A special diet designed by scientists from the University of Virginia, with the aim of reversing the aging process in the people who participated, according to a recent publication by “healthstat.gr».
In this study, which was published in the scientific journal “Aging“, participated 6 healthy women, with a mean age of 58 years. In addition to diet, changes were also made to the exercise and sleep of the women who participated. The program lasted only 8 weeks.but it was spectacularly effective, as the women looked up to 11 years younger biologically than when the experiment began.
Before starting the diet, the participants underwent special blood tests, through which the cell methylation them, a process that takes care of preventing the alterations of our genetic material. According to a related analysis in the prestigious magazine “Nature“he is too the best way to calculate our biological age.
For 8 weeks, the 6 women were asked to eat a diet rich in green leafy vegetables and seeds, while the diet also included 3 servings of liver per week. At the same time, they had to exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, sleep at least 7 hours each night, and do 2 ten-minute breathing exercises a day.
The above program was designed to support the methylation process and thus reduce alterations to the genetic material contained in cells, which have been shown to play an important role in aging.
women gave daily report to investigators how faithfully they followed the program given to them. According to these reports, they followed the diet quite faithfully (84%), while it seems that they had a little more difficulty with the rest of the instructions they were given (77% followed the exercise, sleep and breathing program). .
What did the investigation show?
After 8 weeks, blood tests measuring the methylation of the women’s cells were repeated, and the results were impressive.
In particular, the scientists found that the “biological age” of the 6 women had decreased significantlyagainst 5 year averagewhile a specific participant appeared biologically 11 years younger (from 57 years, the age was reduced to 46 years).
“The findings of this study add to existing evidence that accessible, safe, and affordable dietary and lifestyle interventions specifically designed to support DNA methylation could reduce markers of biological aging,” said Dr. Cara Fitzgerald. , head of research.
The above findings are consistent with laboratory studies by Harvard University biologist and professor, David Sinclairwho has been arguing for years that changes to diet and exercise can “turn back the clock” for our bodies.
In fact, in a related interview he gave to “boston magazine» revealed that a menopausal woman who followed a special diet program saw that within a few weeks her period came backwhich could mean that time could turn back for her as well. Fertilityaccording to the laboratory “sinclair lab“, directed by Dr. Sinclair at Harvard.
It’s worth noting, of course, that both the University of Virginia research and Dr. Sinclair’s studies are still in progress. early stage, since sample and duration are not enough for now. At the same time, we cannot know to what extent age was reduced by exercise, sleep, or diet.
Many trials, with comparison groups and thousands of participants, will be needed for the above indications to be widely accepted by the scientific community and to make recommendations based on them. The results we have so far, however, are very promising.
The diet that made women biologically younger
The women were asked to follow a diet plan. rich in fruits and vegetablesand meatwhile the carbs (especially simple carbohydrates) were limited.
The participants had to drink 8 glasses of water a day, to they are sleeping at least 7 hours every night and yes they exercise 5 times a week (at least for 30 minutes). The exercise was of moderate to high intensity (running, cycling, etc.).
They were also asked to to avoid added sugar altogetherhe Dairy products and cerealsbut also do not eat between 7 pm and 7 am This 12-hour fast is considered an important part of the anti-aging diet.
In detail, the nutritional guidelines were as follows:
Daily:
- 2 cups of dark leafy vegetables (for example, spinach)
- 2 cups of cruciferous vegetables (for example: cauliflower, broccoli, etc.)
- 3 cups of colored vegetables (except corn and white potatoes)
- 1 – 2 medium beets
- 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 4 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
- ½ cup berries or ½ tsp. rosemary or ½ tsp. turmeric
- 170 grams meat
- 2 servings of low-glycemic fruits (eg, grapefruit, apples)
- 1 dose of dietary supplements with probiotics
- 1 dose of food supplements with fruits and green vegetables
- 8 glasses of water
Weekly:
- 3 portions of liver (each portion should weigh about 60 g)
- 5 – 10 eggs, ideally free-range or organic
With information: www.healthstat.gr
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