Aging: Diet rich in fruit and vegetables may help slow down process

Evan Walker
Evan Walker TheMediTary.Com |
A person on rollerskates outside on a summer day's, while eating an ice cream and fixing their hair. Share on Pinterest
Scientists have found a link between diet quality and biological aging. Ana Luz Crespi/Stocksy
  • A group of scientists recently investigated links between diet quality and biological aging.
  • To gauge biological age, they used cutting-edge “epigenetic clocks.”
  • They found that poorer diets, which include high amounts of fast food and processed meat but low amounts of fruit and vegetables, may contribute to accelerated biological aging, even in young adults.

The results of a new study involving 826 young adults suggest that diets high in fast food, processed red meat, and soda but low in fruits and vegetables may be linked to faster biological aging.

On the other hand, diets that include abundant fruits and vegetables and little processed red meat and sodas may be associated with slower biological aging, according to the study’s findings.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Overall, the authors explain their findings like this: “In general, diets emphasizing higher consumption of fruits and vegetables and lower intakes of meat, fast food, and sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with slower biological aging.”

On the other hand, “diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in meat, fast food, and sugar-sweetened beverages were linked to faster biological aging.”

Although the effects of these diets on health do not seem out of the ordinary, it seems surprising that increased biological aging was already measurable in people in their early 20s.

Medical News Today contacted one of the study’s authors, Suvi Ravi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. We asked whether she felt the same way.

“Actually, I was not surprised,” she told us. “The findings are consistent with studies conducted in middle-aged and older populations, as well as with the few studies that have been carried out in younger individuals.”

“There was no reason to expect that our cohort would differ from these earlier observations despite their young age,” Ravi explained.

In additional analyses, the scientists added more variables, including body mass index (BMI), total energy intake, level of physical activity, alcohol intake, and smoking.

Once these factors were in place, the relationship between dietary patterns and biological aging was less clear. This hints that regular exercise, for instance, might partially compensate for a poorer diet.

MNT contacted Benjamin Reiner, PhD, a research assistant professor in the Translational Neuroscience Section of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Among other topics, he researches the genetics of feeding and obesity.

He told us that these results build on previous studies showing that “alterations in diet can alter epigenetic modifications of the genome, and subsequently alter gene expression.”

“The correlation between poor diet quality and advanced epigenetic aging agrees with the current understanding of the importance of dietary choices and these choices can have enduring effects.”
— Benjamin Reiner, PhD

“Yes, I do believe so,” Ravi told us when we posed the question above, “and there is also evidence to support my thoughts. Some interventional studies have shown that diet modification can slow down epigenetic aging, at least in older individuals.”

MNT also asked Reiner whether adopting a Healthier diet could slow biological aging. He believes this is “an important area of research” now that GLP-1 receptor weight loss drugs are becoming increasingly popular.

He explained that recent research in mice and human cells suggests that obesity may cause epigenetic changes in fat cells that remain even after weight loss and continue to influence metabolic processes.

“This suggests that obesity induces an ‘epigenetic memory’ and future research into the alteration of these persistent epigenetic changes will be important for developing next-generation obesity treatments,” he told us.

TAGGED: ,
Share this Article