HoldsUp

Valter Longo

University of Southern California

Valter Longo is the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and the Oncology and Longevity Program at the Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation in Milan, Italy. His research focuses on the biological mechanisms governing the aging process and the roles of diet, caloric restriction, and fasting in human healthspan. His publications explore the therapeutic and metabolic impacts of fasting-mimicking diets across various conditions, including cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic diseases.

27 claims checked on air: 2 context 1 contradicted 21 supported 3 unverified 1 flagged

What they said on air - unverified

12 citing their own research

0:11:20unverifiedvery lowHow diet and lifestyle regulate longevity with Dr. Valter Lo

Approximately 50% of growth hormone receptor deficient mice reach the end of life without obvious pathological lesions, compared to less than 10% in control mice.

"and yet about half of the mice get to the end of life without any obvious pathological lesion, so they don't develop diseases. In the controls, this is less than 10%." (said at 0:11:20)

No published record matching the specific claim that approximately 50% of growth hormone receptor-deficient (GHRKO) mice reach the end of life without obvious pathological lesions compared to less than 10% in control mice was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:36:44unverifiedvery lowHow diet and lifestyle regulate longevity with Dr. Valter Lo

Over 25,000 people have completed the ProLon fasting-mimicking diet with very few severe side effects reported, and no evidence that the diet caused those severe side effects.

"there's over 25,000 people that have done the fasting-mimicking diet, the ProLon, the same diet that was tested clinically, with very, very few severe side effect reports, right? And even the ones that had severe side effects, you know, they fully recovered, and there was no evidence that it was the diet that that caused them" (said at 0:36:44)

No published record matching the post-market safety data or registry of over 25,000 individuals completing the ProLon fasting-mimicking diet was located; this does not prove the claim false. While published clinical trials have evaluated the fasting-mimicking diet in smaller human cohorts (typically dozens to hundreds of participants) and reported mostly mild-to-moderate adverse events such as fatigue, weakness, and headaches, the specific figure of over 25,000 users and their post-market adverse event reporting appears to derive from unpublished commercial customer data.

1:03:37unverifiedvery lowHow diet and lifestyle regulate longevity with Dr. Valter Lo

The biological process of autophagy originated evolutionarily in bacteria.

"I mean, of course starting with bacteria, but the process of autophagy started back then in bacteria." (said at 1:03:37)

No published record matching the claim that autophagy originated evolutionarily in bacteria was located; this does not prove the claim false.

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