All it takes is a four-week dietary change to make some seniors look biologically younger.
Some of the causes of aging are high fat consumption saturated and reduced fiber consumption. However, older adults who reduced their fat intake or consumed more plant-based protein showed improvements in key health biomarkers associated with aging.
A biological age reflects how well the body is functioning, and aging can vary from person to person, depending on factors such as health, lifestyle and the body’s ability to recover from stress and illness.
To estimate this age, they analyze biomarkers which are often considered more useful than chronological age for understanding long-term health and life expectancy.
In a new one, published last month in Aging Cellinformation from 20 biomarkers to calculate the biological age indices of the participants. These included measurements such as levels of cholesterol, insulin e C-reactive protein.
According to , the researchers observed that the results suggest that dietary changes at a later stage of life can quickly improve indicators associated with aging and general health.
Researchers found that adults aged 65 to 75 saw reductions in their estimated “biological age” after following specific diets for just four weeks.
The study included 104 participants who were randomly assigned to one of four diets. Each diet provided 14% of total energy from protein.
Two diets were omnivorouswith half of the proteins coming from animal sources and the rest from plant sources. The other two were semi-vegetarian dietsin which 70% of the proteins came from vegetable sources.
Within these categories, participants were also assigned to a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet or a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
In addition, four food groups were created: fat-rich omnivore (OHF), carbohydrate-rich omnivore (OHC), high-fat semi-vegetarian (VHF) e semi-vegetarian rich in carbohydrates (HCV).
The participants’ BMI (body mass index) ranged between 20 and 35. All participants were non-smokers, non-vegetarians and did not have serious complications or allergies and/or food intolerances.
The researchers found that the OHF group, whose diets remained closer to what the participants already ate before the study, did not present significant differences in biological age markers.
However, the other three groups all presented reductions in biological age. The statistical evidence came from the OHC group, which followed an omnivorous diet higher in carbohydrates and lower in fat. In this group, 14% of energy came from proteins, 28 to 29% from fats and 53% from carbohydrates.
Although the results suggest that diet can influence biological aging quickly, the researchers caution that it is not yet known whether these improvements last long term or lead to sustained reductions in biological age.
