Our Longevity Diet

In the past few months two things have captured my attention, each of which is just ‘too good to be true’ — according to the old cliché. One will help me lose weight, improve my health, and live longer. The other will save the world.

Of course, the first is intermittent fasting. Years ago, I read the studies about caloric restriction, and thought wouldn’t that be great. But reducing my caloric intake by 40% was not my idea of living. I want to live as long as possible, but only if I can enjoy that long life. Then along came the study results for intermittent fasting which said, in effect — yes, you can eat normally and still have all the benefits of caloric restriction and more, just by adjusting when you eat. That, to me, seemed worth a try. And when I tried it out and found out how easy it is — and found I lost weight — and found I felt better, well, needless to say I’m hooked.

The other revelation, which goes way beyond personal interest (though there is some of that too) and sparks visions of really helping all of mankind cope with the coming disruption of global warming — is something called biochar, inspired by terra preta de los indios, a ‘new’ discovery just 2500 years old!

The terra preta are black soils in the Amazon basin where crops grow with amazing fecundity, while adjoining soils of similar composition are nearly sterile. Scientists have investigated this amazing dirt, and found that one thing distinguishes it from nearby soils that have all their nutriments leached-out by the torrential rains of that tropical climate: the terra preta soils are rich in minute particles of charcoal — dust sized particles (under 50 micrometers) that exert tremendous effects on the fertility of the land.

Now, charcoal is fairly inert in soil — it doesn’t break down much. I know, because I used to be an archaeologist, and I’ve dug up charcoal thousands of years old. But apparently charcoal has other properties, especially when ground up very fine, that make it highly beneficial to the soil. It helps retain water, improves the soil texture, harbors beneficial bacteria, and helps make existing minerals in the soil available for plant use through a chemical reaction that creates cations, a type of ion.

In essence, adding substantial amounts of powdered charcoal to soil has been shown to increase plant production by 50% to 200%. The enriched soil needs less water and less fertilizer, because biochar reduces the loss of fertilizer through run-off (helping to reduce pollution to adjacent lakes and streams). So we can feed more people using less precious water and less fertilizer, while enriching the soil and reducing pollution. Didn’t I say it sounded too good to be true?

And as if that were not enough, we come to the ’saving the world’ part. The world is heating up faster than it has in the past 200,000 years — because mankind is pumping too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. One of the major greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide. Growing plants take carbon dioxide out of the air, but when they rot or are burned, that carbon goes back into the atmosphere. Turning plants into charcoal and burying (rather than burning) that charcoal — as in biochar — takes about half of the carbon absorbed by the living plant and keeps it out of the atmosphere — for thousands of years.

Large scale biochar production could offset the carbon dioxide our industrial processes and burning of fossil fuels pumps into the air. And there is still more. Biochar is a byproduct of the production of biofuels through pyrolysis of organic material. Unlike other biofuel technologies, this does not require high-sugar plant materials, like corn, but will work with almost anything, including the old corn stalks after the corn has been harvested. The plant material is heated in the absence of oxygen, and volatile chemicals are driven off and captured, making a fuel. The left-over carbonized plant matter is biochar. So this amazingly useful material can be produced at a profit, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

So, to bring this amazing tale back to our subject matter — intermittent fasting — you need to eat healthy foods if you expect to extend your lifespan and improve your health. And the best way to know you are getting good healthy vegetables, is to grow them yourself — even if you have to grow them in pots on the patio. And the best way to do that is to add some biochar to your potting soil or garden soil. If your local nursery doesn’t sell biochar yet, demand they start! Spreading the word on this amazing discovery is needed for it to become widespread enough to have any global effect.

I’m working on a website on the subject of biochar, where I’ll also tell you how to make your own, if you are the do-it-yourself type. I’ll post a link in the sidebar of this site when that is up and running.