This everyday Food Choice is making you Look Older

Consuming large amounts of this added ingredient appears to significantly disrupt the body's biological clock, potentially leading to accelerated aging, even when an individual's overall diet remains healthy.

A recent study, involving 342 Black and White middle-aged women, discovered that participants who consumed high levels of this added component exhibited "older looking" cells, this when compared to those who had a lower intake.

This research may provide new insights into why some people appear to age more quickly or slowly than others, even when their chronological age is the same. Sugar intake, an often-overlooked factor, could play a crucial role in this disparity.

Barbara Laraia, a food scientist from the University of California Berkeley, emphasized the significance of reducing added sugar. According to Laraia, "cutting out 10 grams of added sugar each day was akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months, if sustained over time."

The study focused on epigenetic changes, which refer to chemical modifications to DNA that affect gene expression without altering the genetic code itself. These changes accumulate over time and contribute to an individual's biological age, sometimes referred to as the "epigenetic clock." This clock can be influenced by various factors such as diet, lifestyle, genetics, and disease, but this study is among the first to specifically examine the impact of added sugar on epigenetic aging. Notably, the research included a diverse cohort of participants.

The findings indicate that added sugar may accelerate the epigenetic changes associated with aging more rapidly than healthier foods can counteract them. Participants with diets rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants had cells that appeared biologically younger. Those adhering to the Mediterranean diet showed the slowest progression of their epigenetic clock.

However, the consumption of added sugar had a profound effect. Regardless of the presence of healthy nutrients in their diets, participants who consumed more added sugar exhibited signs of older biological age in their salivary DNA. This held true even after accounting for factors such as education, lifestyle, and current health.

On average, the women in the study consumed just over 60 grams of sugar per day, with some consuming more than 300 grams daily. For context, the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar intake to about 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams for men. These sugars are defined as those added during food preparation, not the naturally occurring sugars in food.

While the study suggests that added sugar may accelerate cellular aging, it is important to consider its limitations. The data was based on food records collected over three non-consecutive days and a single salivary sample. Previous research has shown that a cell's epigenetic age can vary depending on the time of day the sample is taken. Therefore, further long-term studies, including both men and women, are necessary to confirm these findings.

Elissa Epel, a behavioral scientist from the University of California San Francisco, reflected on the implications of the study: "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."

The results of this study highlight the importance of managing sugar intake to promote healthier aging and longevity.

Study Link:

https://shorturl.re/7fh5o