A Clinically Validated Eating Strategy to Decelerate Aging

Feel like you’re getting older faster than you’d like? What if you could tap your foot on the biological brakes to buy yourself over half a year more youthfulness in the next year and a half?

A pioneering 2023 randomized controlled trial published in BMC Medicine titled, "The effect of polyphenols on DNA methylation-assessed biological age attenuation," examined the effects of three different 18-month dietary interventions on biological aging in 256 adults with obesity or dyslipidemia ^[1]. Biological aging was assessed using DNA methylation clock methods measuring gene activity from blood samples. 

The study compared subjects randomly assigned to:

1. Healthy dietary guidelines.
2. A Mediterranean diet rich in extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes and red wine. 
3. A polyphenol-rich calorie-restricted "Green-MED" pattern with added green tea, Mankai duckweed plant shake and walnuts while limiting meat.

The key findings related to nutritional modulation of biological longevity were ^[1]

1. Overall across groups, greater adherence to the 9-item Green-MED dietary score assessing higher intake of green tea, Mankai shake, walnuts, fruits/veggies and lower meat was associated with attenuated age-related DNA methylation changes over the 18-month trial ^[1].

 

2. Those dietary score increases tied specifically to higher green tea and Mankai shake consumption correlated with slowed methylation aging. This supports polyphenol-rich foods may impede aging through epigenetic and enzymatic mechanisms ^[2].  

 

3. Among men over 50 years old, following the Green-MED diet yielded substantially lower rises in biological age versus other groups. This subgroup seemed to derive exceptional longevity benefits from the polyphenol-rich Med-style diet ^[1].

 

4. On average, adherents of either MED intervention exhibited an approximate 0.7 year slower pace of biological aging over 18 months than model-based predictions ^[1].

In summary, this well-controlled human trial provides seminal evidence that adherence to polyphenol-rich plant-centered Mediterranean-type diets replete in green tea, Mankai greens and walnuts may slow intrinsic rates of aging, whereas standard healthy diets do not ^[1]. The effects appeared greatest for men over 50.

Here are 5 simple tips cultivated from the "Green-MED" trial to implement now to sustain vibrancy tomorrow:

The delicious polyphenol-rich additions above combined with mostly whole food-based eating pack an anti-aging punch lending you more healthy, vibrant years ahead. These simple yet science-backed steps can amazingly buy you over half a year more youthfulness while you nourish your body in alignment with nature's patterns!

For more information on the powerful health benefits of polyphenols, visit our database on the subject.

For strategies on how to mitigate premature aging, visit our database on the subject.

To learn more about the power of the Mediterranean diet, studied for benefiting over 100 conditions, visit our database on the subject here.

For more information on the theory and practice of longevity, read the international best-selling book REGENERATE: Unlocking Your Body's Radical Resilience with the New Biology or take our incredibly popular REGENERATE YOURSELF Masterclass, experienced by over 250,000 participants since its inception in 2021. 

REFERENCES

[1] Yaskolka Meir et al. BMC Medicine 2023, 21:364.  

[2] Luo et al. Antioxidants 2021, 10, 283.