Mediterranean diet and low sugar intake linked to youthful cells

Researchers have found that a diet rich in beneficial nutrients and low in sugar is associated with a lower biological age at the cellular level. Even a gram of sugar makes a difference. Scientists also confirmed that the healthiest (and not just the tastiest) diet is the Mediterranean diet.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, invited over 300 middle-aged white and black women to participate in the study.

According to their declarations, they consumed an average of 62 grams of added sugar daily, although the range was large: from just 3 grams to 315 grams. The researchers remind us that a bar of milk chocolate contains about 25 grams of added sugar, and a can of cola about 40 grams.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that adults consume no more than 50 grams of added sugar daily.

Next, the researchers looked at epigenetic changes related to gene activity that indicate cellular aging. They found that the healthier someone ate, the younger their cells were.

Adverse changes could already be observed with consuming an additional gram of sugar daily.

Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day is akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months, if sustained over time , says Prof. Barbara Laraia, co-author of the study.

Eating according to the so-called Mediterranean diet was particularly beneficial. Key components were anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients, including essential vitamins and minerals.

- 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 – said Dr. Dorothy Chiu, the lead author of the study published in "JAMA Network Open".

- We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor…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 – added co-author of the discovery, Dr. Elissa Epel.