Recent research highlights the growing focus on diet’s role in aging and suggests that the composition and diversity of gut microbiota are linked to aging-related diseases. The new study explores how a healthy gut microbiome may promote healthy aging and affect biological age.
Over time, the gut microbiome shifts, with fewer beneficial microbes, more potentially inflammatory bacteria, and lower overall diversity. A diverse and well-functioning gut microbiota may slow aging, while unhealthy diets high in fats and refined grains can cause gut dysbiosis, hastening the aging process.
Researchers analyzed data from over 29,000 participants with an average age of 50 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 1999 and 2018. They used multiple regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between dietary index scores for gut microbiota (DI-GM) and phenotypic age acceleration (PAA).
Phenotypic age was determined from 10 physiological factors, defining PAA as a positive residual indicating accelerated aging. The gut microbiota dietary index was created based on 14 dietary elements, with higher scores reflecting greater potential to support gut microbiota health. The results found that elevated diet index scores for gut microbiota are strongly linked to decreased phenotypic age acceleration.
Enhancing diet to support gut microbiota health may substantially slow aging, offering scientific support for dietary strategies to promote healthy aging. Nutritious dietary regimens, such as the Mediterranean and DASH diets, are recognized for their potential to slow aging by lowering inflammation and oxidative stress.
A lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet can promote a diverse and vibrant gut microbiome, supporting healthy aging and potentially affecting biological age.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Association of a newly proposed dietary index for gut microbiota with phenotypic age acceleration: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 1999–2018
