American scientists used the 8-week diet on 6 women and found that it reduced their biological age – that is, the age indicated by the state of biological cells – by about 5 years.
Cara N. The study was conducted by Fitzgerald, Dish Campbell, Suzanne McCarem, and Romilly Hodges of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute of Functional Medicine and the American Dietetic Association. Journal of AgingThe website wrote about it York warning.
The diet participants followed was defined as a “methylation-supportive diet” designed to affect levels of DNA methylation and biological aging.
DNA methylation is a chemical reaction in the body in which a small molecule called a methyl group is added to DNA, proteins, or other molecules. According to the US National Cancer Institute.
Adding methyl groups can affect how certain molecules work in the body. For example, methylation of a gene’s DNA sequence can disable the gene so that it does not make a protein.
Changes in the methylation patterns of genes or proteins can affect a person’s risk of developing a disease, such as cancer, and affect their biological age.
DNA methylation is generally lost gradually with age. Based on the studies, it is hypothesized that DNA methylation is not strictly conserved during cell division.
What method did the participating women follow?
The program is guided by diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation, supplemental probiotics, phytonutrients, and nutritional coaching, and includes:
- Eat two cups of dark leafy greens.
- Eat two cups of cruciferous vegetables.
- Eat 3 cups of colorful vegetables.
- Eat a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds.
- Eat a quarter cup of sunflower seeds.
- Eat one or two servings of beets (one serving is half a cup chopped).
- Take a liver or liver supplement (three servings, 3 ounces per week).
- Eat one egg per day (5-10 per week).
- Take a probiotic supplement (2 capsules).
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes.
- Do two breathing exercises.
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep.
- Fasting should be done 12 hours after eating.
- Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
How much did participants age after following the diet?
Blood samples were taken at the start of the study and at the end of the eight-week period and participants were analyzed for biological age.
Five of the six participants showed a mean decrease of 4.6 years from baseline biological age, ranging from 1.22 to 11.01 years.
A previous study involving men between the ages of 50 and 72 found the diet reduced their biological age by an average of 3.23 years.
“These data suggest that a methylation-supportive dietary and lifestyle intervention can positively affect biological age in both sexes during middle and old age,” the researchers said.
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