Think eating healthier just isn’t worth the effort? This study showing improving your diet slows aging in just a month may change your mind.
EXPERT OPINION BY JESSICA STILLMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, INC.COM @ENTRYLEVELREBEL
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But as someone who has lived in both the U.S. and the Mediterranean, I know how hard putting this oft-repeated advice into practice can be. As I explain in this article, here in the Med the entire way of life makes finding the time and money to buy and prepare healthy whole foods wildly easier than in the States.
Which creates a paradox. We all know we should eat a healthier diet. But many of us give up on the idea because we believe it’s just too difficult to make meaningful changes that will actually impact our health. If that’s you, there’s a new study you really need to see.
It found that just four weeks on a healthy diet was enough to positively impact 20 markers of biological age. Or to put that in everyday language, improving what you eat for only a month is enough to start turning back the clock on your body.
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Eat better, age slower
The study was conducted at the University of Sydney in Australia. It involved recruiting 104 healthy 65-to-75-year-olds to test out four dietary approaches. Some participants were given an omnivorous, high-fat diet meal plan quite similar to the average Western diet. The other three groups were given either an omnivorous high-carbohydrate diet or one of two plant-forward eating plans. One was higher in fat and the other higher in carbohydrates.
After a month, the researchers tested for 20 markers of biological age. These are signs of physical wear and tear that tell scientists if a person is aging faster or slower than the calendar suggests.
The results were clear. After only a month, every diet but the one similar to the subjects’ baseline diets had reduced their biological age. More research is needed to see if improvement in those markers of good health translates into less disease and longer life. But even these initial findings make clear that a few weeks of healthy eating reverses some of the damage done to your body over the decades.
