Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD(hc), FICC(h), Publisher
A recent cross-sectional study involving 342 middle-aged (ages 36-43) women examined how their diets impacted their epigenetic age. The investigators specifically looked at the impact of a Mediterranean diet, as well as the impact of added sugar.1
The study included an analysis of female participants in the 1987-1997 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS). The authors based their epigenetic age assessment using GrimAge2, which utilizes “second-generation markers of epigenetic aging that account for clinical and functional biomarkers, and is most notable for its robust associations with human mortality and morbidity risk, including time to death and comorbidity counts.”
The women consumed a daily average of 61.5 grams of added sugar each, with a range of 2.7 grams to 316.5 grams. (Sixty grams of sugar is the equivalent of three Snickers candy bars.)
The authors noted that “even in healthy dietary contexts, added sugar still has detrimental associations with epigenetic age. Similarly, despite higher added sugar intake, healthier dietary intakes appear to remain generally associated with younger epigenetic age.”
According to their findings, the gains from eating a Mediterranean diet could be offset by consuming 31 grams of added sugar (only 1.5 Snickers bars). The authors suggest that to increase their epigenetic health, individuals need to both optimize the nutrient intake in their diets while reducing their sugar as much as possible.
These research findings and the study authors’ recommendations beg a conversation with your patients about their eating habits. Suffice it to say the epigenetic gains from the best diet can be more than overcome by the losses resulting from too much added sugar. This is especially true as we enter the holiday season, characterized by often-excessive consumption of sweets and starches.
Everyone’s epigenetic clock is ticking. We have the power to speed it up or slow it down. In many cases, our eating habits are based on what we’re taught.
This is where you come in…
Reference
- Chiu DT, Hamlat EJ, Zhang J, et al. 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.
