Chioma Umeha
Having a diet that is rich in fruit, vegetable and
whole grain and low in added sugar, sodium and processed meat could help
promote healthy cellular aging in women, a study of the University of Michigan
(UM) showed.
UM researchers used telomere length to measure
cellular aging in the study.
Age is the strongest predictor of telomere length:
telomeres shorten in length during each cell cycle.
They examined the diets of a nationally
representative sample of nearly 5,000 healthy adults and how well they scored
on four evidence-based diet quality indices, including the Mediterranean diet,
the DASH diet and two commonly used measures of diet quality developed by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public
Health.
For women, higher scores on each of the indices
were significantly associated with longer telomere length.
“We were surprised that the findings were
consistent regardless of the diet quality index we used,” said lead author
Cindy Leung, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UM School of Public
Health.
All four diets emphasize eating plenty of fruit, vegetable,
whole grain and plant-based protein and limiting consumption of sugar, sodium
and red and processed meat.
“Overall, the findings suggest that following
these guidelines is associated with longer telomere length and reduces the risk
of major chronic disease.”
“The commonality to all of the healthy diet
patterns is that they are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory diets.
“They create a biochemical environment favorable
to telomeres,” said Co-author Elissa Epel, professor of psychiatry at the University
of California, San Francisco.
In men, the findings were in the same direction,
but not statistically significant.
“We have seen some gender differences in previous
nutrition and telomere studies,” Leung said.
Men tended to have lower diet quality scores than
women. Men also had higher intakes of sugary beverages and processed meats,
both of which have been associated with shorter telomeres in prior studies.
Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that
telomeres can also be shortened due to behavioral, environmental and
psychological factors.
Shorter telomeres have been associated with an
increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
“The key takeaway is that following a healthy diet
can help us maintain healthy cells and avoid certain chronic diseases,” said
Leung.
“Emphasis should be placed on improving the
overall quality of your diet rather than emphasizing individual foods or
nutrients.”
The study has been published in the American
Journal of Epidemiology.
