Is Your Unhealthy Diet Making You Older Than You Are?

It turns out that your calendar age might not tell the whole story.

A growing body of research suggests that what you eat plays a significant role in how quickly you age on a biological level — and the implications are particularly striking for young adults.

We all know a healthy diet is good for us.

Still, a new study has revealed a potentially alarming connection between poor dietary choices and accelerated biological aging, even in your 20s and 30s.

Today, I explore how cutting-edge “epigenetic clocks” to measure biological age show how diet can prematurely age us.

What Are Epigenetic Clocks?

Epigenetic clocks are a fascinating and relatively new way to measure biological age.

Here’s a breakdown of what they are and how they work:

• Biological age vs. chronological age: We all know our chronological age — the number of years we’ve been alive. However, our biological age reflects how old our cells and tissues are (based on various biological factors). Epigenetic clocks aim to estimate this biological age.
• Epigenetics: This refers to changes in gene expression that don’t involve alterations to the DNA sequence itself. Think of it as the “software” that influences how your genes are read and used.
• DNA methylation: One key type of epigenetic modification is DNA methylation, where chemical groups attach to DNA. These methylation patterns can change in response to various factors, including diet, lifestyle, and environment.

How Do Epigenetic Clocks Work?

Now that you know what epigenetic clocks can do, let’s look at how they work:

• Measuring methylation: Scientists can measure DNA methylation levels at specific sites across your genome.
• Patterns and age: Researchers have identified patterns of DNA methylation strongly correlated with age. These patterns predictably change as we get older.
• The “clock”: By analyzing these methylation patterns, scientists can use statistical models to estimate an individual’s biological age. This approach is the “epigenetic clock.”

Why Are Epigenetic Clocks Important?

Why should we be excited about epigenetic clocks? Here are three reasons:

• More accurate aging: Epigenetic clocks are considered more accurate measures of biological age than simply looking at chronological age.
• Health insights: They can provide insights into an individual’s health status and risk for age-related diseases.
• Lifestyle impact: They can help researchers understand how lifestyle factors, like diet, influence the aging process at a cellular level.

The scientists used epigenetic clocks to assess the biological age of the young adults in the study.

By comparing biological age with chronological age, they could see if those with poorer diets were aging faster biologically.

In simple terms

Imagine your DNA is like a piano keyboard, and DNA methylation is like little stickers that change which keys we play.

Epigenetic clocks analyze these “sticker patterns” to determine your biological age.

Diet, Young Adults, and Aging

Researchers discovered that diets packed with processed meats and fast foods (and low in fruits and vegetables) could contribute to premature aging.

An unhealthy diet may make you biologically older than your chronological age.

Let’s examine the potential problems with this new research and consider how our food choices could affect our long-term health.

Not So Fast

Further analysis, incorporating variables such as body mass index (BMI), total energy intake, physical activity levels, alcohol consumption, and smoking status, revealed a less distinct connection between dietary patterns and biological aging.

After we include these variables, lifestyle factors (like regular exercise) mitigate some of the negative effects of a less healthy diet.

While promising, epigenetic clocks are still a developing technology with limitations.

One key issue is that researchers trained these clocks on specific populations, and methylation patterns can vary by ethnicity.

This study used the GrimAge clock, developed using data from an American population, to assess the impact of diet on the epigenetic age of Finnish individuals.

This mismatch between the training and study populations could affect the results.

My Final Thoughts – Is Your Unhealthy Diet Making You Older Than You Are?

While still a nascent field, the science of epigenetic clocks holds significant potential.

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