The famous saying goes, “You are what you eat”. While this may seem like a throwaway remark it actually has a lot of truth to it.

What we eat plays an enormous role in our overall health and wellbeing. Certain foods can have health benefits, while others can increase your risk for dangerous conditions, such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

With this in mind, an expert spoke exclusively with Express.co.uk about the best type of diet you can have to stay healthy and live a longer life.

Registered associate nutritionist from Shine Retreats, Michelle McKenzie, shared her top tips for putting together the ultimate diet plan.

She also revealed three days’ worth of meals to consider adding to your roster for their unbelievable health benefits.

Her main points for longevity were:

• Eating a wide range of fresh food
• Eating diverse types of foods
• Limiting processed foods
• Including quality protein, healthy fats and fermented foods.

She explained: “Aim to eat a wide variety of fresh food with as much diversity as possible and limit processed foods.

“Include lots of plant fibre (prebiotics) and complex carbohydrates such as cauliflower, nuts, seeds, legumes, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, berries, onions, garlic, leeks, apples, chia/flax seeds and green leafy veg to your support microbiome health and contribute to your overall micronutrient and polyphenol intakes.

“Include quality protein (grass fed beef, fish, legumes, nuts, tofu, organic dairy, seeds, eggs) and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, eggs, butter, fish, nuts and seeds) and if possible incorporate some fermented foods such as kombucha, kefir, kimchi to support your ‘good’ bacteria.”

Her advice is backed by various scientific studies and health bodies.

According to Harvard Medical School, healthy fats are “necessary and beneficial” for your health.

It explains: “Rather than adopting a low-fat diet, it’s more important to focus on eating beneficial ‘good’ fats and avoiding harmful ‘bad’ fats.

“Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Choose foods with ‘good’ unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid ‘bad’ trans fat.”

Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.

The benefits of fermented foods have also become a popular topic in scientific research in recent years.

In 2019, a study from the Stanford School of Medicine found that a diet rich in fermented foods enhances the diversity of gut microbes and decreases molecular signs of inflammation.

Michelle continued: “A diverse diet includes lots of different types of foods to feed our microbiome and a more diverse microbiome contributes to better physical and mental health leading to a healthier outcome and longer life.”

While this may seem daunting, you can start with small changes.

She said: “Every time you go to the supermarket try to buy one or two new veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts or seeds that you wouldn’t normally buy and start to mix it up. Spices and herbs count as well.”

Michelle recommended the following three-day diet plan to incorporate everything mentioned above.

Breakfasts:

• Eggs, rocket, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms on sourdough toast
• Nut and seed porridge with berries and dollop of yoghurt
• Smoothie with kefir, berries, seeds, nuts and banana with an apple and almond butter on the side.

Lunch:

• Homemade chicken soup with garlic, leeks, carrots, kale and butterbeans
• Omelette with cheese, tomatoes, red pepper and onion with a side of leaves and dry roasted pumpkin seeds drizzled in olive oil
• Mezze plate – hummus, carrots, avocado, olives, rocket, cheese, tomatoes, sardines/falafel and a slice of sourdough.

Dinner:

• Salmon with sweet potato, broccoli and green beans
• Beef and bean stew (onions, carrots, garlic, herbs, beef, olive oil, pinto beans, broth)
• Veggie stir fry with tofu (garlic, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, olive oil, tamari sauce, chilli, cashew nuts).