4 Dietary Factors That Speed Up Aging

February 8, 2015

by Cathe Friedrich

You can’t stop the passage of time and aging, but you do have some control over how you age. Ever noticed how some people who have boundless energy and look 15 years younger than they actually are? More people than ever are staying active and even running marathons in their 60s and 70s. If you were to ask these active folks their secret, a few would tell you they have good genetics but more would tell you they practice healthy lifestyle habits by staying active, not smoking, eating a healthy diet and keeping a positive outlook on life. These people may have a chronological age that’s much younger than their biological age.

Aging, Genes and Lifestyle Habits

What is aging anyway? Aging begins at the cellular level, at the level of tiny structures called telomeres that protect the ends of chromosomes when cells divide. Telomeres become shorter with age and directly contribute to how fast cells age. Lifestyle factors, how active a person is, stress and bad habits like smoking are linked with faster telomere shortening and more rapid cell aging. As you might expect, poor dietary habits are also linked with accelerated aging. Check out these four nutritional factors that could age you prematurely.

Eating an Abundance of Foods Cooked to High Temperatures

Cooking on the grill a few times a year probably won’t age you, especially if you’re grilling vegetables, but don’t make it a daily habit. When you grill or heat foods high in protein and fat to high temperatures they form harmful compounds called AGEs (advanced glycation end products). Cooking methods that form the most AGEs include grilling, roasting, broiling, searing and frying.

AGEs are linked with aging and chronic health problems including insulin resistance and type 2-diabetes. Foods higher in fiber and carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains don’t form significant quantities of AGEs even when you cook them at high temperatures. If you do heat protein-rich foods to high temperatures, you can reduce the formation of AGEs by using moist heat, shortening the cooking time and marinating meat with an acidic marinade, like a lemon or vinegar-based one. Cooking methods that are the least likely to form AGEs include steaming, poaching and stewing.

Eating and Drinking Too Much Sugar

Eating a diet high in sugar also increases your exposure to AGEs. The sugar in processed carbs and foods high in sugar attach to proteins on the surface of blood cells and form AGEs, the same compounds formed when meat is cooked to high temperatures. AGEs not only age cells – they bind to the walls of blood vessels, causing them to stiffen. AGEs are also linked with inflammation. That’s one reason they increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2-diabetes. Diabetics generally age faster than people who have normal blood sugar metabolism, partially because of AGEs.

Sugary beverages top the list of sugar-sweetened foods that cause aging. According to a study carried out at the University of California at San Francisco, drinking 20 ounces of sugar-sweetened soft drinks daily was associated with telomere shortening in humans. In fact, the degree of telomere shortening was equivalent to an additional 4.6 years of cellular aging. Stick with water and unsweetened tea.

Overeating

Overeating may age your cells too. In studies, animals placed on lower calorie diets have reduced expression of genes associated with aging, while high-calorie diets are linked with age-related health problems like obesity and type 2- diabetes in humans. A study carried out by the National Institute on Aging, found that a reduced calorie diet slowed aging in monkeys and lowered their incidence for a number of age-related diseases including heart disease, cancer, type 2-diabetes, and brain aging. No doubt you need to eat enough to supply your body with nutrients but noshing on empty calories, especially sugary ones, may do your body more harm than good.

Not Eating Enough Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are rich in phytochemicals and cell-protective antioxidants. A 2014 study published in the British Medical Journal showed diets rich in fruits and vegetables were linked with an overall reduction in mortality. In fact, this study showed mortality dropped 5% for each additional serving of daily fruits and vegetables consumed. Sadly, vegetables are often an afterthought in the American diet, a garnish for the main course meat, when it should be the other way around. Make veggies center stage on your plate!

The Bottom Line?

Diet is only one factor that affects the aging process but it’s an important one. Making these four changes to your diet can go far towards slowing the aging process and enhancing your health. Good nutrition combined with regular exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits can help you slow down Father Time, improve your health and reduce your risk for chronic age-related diseases. Diet really does matter.

References:

Medical Daily. “Drinking Soda Each Day Has Accelerating Effect On Cellular Aging, May Cut 4.6 Years Off Life” October 14, 2014.

UCSF. “Healthy Lifestyle May Buffer Against Stress-Related Cell Aging, Study Says” July 2014.

Life Extension Magazine. “Longer telomeres linked to eating less fat, more fruit and vegetables” January 2013.

Today’s Dietitian. Vol. 16 No. 3 P. 10. March 2014.

J Am Diet Assoc. Jun 2010; 110(6): 911-16.e12.doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.018.

The Guardian. “Sugary soft drinks may be linked to accelerated DNA aging – study” October 2014.

Science Daily.” Calorie-restricting diets slow aging, study finds” November 2014.

Health Line News. “Can a Low-Calorie Diet Slow Aging?”

Harvard School of Public Health. “Vegetables and Fruits: Get Plenty Every Day”