Few people have done more to shape modern thinking around nutrition and wellness than Dr. Jeffrey Bland. Widely known as the "Father of Functional Medicine," Bland has spent decades studying the connections between food, immunity, and aging, and addresses it all in his forthcoming book, The Nourished Gene: Reprogram Your Immunity, Reverse Chronic Symptoms, and Activate Your Longevity Genes (HarperCollins, 2027). We spoke with Dr. Bland about what’s key when it comes to eating for energy, resilience, and living a long, long time.
Q: We all want to live a long, healthy life. What’s non-negotiable?
A: First, you have to decide that health is something you truly value. A lot of people say they want to be healthy, but health requires work. Before you ask what to eat, ask yourself: Do I deserve to be healthy? Am I willing to make changes? Once you've answered yes, then we can talk about food.
Q: There are so many diets out there. Is there one approach that stands out?
A: Historically, the diets associated with long, healthy lives look a lot more like Mediterranean and Asian dietary patterns than the diets that come and go as trends. If you hybridize those two approaches, you come out with a really good mixture of foods that provide the best information for your genes.
Q. You often say that food is information. What does that mean?
A: The colors in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and nuts come from compounds that do much more than provide nutrition. I call them "dark matter nutrients." They act as messenger molecules that communicate with our genes and help influence how our bodies function, repair, and age. That's why food is more than just calories, it's information. Many of these compounds belong to a family called polyphenols, which are found in foods like blueberries, tomatoes, green tea, and Tartary buckwheat. In fact, Tartary buckwheat is a food we've been studying because it's exceptionally rich in polyphenols that appear to support immune health.
Q: How do we make sure we’re getting enough “dark matter nutrients”?
A: I'd start the morning with a seed- or grain-based breakfast, vegetables, and fruit. Think carrots, tomatoes, blueberries, and green tea. Coffee contains polyphenols, too. Then continue to include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and nuts throughout the day. If you do that consistently, you'll likely get above 1,000 milligrams of polyphenols daily, which is where we start seeing benefits in clinical studies.
Q: Does meat fit into a longevity-focused diet?
A: It can. Research shows that animals raised on pasture consume polyphenol-rich plants, and some of those compounds show up in the meat. Meat from pasture-raised animals is very different from meat from animals raised in feedlots.
Q: Energy: we all want more of it. What are we missing?
A: What people don't understand is that the immune system does much more than defend against infection. It's rebuilding our bodies every moment. If your immune system is run down, you're sluggish, tired, your muscles are sore, you're not thinking as clearly, and you're not sleeping as well. Rejuvenating the immune system is associated with the foods we've been talking about. It's a completely different way of thinking about energy.
Q: Is inflammation often a food issue?
A: About 70 percent of your immune system is clustered around the gut. Every time you eat, you're sending a signal to that gut immune system, which then signals to the rest of the body. If the body thinks hostile substances are coming in, it responds defensively. That's inflammation. When we're eating foods that the body often perceives as hostile, it's working hard to protect us.
Q: Are we too focused on finding the perfect foods?
A: Everyone wants the magic food, the superfood. My answer is conscious eating. Once people understand that food is speaking directly to their genes, they begin making different choices. When that shift happens, people tend to find the right foods for themselves.