition, he suggests implementing time-restricted eating, with daily eating windows of 11–12 hours.[10]
His research is focused on the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD). The FMD is a low-calorie, low-protein, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-fat plant-based diet program, that he argues mimics the effects of periodic fasting or water fasting. The course lasts five days, while still aiming to provide the body with nutrition,[11][12] and is considered a periodic fast.[13]
Longo "founded the L-Nutra technology company and developed the ProLon fasting-mimicking diet."[14]
Honors
Nathan Shock Lecture Award, National Institute on Aging, NIH, 2010[15]
Selected publications
Valter Longo bibliography at National Library of Medicine[16]
Longo, Valter (2 January 2018). The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight. New York: Avery. ISBN978-0-525-53407-5.[17]
Longo, Valter (15 September 2016). La dieta della longevità. Dallo scienziato che ha rivoluzionato la ricerca su staminali e invecchiamento, la DIETA MIMA-DIGIUNO per vivere sani fino a 110 anni (in Italian). Translated by De Tomasi, Laura. Milan: Antonio Vallardi Editore. ISBN978-88-6987-116-0.[18]
References
^Longo, Valter, during XII Premio Simpatia della Calabria, Reggio di C, 4 September 2018