Bas Kast

At a glance

• Bas Kast is a German-Dutch science journalist and author. He studied psychology and biology at the University of Konstanz and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• He worked as a freelancer for publications including Die Zeit and later as an editor and reporter at the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel.
• After chest pain while jogging, around the age of forty, he spent years immersed in the scientific literature on diet and health.
• The result was Der Ernährungskompass (2018), published in English as The Diet Compass: an international bestseller that sums up nutrition research in practical rules of thumb.
• His advice resembles a Mediterranean pattern: plenty of vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, fish and yoghurt, little sugar and highly processed food, and no excess protein in midlife. He has also written books on psychology and decision-making.
• For longevity, he matters because he translates complex studies clearly and without dogma for a wide audience.
• Takeaway: use his rules as a compass, not a strict diet: choose mostly whole, plant-based foods and enjoy your meals.