2024-07-30 22:06:21
(ANSA) – ROME, JULY 30 – A diet rich in vitamins and mineral salts but low in sugar could have anti-aging effects, according to a study published in the journal Jama Network Open and conducted at the University of San Francisco.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that adults consume no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day. Researchers examined how three different diets affected the results of a biochemical test used to estimate a person’s health and body (biological) age and found that the better the eating habits (i.e., the higher the content of vitamins A, C, B12, and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber, and isoflavones in the diet, and the lower the intake of added sugar) people had, the younger their body cells appeared. What’s more, for the same healthy diet, each additional gram of sugar consumed was linked to an increase in biological age.
The study is one of the first to show a link between added sugar and the aging body, and the first to involve middle-aged people of various ethnicities. “The study deepens our understanding of why sugar is so harmful to health,” says co-senior author Elissa Epel. “We knew that high levels of added sugar were linked to poorer metabolic health and early disease, perhaps more than any other dietary factor,” Epel continues. “Now we know that accelerated aging of cells underlies this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar consumption limits healthy longevity.”
“Since cellular aging patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day could be equivalent to rewinding the biological clock by 2.4 months, if the reduction in consumption is sustained over time,” says co-senior author Barbara Laraia, of UC Berkeley. “Focusing on foods rich in key nutrients and low in added sugar could be a new way to motivate people to eat well to live longer,” she concludes. (ANSA).
2024-07-30 22:06:21