When it comes to longevity, it's the overall eating pattern, rather than one food or food group, that's key. A Mediterranean diet remains one of the gold standards for living longer and more healthfully. This pattern is characterized by a high intake of fruits and vegetables; whole grains; pulses; healthful fats from nuts, olive oil, and avocado; and herbs and spices. It includes seafood a few times a week. The Mediterranean diet also includes moderate consumption of dairy, eggs, and wine and limits the intake of meat and sweets.

One measure of longevity often cited in the research at the cellular level is telomere length. In a nutshell, telomeres are caps found at the ends of chromosomes that protect DNA. When they become too short, a cell becomes old or dysfunctional. This is why shorter telomeres are associated with a lower life expectancy and an increased risk of developing chronic diseases.

Research published in 2017 in the journal Oncotarget suggests that greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is linked to longevity through maintaining longer telomere length. The same study showed that for each one-point increment in the Mediterranean diet score (which measures adherence to the diet), the risk of death from any cause drops by 4 to 7%.

To Mediterranean-ize your meals, replace butter with nut butter or avocado on toast and trade it for extra virgin olive oil to sauté vegetables. Snack on fresh fruit with nuts, olives, or roasted chickpeas, and keep meals simple. A balanced Med-diet dinner may consist of fish served over a bed of greens tossed in extra virgin olive oil with a side of roasted potatoes or quinoa and a glass of pinot noir.

Sources - https://www.health.com/nutrition/longevity-diet

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https://nutrition.org/living-mediterranean-lifestyle/