Do you feel younger than your real age or too old?

What if you were told that by eating the right foods, you will not only keep your youthful appearance for a longer period of time, but you can also reverse the signs of aging, turning back the clock by 3 years in just 8 weeks.

It may seem impossible, but in a groundbreaking research paper published in the American journal Aging, scientists have shown for the first time that it is possible to reverse the epigenetic aging process in healthy adult males through dietary and lifestyle changes.

Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, a nutritional biochemist at the Institute of Functional Medicine in Washington and lead author of the paper, found that a diet rich in leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) and berries significantly reduced the biological lifespan of a middle-aged group of study participants.

It is known that some elderly people are healthy and young looking, while some young people appear 10 years older than their actual age, which is determined by the biological age of a person.

Healthy diets contribute to delaying aging (German news agency)

The importance of being young

The research paper states that the growing health-related economic and social challenges faced by people aging rapidly are well recognized and affect individuals, their families, health systems and economies.

Looking at the economy alone, delaying aging by 2.2 years could save $7 trillion over 50 years.

This approach was determined to be a much better investment than disease spending.

Thus, if interventions that prolong health can be identified even modestly, their benefits to public health and health care economics would be significant.

“Advanced age is the biggest risk factor for impaired mental and physical function and many non-communicable diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” says Kara Fitzgerald.

3 year low

According to the clinical trial conducted during this study, in 43 healthy adult males aged 50 to 72 years, an 8-week treatment program included diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation guidelines, and supplemental phytonutrients.

DNA analysis was performed on saliva samples and the genetic age (DNAmAge) of the participants was calculated.

The study found that treatment with the prescribed diet and lifestyle led to a 3.23-year reduction in biological life.

The age of the treatment group also decreased by an average of 1.96 years at the end of the program compared to the same individuals at the beginning.

This study is the first to suggest that diet and lifestyle interventions may reverse aging in healthy adult males.

Some elderly people are healthy and young looking, while some young people look years older than their actual age (Getty Images)

nutritional recommendations

According to the study, a modest but significant decrease in biological age was generally observed in individuals who ate lean meat, fish, and a plant-based diet.

The dietary recommendations used as part of the treatment and reversal of aging protocol for this study were largely based on the following:

  • Dependence and focus on plants as a source of food, including the intake of large quantities of nutrients that are substrates or co-factors in biosynthesis pathways, such as those containing folic acid, vitamin "C" and vitamin "A".

  • The diet in the experiment also included limited, nutrient-dense animal proteins such as liver and eggs.

  • The diet limited carbohydrates and included moderate intermittent fasting, both of which are designed to lower blood sugar.

  • The diet was also supplemented with daily fruit and vegetable powders.

Lifestyle Tips

The lifestyle guidelines in this study included at least 30 minutes of exercise during the day, at least 5 days a week, at an intensity of 60-80% of your maximum effort.

According to the study, exercise is widely known to be beneficial for almost every aspect of health and has been shown to extend life expectancy in animal models.

Peaceful sleep allows your body to recover and restore the energy it expended during the previous day (pixels)

breathing exercises

Study participants were prescribed breathing exercises twice daily in order to relax and reduce stress. It has recently been shown that doing relaxation exercises for 20 minutes twice daily for 60 days can significantly reduce their biological life. A possible relationship between stress accumulation and aging has also been demonstrated. Faster.

There is also a link with diseases associated with aging and the rapid arrival of aging, including coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and leukemia.

PTSD also contributes to an acceleration of life.

7 hours sleep

The study aimed to improve participants' sleep, with a recommendation to sleep at least 7 hours each night.

7 hours is generally considered healthy, but the limited data on accelerated aging relates only to severe sleep deprivation.