How to Cook for Longevity with Dr. Michelle Davenport

There’s a powerful lever for long-term health that is often overlooked: how you cook your food. Nutrition Scientist and Registered Dietitian Dr. Michelle Davenport makes the case that your cooking methods may directly influence how well, and how long, you live.

Her focus: water-based cooking and its surprising link to healthspan.

Cooking and Aging — What’s the Connection?

When food is prepared using high-temperature, dry methods — like grilling, frying, or roasting — it creates compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These compounds have been linked to oxidative stress, inflammation, and the kinds of tissue damage that contribute to cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and accelerated aging.

Water-based cooking methods — such as steaming, poaching, and simmering — significantly reduce the formation of AGEs. These approaches also tend to preserve nutrients and support better metabolic function. In effect, cooking with water helps mitigate one of the most unrecognized drivers of aging from the inside out.

Why It Matters

AGEs are a hidden part of the modern diet, and are especially prevalent in ultra-processed foods and restaurant meals. While fitness can reduce risk factors for disease, it doesn’t eliminate the internal effects of chronic exposure to AGEs. For many otherwise healthy individuals, this can be a blind spot. The good news: awareness and consistency can shift the trajectory. Integrating water-based cooking into your daily routine creates a foundation for resilience — supporting heart health, cognitive function, and cellular longevity over time.

Simple and Sustainable Shifts

This isn’t about restriction — it’s about using intention to fuel better outcomes. Try integrating these practices into your routine to get started: 

• Choose steaming, poaching, and simmering over high-heat dry cooking
• Marinate proteins in vinegar, lemon juice, or soy sauce before grilling to reduce AGE formation
• Incorporate broth-based meals and soups throughout the week
• Keep flash-frozen vegetables on hand for a quick, low-AGE option

Treat Cooking as an Act of Care

Dr. Davenport also highlights a larger opportunity behind these choices: restoring the lost connection to food culture. In many of the longest-living communities, meals are home-cooked, shared, and steeped in tradition. These cultural practices naturally align with healthier cooking methods and more balanced lifestyles.

By becoming more intentional with how we prepare and share food, we not only reduce biological wear and tear —we also strengthen emotional and social well-being.

The Bottom Line

• Longevity is influenced not just by what we eat, but how we cook it
• Water-based cooking can reduce harmful compounds and support cellular health
• Daily habits around food prep matter, especially when it comes to aging, energy, and performance
• Reconnecting with food culture adds meaning, structure, and joy to healthy routines

Want to go deeper on how cooking impacts health and performance? Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Michelle Davenport and WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance & Principal Scientist Dr. Kristen Holmes or watch the episode now.