Slow Aging to a CRAWL with This Diet Trick

I love when people tell me I look good for my age.

I’m 71, aging like fine wine—or so I’m told—and proud of it.

But make no mistake. Having a younger biological age isn’t about genetics or luck. It’s about choices.

And one choice you make daily plays a key role in how slow—or fast—you age.

The study followed a group of volunteers from 9 to 19 years old for over 25 years. The researchers used 3-day food diaries to determine dietary factors like sugar intake and healthy eating index scores.

For the results, the researchers determined the participants’ epigenetic age using a calculation called GrimAGE2. Epigenetics is the study of how your lifestyle choices impact your genes.

Ultimately, the researchers wanted to determine if your diet impacts the rate at which you’re aging.

I’m sure you can guess the answer.

For each additional gram of sugar consumed daily, the GrimAGE2 score increased by 7 days (making you 7 days older).

On the other hand, those who followed a healthier diet had lower GrimAGE2 scores.

In other words, a high-sugar diet ages you, while a healthier whole-foods diet keeps your cells younger.

The problem with sugar is that it increases free radicals. These cause oxidative stress, damaging your DNA and leading to aging and disease.

Whole foods, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. They provide antioxidants that remove damaging free radicals and protect your cells.

If you want to slow down the aging clock, expensive creams and lotions aren’t the way to do it.

Instead, focus on what you’re feeding your body.

P.S. The hidden culprit accelerating aging and disease.

SOURCE:

Chiu DT, Hamlat EJ, Zhang J, Epel ES, Laraia BA. Essential Nutrients, Added Sugar Intake, and Epigenetic Age in Midlife Black and White Women: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2422749