New research links a healthy diet with limited added sugar to lower biological age

31 Jul 2024 --- A new study found that women following a diet rich in vitamins and minerals with low added sugar had a lower biological age. Moreover, even when people follow healthy diets, the researchers found that each gram of added sugar consumed was associated with a higher biological age.

The researchers at the University of California (UC) in San Francisco, US, examined the impact of different healthy diets on participants’ epigenetic clocks, a biochemical test that approximates health and lifespan. 

“Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 g of added sugar per day is akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months if sustained over time,” underscores co-senior author Dr. Barbara Laraia, a UC Berkeley professor in the Food, Nutrition and Population Health program. 

“Focusing on foods high in key nutrients and low in added sugars may be a new way to help motivate people to eat well for longevity.” 

According to the researchers, their study is one of the first to show a link between added sugar and epigenetic aging. It is also the first to find this link in a heterogenous group of women, Black and White, in midlife, whereas most earlier studies included older White participants. 

Healthy diets 
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzes the food records from 342 Black and White women who participated in the 1987–1997 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study, which examined heart health. All participating women had valid, completed diet and epigenetic assessments. 

The research team compared the women’s diets to a Mediterranean-style diet rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods and a diet linked to lower chronic disease risks. 

Sticking to a healthy diet, especially a Mediterranean diet, was significantly associated with a lower epigenetic age.The team also scored the diets against an Epigenetic Nutrient Index — a scoring system based on nutrients linked to antioxidant or anti-inflammatory processes and DNA maintenance and repair. These nutrients include vitamins A, C, B12 and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber and isoflavones. 

“The diets we examined align with existing recommendations for preventing disease and promoting health, and they highlight the potency of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients in particular,” says Dr. Dorothy Chiu, a postdoctoral scholar at the UC San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative Health and the study’s first author. 

“From a lifestyle medicine standpoint, it is empowering to see how heeding these recommendations may promote a younger cellular age relative to chronological age.”

Adherence to any of these diets was significantly associated with a lower epigenetic age, with researchers finding the most substantial link with the Mediterranean diet. 

Similarly, researchers have identified a specific nutrient profile to slow brain aging, with nutrients found in the Mediterranean diet. The profile combines fatty acids, antioxidants and carotenoids. 

Added sugar 
Additionally, the authors examined sugar intake, concluding that consumption of foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated biological aging, even in the presence of an otherwise healthy diet. 

Dr. Elissa Epel, a UC San Francisco professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and co-senior author of the study, notes that the research helps “deepen our understanding of why sugar is so detrimental to health.” 

“We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor,” she continues. “Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging is underlying this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity.” 

Women in the study consumed an average of 61.5 g of added sugar daily, while the US FDA recommends adults limit their intake to 50 g daily. 

In addition, the range of sugar consumption was extensive, varying from 2.7 g to 316 g of added sugar per day. 

High added or free sugar intake is linked to several health issues. For example, last year, scientists found that increasing daily free sugar consumption by 5% of energy intake increased the risk of total cardiovascular disease by 7%. 

By Jolanda van Hal