A new research study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, found a link between diets with lower sugar consumption and slower biological aging at the cellular level. Even with otherwise healthy diets, the researchers found that each gram of sugar that was consumed was associated with an increase in epigenetic age—a term that measures aging at the biological and cellular scale.
Dr. Dorothy Chiu, PhD and first author of the research study, explains that following existing guidelines and recommendations for diets which are well known to prevent disease truly makes a difference, emphasizing the importance of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient rich foods. Another senior author of the study, Dr. Elissa Epel, PhD, explains specifically regarding sugar: “We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor…Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging is underlying this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity.”
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