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Several healthy dietary patterns have been tied to living longer in good health.
The Mediterranean, DASH, MIND and plant-based diets, for example, have all been associated with a lower risk of chronic disease and premature death.
With so many recommended healthy eating plans, each differing somewhat in the foods they highlight, you might wonder if one is a better choice for healthy aging than the others.
According to a large new study, when it comes to “biological aging,” no single healthy dietary pattern appears to have a clear advantage.
Here’s a breakdown of the research, and why you needn’t worry about choosing the “best” healthy diet.
What is biological aging?
Biological age is an estimate of how fast or slow your cells, tissues and organ systems are aging, rather than simply how many years you have lived.
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It’s influenced by genetics, health status, diet, physical activity, sleep habits, smoking and alcohol use and stress.
One method used to estimate biological age involves using epigenetic clocks, tools that analyze small chemical tags on DNA called methylation markers. These markers change in predictable ways with age and may influence how cells function, repair themselves and respond to stress.
About the new research
The study, published Aug. 29, in the journal Nature Communications, investigated whether adhering to 10 dietary patterns was associated with slower biological aging, and whether these diets influence similar or different biological pathways in the body.
To do so, the researchers analyzed data from the ongoing Rhineland Study involving 6,470 adults, with an average age of 56, who were living in Bonn, Germany.
Participants of that study completed a detailed questionnaire about their usual diets over the previous year. This information was then used to calculate 10 separate diet quality scores.
Specifically, the researchers assessed how closely each person’s usual diet matched 10 dietary patterns: Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, MIND diet, Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Nordic diet, EAT-Lancet diet, Plant-based Diet Index, Healthy Plant-based Diet Index, Unhealthy Plant-based Diet Index and the Dietary Inflammatory Index.
The healthy diet patterns evaluated share many features, but they can also differ in the type of fat emphasized, dairy product intake, fish consumption, red meat restrictions and alcohol recommendations.
Participants’ biological age was measured using three different epigenic clocks.
Healthy diets tied to slower biological aging
Higher adherence to the Mediterranean, DASH, MIND, AHEI, Nordic and healthy plant-based diets were all associated with slower biological aging.
Higher adherence to unhealthy inflammatory dietary patterns, on the other hand, were linked to faster biological aging.
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Among all dietary patterns examined, the DASH and Nordic diets were consistently associated with slower biological aging across all three measures.
To see if the findings held up, the researchers repeated the analysis for 1,034 adults participating in a separate German study called EPIC-Potsdam, and found similar results.
The study was observational and found associations; it didn’t prove that healthier diets slowed aging.
Still, the study’s large sample size, assessment of 10 dietary patterns rather than only one, use of multiple biological aging measures, and similar results found in a second study add weight to the conclusions.
The findings are intriguing, but they’re not totally unexpected. Plenty of evidence has linked healthier dietary patterns to a lower risk of chronic disease and healthier aging.
The current study adds to that knowledge by showing healthy diets are also associated with markers of slower biological aging.
Key takeaway
There was one surprising, and perhaps reassuring, finding.
The researchers found that different dietary patterns were each associated with distinct patterns of DNA methylation markers.
Despite these differences, many of the healthy dietary patterns appeared to influence the same biological pathways linked to how cells communicate, grow, function and maintain themselves.
In other words, while the healthy diets may not work in exactly the same way, they seem to influence the same underlying processes associated with healthy aging.
The takeaway is that there isn’t only one optimal way to eat well.
Instead, it appears that several healthy eating patterns that emphasize different combinations of foods support healthy aging.
To me, that’s the important message to take from this study.
Instead of worrying about following the “best” dietary pattern or following it perfectly, perhaps it’s more important to focus on what these diets have in common.
That means consistently eating a diet plentiful in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, pulses, nuts and minimally processed foods.
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan.