Findings from a recent study highlight the importance of reducing daily sugar consumption, with scientists finding a link between diets with lower sugar consumption and slower biological ageing at the cellular level.
Even with otherwise healthy diets, scientists at the University of California-San Francisco found that each gram of sugar consumed was associated with an increase in epigenetic age – a term that measures ageing at the biological and cellular scale, reports Forbes.
Dr Dorothy Chiu, PhD and first author of the study, said that following existing guidelines and recommendations for diets that are well known to prevent disease truly makes a difference, emphasising the importance of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient rich foods.
Another senior author of the study, Dr Elissa Epel, PhD, said: “We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor… Now we know that accelerated epigenetic ageing is underlying this relationship, and this is likely to be one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity.”
This area of nutrition science has received significant attention in recent years and has become especially important as rates of obesity and mortality have increased globally in the past two decades.
In fact, the World Health Organisation’s statistics are jarring: it found that in 2022, 2.5bn people were considered “overweight”, which corresponds to nearly 43% of adults; in contrast, in 1990, only 25% of adults were considered “overweight” – meaning nearly an 18% increase in just 30 years.
Emerging research and science are also indicating the numerous health benefits that may result from preservative-free and low-processed foods.
Conversely, studies are increasingly showing a higher correlation between hyper-processed foods and the increasing prevalence of diseases; one pertinent example is the surging rates of colon cancer among young adults that has been prevalent for the past decade, which many scientists are now associating with high processed food intake.
Sugar has always been a challenge, given just how ubiquitous it is in cuisines globally and how pervasive it is in day-to-day culture.
From morning coffee or tea to evening dessert, refined sugar has become a staple for billions of people worldwide. Per the American Heart Association, in the United States alone, people consume on average nearly 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily, nearly two to three times the recommended amount.
Interestingly, studies have also found that sugar may cause a similar cascade of effects on the reward and pleasure centres of the brain, similar to other addictive substances, meaning that reducing sugar consumption is not an easy task.
“Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day is akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months, if sustained over time,” said Dr Barbara Laraia, PhD.
In addition to simply preventing ageing, reducing sugar consumption may be of paramount importance and the key to sustaining a healthy lifestyle and achieving lasting longevity.
Study details
Essential Nutrients, Added Sugar Intake, and Epigenetic Age in Midlife Black and White Women: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Programme
Dorothy Chiu, Elissa June Hamlat, Joshua Zhang, Elissa S. Epel, Barbara Laraia.
Published in JAMA Network on 29 July 2024
Key Points
Question
Are dietary patterns, including essential nutrients and added sugar intakes, and scores of nutrient indices associated with epigenetic ageing?
Findings
In this cross-sectional study of 342 black and white women at midlife, higher added sugar intake was associated with older epigenetic age, whereas higher essential, pro-epigenetic nutrient intake and higher Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)–2010 scores (reflecting dietary alignment with Mediterranean diet and chronic disease prevention guidelines, respectively) were associated with younger epigenetic age.
Meaning
The findings of this study suggest a tandem importance in both optimising nutrient intake and reducing added sugar intake for epigenetic health.
Abstract
Importance
Nutritive compounds play critical roles in DNA replication, maintenance, and repair, and also serve as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Sufficient dietary intakes support genomic stability and preserve health.
Objective
To investigate the associations of dietary patterns, including intakes of essential nutrients and added sugar, and diet quality scores of established and new nutrient indices with epigenetic age in a diverse cohort of black and white women at midlife.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional study included analyses (2021-2023) of past women participants of the 1987-1997 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS), which examined cardiovascular health in a community cohort of Black and White females aged between 9 and 19 years. Of these participants who were recruited between 2015 and 2019 from NGHS’s California site, 342 females had valid completed diet and epigenetic assessments. The data were analysed from October 2021 to November 2023.
Exposure
Diet quality scores of established nutrient indices (Alternate Mediterranean Diet [aMED], Alternate Healthy Eating Index [AHEI]–2010); scores for a novel, a priori–developed Epigenetic Nutrient Index [ENI]; and mean added sugar intake amounts were derived from 3-day food records.
Main Outcomes and Measures
GrimAge2, a second-generation epigenetic clock marker, was calculated from salivary DNA. Hypotheses were formulated after data collection. Healthier diet indicators were hypothesised to be associated with younger epigenetic age.
Results
A total of 342 women composed the analytic sample (mean [SD] age, 39.2 [1.1] years; 171 [50.0%] black and 171 [50.0%] white participants). In fully adjusted models, aMED (β, −0.41; 95% CI, −0.69 to −0.13), AHEI-2010 (β, −0.05; 95% CI, −0.08 to −0.01), and ENI (β, −0.17; 95% CI, −0.29 to −0.06) scores, and added sugar intake (β, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.01-0.04) were each significantly associated with GrimAge2 in expected directions. In combined analyses, the aforementioned results with GrimAge2 were preserved with the association estimates for aMED and added sugar intake retaining their statistical significance.
Conclusions and Relevance
In this cross-sectional study, independent associations were observed for both healthy diet and added sugar intake with epigenetic age. To our knowledge, these are among the first findings to demonstrate associations between added sugar intake and epigenetic ageing using second-generation epigenetic clocks and one of the first to extend analyses to a diverse population of black and white women at midlife. Promoting diets aligned with chronic disease prevention recommendations and replete with antioxidant or anti-inflammatory and pro-epigenetic health nutrients while emphasising low added sugar consumption may support slower cellular ageing relative to chronological age, although longitudinal analyses are needed.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
UK nutrition advisory: Cut sugar intake in half
The Longevity Diet: How nutrition affects ageing and healthy lifespan – US analysis
Mediterranean diet promotes healthy cellular ageing in women