Home › Eating

Eating

What should I eat after 50?

Our experts disagree on the details, but agree more than you might think on the basics.

What the experts agree on

  • Base meals on whole foods: vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fruit, and good-quality protein.
  • Eat enough protein, spread across your meals, to protect muscle.
  • Cut down on ultra-processed foods and added sugar.
  • Aim for plenty of fibre, at least 25–30 g a day, and a wide variety of plants.

Where they disagree

  • Protein: from about 0.8 g per kg (Longo, under 65) to about 2.2 g per kg (Lyon).
  • Fasting: Longo uses periodic fasting-mimicking cycles; Attia has moved away from long fasts.
  • Plants only or not: Greger eats only plants; Lyon favours animal protein for muscle.

General education, not medical advice. Our plans adapt this to your age, time and health screen.

The specialists

EatingTim SpectorGut microbiome and plant diversity30 plants a weekEatingChris van TullekenUltra-processed food and healthUltra-Processed People (2023)EatingMichael GregerWhole-food plant-based eatingThe Daily DozenEatingValter LongoFasting-mimicking diet and longevity eatingThe fasting-mimicking diet (five days, a few times a year)EatingJessie InchauspéSimple habits to flatten blood-sugar spikesThe 10 glucose hacksLifestyleDan BuettnerLifestyle habits of long-lived communitiesThe Power 9Healthy ageingEric TopolEvidence-based prevention of age-related diseaseThe Wellderly study

What the core experts do

Peter Attia

  • Protein at least 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day. About 2.2 g/kg is the better target for active people with healthy kidneysSome evidence
  • Spread protein across about four meals of roughly 40–50 gPersonal habit

Andrew Huberman

  • Has described eating his first meal around 11 am–noon (2021)Personal habit
  • Protein and fats at lunch. Carbohydrates mainly on training days and at dinnerPersonal habit

Andy Galpin

  • Total daily protein matters more than exact timing around workoutsSome evidence
  • Daily fluid baseline of about 30 ml per kg of body weightPersonal habit

Gabrielle Lyon

  • About 2.2 g per kg of ideal body weight a day (she also gives 1.2–1.6 g per kg, sometimes up to 1.8 g per kg)Some evidence
  • 30–50 g of high-quality protein at the first meal, and a similar large dose at the last mealSome evidence

Rhonda Patrick

  • Protein about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day to support resistance trainingStrong evidence
  • Whole-food meals built on vegetables, berries and a protein source (eggs, fish, poultry, red meat)Personal habit

Layne Norton

  • Track calories and protein; food labels can be ~20% off, but consistent tracking still shows your true intake over timeSome evidence
  • Weigh yourself each morning and compare weekly averages, not single daysSome evidence

Stacy Sims

  • Do not train fasted: about 15 g protein before lifting, plus about 30 g carbohydrate before cardio of up to an hourSome evidence
  • After training: 40–60 g protein (perimenopause on) within about 45 minutes, and carbohydrate within 2 hoursSome evidence

Mary Claire Haver

  • Protein about 1.5 g per kg of healthy body weight a day, with about 1.8 g/kg as a stretch goalSome evidence
  • Fibre at least 25 g a day, building slowly towards 30–45 gStrong evidence

Rangan Chatterjee

  • Eat within a 12-hour window (for example 8am to 8pm), leaving about 12 hours a day without foodSome evidence
  • Five portions of different vegetables every dayStrong evidence

Kelly & Juliet Starrett

  • About 800 g of fruit and vegetables a day (roughly six cups)Strong evidence
  • Protein about 1.5–2.2 g per kg of body weight; some later talks cite 1.8 g per kgSome evidence

Bryan Johnson

  • About 2,250 kcal a day, which he describes as roughly 10% below his energy needsSome evidence
  • About 130 g protein a day, much of it from plant foods, protein powders and collagenPersonal habit

Gary Brecka

  • About 30 g of protein within 30 minutes of wakingSome evidence
  • Avoid processed foods; eat whole foodsStrong evidence

Mark Hyman

  • Pegan diet: about 75% of the plate from plants, mostly non-starchy vegetablesStrong evidence
  • Cut sugar, refined flour and ultra-processed foodsStrong evidence

Vonda Wright

  • At least 30 g of protein at every meal, spread through the day: about half a gram per pound of body weight (about 1.1 g per kg).Some evidence
  • About 30 g of fibre a day, a little healthy fat, and an anti-inflammatory way of eating.Some evidence

Brad Stanfield

  • Protein about 1.2 g per kg of ideal body weight a day (check with your doctor if you have kidney disease).Some evidence
  • Favour plant protein over red meat and dairy.Some evidence

Mike Israetel

  • If you want to gain muscle, only gain weight when you are lean: about 0.25 kg a week for 4–8 weeks, then a fat-loss phase.Personal habit
  • Stay under about 20% body fat while gaining, come back to about 15% afterwards, and get blood tests after gaining phases.Personal habit

Jason Fung

  • Cut added sugar and refined grains; eat whole foods with natural fats.Some evidence
  • Stop snacking: three meals a day, then skip one meal a day.Personal habit

Build this into your plan

Choose “Build my mix” and pick the expert you trust most for eating. Your plan fits it into your week, alongside training, eating and sleep.

Build my mixBrowse all experts