Healthy Eating Slows Aging Process

This is another benefit of eating healthy.

Researchers have observed a correlation between a healthy diet and better brain health as individuals age, with a reduced risk of dementia. New findings suggest that diets like the Mediterranean or DASH diet, known for their heart-healthy benefits, may also contribute to slowing down biological aging processes, thus offering protection to the brain.

Aline Thomas, a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University’s Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, led the study. Analyzing data spanning decades from the ongoing Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1971, Thomas and her team focused on over 1,600 participants from the study’s second generation. These individuals reported their diets and underwent neuro-cognitive tests every four to seven years.

Of these participants, 160 later developed dementia. Study senior author Daniel Belsky, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Columbia School of Public Health and the Columbia Aging Center, explained that while much research on nutrition and dementia focuses on specific nutrients’ impact on the brain, their study aimed to explore whether healthy diets could slow down the body’s overall biological aging process.

Using an epigenetic clock called DunedinPACE, developed by Belsky and his colleagues, the researchers tracked cellular aging in participants over time. DunedinPACE acts as a “speedometer for the biological processes of aging,” providing insights into how aging affects the body.

The study found that individuals who closely followed the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet exhibited slower biological aging, as measured by DunedinPACE. Additionally, they had reduced odds of developing dementia and experiencing premature death.

The MIND diet combines aspects of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, emphasizing whole grains, vegetables, nuts, beans, leafy greens, fish, and lean meats while avoiding red meat, sugary foods, and those high in saturated and trans fats.

Despite these promising findings, Thomas emphasized the need for further research to fully understand the link between healthy living and brain health. She suggested that continued investigation into brain-specific mechanisms through well-designed mediation studies is warranted to uncover the remaining aspects of the diet-dementia association.