A healthy diet with less sugar is linked to a younger biological age.

Science Editorial, July 29 (EFE).- Following a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, especially Mediterranean, but especially without too much added sugar, is associated with a younger biological age at the cellular level, according to a study published today by the Jama Network Open.

Research from the University of California, San Francisco (USA) draws particular attention to added sugar, indicating that, even with a healthy diet, “every gram” that participants consumed “was associated with an increase in their epigenetic age.”

This study is one of the first to show a link between added sugar and epigenetic aging, and the first to examine this relationship in a heterogeneous group of middle-aged women.

The team observed how three types of healthy eating affected the “epigenetic clock,” a biochemical test that allows us to assess whether an individual’s biological age is older or younger than their chronological age.

The study indicates that adherence to any of the diets was significantly associated with decreased epigenetic age, although the Mediterranean diet had the strongest association.

The diets examined are consistent with recommendations for disease prevention and health promotion, and highlight the effectiveness of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients in particular, according to Dorothy Chiu of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), one of the text’s signatories.

Researchers know that high levels of added sugars are associated with poor metabolic health and early onset of disease, “perhaps more than any other dietary factor,” said Dr. Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco.

Now, they also know that accelerated epigenetic aging underlies this relationship, and it’s likely, he added, that this is one of “the many ways in which excessive sugar consumption limits healthy longevity.”

The researchers examined sugar intake separately, and found that eating foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated biological aging, even in the presence of a healthy diet.

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The researchers analyzed the food records of 342 black and white women with an average age of 39 from Northern California, and compared their diets to measures of the epigenetic clock, obtained from saliva samples.

The women in the study reported consuming an average of 61.5 grams of added sugar per day, although the range was wide: from 2.7 to 316 grams.

A bar of milk chocolate contains about 25 grams of added sugar, and a can of cola contains about 39 grams, the University of California said in a statement.

The FDA recommends that adults consume no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day.

The researchers recorded the women’s diets to see how they compared to a Mediterranean-style diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods and antioxidants, and thus to a diet linked to a lower risk of chronic disease.

Finally, they compared the women’s diets with a measure they created called the “epigenetic nutrient index.”

This index is based on nutrients (not foods) that have been linked to antioxidant or anti-inflammatory processes and to DNA maintenance and repair, such as vitamins A, C, B12, and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber, and isoflavones.

Focusing on foods rich in essential nutrients and low in added sugars may be a new way to help motivate people to eat well for longevity, researchers say.

(c) EFE Agency