Eating to live longer: It can be a page turner

Acai berries, green tea, soy, olive oil and sweet potatoes have all been hyped for their life-prolonging potential. Diets rich in vegetables, fruits and grains, and low on meat may help prevent chronic disease. But so far there's only one dietary approach shown to lengthen life span: eating less. Of course, a dearth of firm data hasn't stopped doctors, scientists and nutritional dilettantes from penning anti-aging diet books. Here are a few of them.

The Longevity Factor

How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life

Joseph Maroon

Atria, 2009

Dr. Maroon, professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and neurosurgeon to the Pittsburgh Steelers, says the key to living longer (or one such key) is resveratrol, a potent antioxidant in red wine.

Resveratrol is one of a class of compounds that Maroon refers to as xeno factors, chemicals that plants produce under stressful conditions, such as drought or harsh sun. In plants, xeno factors trigger survival genes that help fight infections and other hazards. Studies show that when lab animals consume plant xeno factors, the chemicals activate the animals' own survival genes and enable them to live up to 50% longer than animals on normal diets. Scientists studying this hypothesis speculate that xeno factors may activate genes that delay aging in any life form.

Maroon cites many studies supporting the life-extending capabilities of the xeno factor resveratrol: fish fed resveratrol live 60% longer; worms and flies 30% longer; mice, 25% longer. Other lab studies suggest how resveratrol may do this: In rats and mice the chemical appears to help regulate blood sugar, prevent platelets from aggregating in blood vessels, slow the growth of cancer cells, reduce brain damage and decrease the death rate following heart attack. In many ways, the chemical's effects mirror that of calorie restriction.

Maroon does not recommend that people ingest resveratrol any way they can to lengthen life span. Instead, he advises eating foods and drinks with high levels of xeno factors -- red wine, green tea, grape juice, dark chocolate and apples -- as part of a heavily plant-based diet, rich in whole grains, low in saturated fats.