A nutrient-rich diet low in added sugars may slow biological aging in women, according to a new study.
The new study, published in the journal Neurology on Monday (July 29), JAMA Network OpenScientists have found that middle-aged women who consumed more foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants had “younger-looking” cells than women who consumed a less nutritious diet.
They determined the youngness of cells by looking at chemical tags called methyl groups on the cell surface. DNA These tags fine-tune the activity of specific genes without changing the underlying DNA code. This process Epigenetic modificationsThe pattern of these methyl groups changes with age, Accelerated cellular aging.
A nutritious diet has been shown to slow the aging process, but added sugars appear to counter this effect.
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In the study, researchers found that women who ate more added sugars showed signs of faster cellular aging than other women, even if they ate a healthy diet. “Added sugars” refers to sugars that are added to foods. In productionUnlike the naturally occurring sugars found in milk, fruits and vegetables, sugars found in sugar-sweetened drinks and baked goods are rarely found in foods.
The new study is one of the first to demonstrate a link between added sugar intake and so-called epigenetic aging, the authors said. It is also the first to examine this association in both black and white women in midlife, they noted. The average age of the participants was 39 years old.
“If there’s a lot of added sugar, Poor metabolic health “This may contribute to earlier disease, perhaps more than any other dietary factor,” said a co-author of the study. Elisa EpelProfessor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, statement.
“We now know that accelerated epigenetic aging underlies this association, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy lifespan,” she said.
Epel and her colleagues analyzed food logs kept by 342 women over a three-day period. The team then gave each woman a score based on how closely her diet followed a variety of established diets. This included: Mediterranean dietis high in plants, whole grains, and unsaturated fats, and low in red meat, saturated fats, and sugars. Similar mealsIt is called Alternative Healthy Eating Indexplaces special emphasis on foods and nutrients believed to reduce the risk of chronic disease.
The researchers also devised a new measure of nutritional intake, called the “epigenetic nutrition index,” which includes nutrients related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory processes in the body, as well as DNA maintenance and repair. Folic acid It also contains magnesium.
In addition to scoring the participants’ diets, the researchers also assessed the amount of added sugars the women consumed, ranging from 0.1 to 11 ounces (2.7 to 316 grams) per day. They calculated the participants’ epigenetic ages by examining DNA methylation in cells in their saliva samples.
Although these data revealed a link between diet and cellular aging, they only captured a snapshot.
The findings support the idea that eating nutritious foods with less added sugar may increase healthspan – the period of healthiness in life – rather than just survival.
However, further studies are needed to assess how these diets affect epigenetic aging in the long term, the authors write.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
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