Ten diets linked to slower biological aging in adults, study finds

A recent study published in Nature Communications and reported by Science Alert has highlighted a link between ten dietary patterns and slower biological aging in people who adhere to them.

Biological aging is defined as the rate at which the body’s functions deteriorate, which can differ from a person’s chronological age. Faster biological aging is associated with shorter lifespan and increased health problems later in life.

The study was led by a team from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and included 6,470 participants aged 30 and above.

Researchers compared how closely participants followed ten different diets with blood biomarkers that reflect biological age, finding that adherence to any of these healthy diets was linked to slower biological aging.

Monique Breteler, an epidemiologist at DZNE, said, “The effects may not be huge, but they are measurable and important for prevention. By slowing the aging process, the risk of age-related diseases such as dementia or cardiovascular disease can be reduced.”

She added that the data indicate a variety of dietary patterns are associated with slower aging to varying degrees, allowing individuals to adapt a healthy diet to their personal, cultural, financial, and taste preferences.

The researchers selected well-known and trusted diets, including the Mediterranean diet, the Nordic diet, the DASH diet (designed to lower blood pressure), and the MIND diet (which supports brain health).

The study also included the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010), the Plant-based Diet Index (PDI), the Healthy Plant-based Diet Index (hPDI), and the EAT-Lancet diet.

The last two patterns, the Unhealthy Plant-based Diet Index (uPDI) and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), measure unhealthy eating habits such as sugary drinks and sweets. Lower adherence to these was linked to slower aging.

For aging biomarkers, the researchers focused on DNA methylation patterns—chemical changes that shift with biological age.

Juliana Tavares, an epidemiologist at DZNE, explained that three different approaches known as “epigenetic clocks” were used to assess biological age via DNA methylation. Modern techniques enabled the examination of about 850,000 DNA sites, nearly double what most previous studies have analyzed.

The study noted that most participants did not achieve high scores across all dietary guidelines, and that following just one healthy pattern appeared sufficient to reduce the risk of biological age exceeding chronological age.

Although each diet had varying effects on specific aspects of biological aging—such as DASH for heart health and MIND for cognition and memory—there was significant overlap among them.

Tavares noted that more than 70% of the affected biological pathways were shared across all diets, including cell structure, cell signaling, and metabolism, which are fundamental processes in aging and chronic disease.

She concluded that the practical message is that a perfect diet is not necessary, and that the pathways linked to specific dietary patterns pave the way for future research into targeted nutritional interventions, which could help develop more personalized health recommendations.