Observational Study: Ten Healthy Diets Linked to Slower Biological Aging
A study by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) with around 7,500 adults from Bonn and Potsdam found that people who followed one of ten healthy diets, such as the Mediterranean, Nordic, plant-based or DASH diet, aged slightly more slowly according to DNA measurements in the blood. The differences between the diets were small; there is no single right diet.
1. What the Research Says
Biological age was determined with three so-called epigenetic clocks, which read chemical changes to the DNA (DNA methylation). The finding from the Rhineland Study (6,470 people) was confirmed in the EPIC-Potsdam Study (1,034 people); it was published in Nature Communications. According to the researchers, the effects are not large but measurable. As an observational study based on a single measurement, the work shows associations, not causes.
2. How It Fits Earlier Research
Earlier reviews on nutrition and biological aging point in the same direction: healthy dietary patterns go along with slower biological aging. The new observational study fits this picture and, like the earlier work, can describe associations rather than causes. Nutrients, foods, dietary patterns and telomere length: Update of epidemiological studies and randomized… (2016) · Examining nutrition strategies to influence DNA methylation and epigenetic clocks: a systematic review of… (2024) · Contribution of Biological Age-Predictive Biomarkers to Nutrition Research: A Systematic Review of the… (2022)
3. Source
ScienceDaily: Scientists find 10 different diets linked to slower aging (2026-10-20)
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