(WXYZ) — In today’s Health Alert, sticking to New Year’s resolutions to lose weight can be tough. But when it comes to eating healthy and staying active, it could do more than help you shed pounds.
Recent studies suggest that certain diet and exercise routines could help slow the aging process.
First, let’s talk about biological age. This refers to how old your body seems based on its physical and functional condition. It’s not the number of candles on your birthday cake.
Now, a study from October included 22 pairs of identical twins. One twin in each pair followed a vegan meal plan, while the other ate a typical diet with meat, eggs, dairy, and plants. After eight weeks, researchers checked the twins’ biological age by studying their telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps on chromosomes that shorten as we age. When they get too short, cells can’t divide properly, which can increase the risk of illness. They also looked at changes in the participants' DNA, which is linked to aging. And here’s what they found. The twins who followed a vegan diet showed a noticeable drop in their biological age compared to those who ate meat.
That’s not the only research with interesting findings. Another study from July found that younger biological age was tied to eating more antioxidant-rich or anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables, whole grains, seafood, and olive oil. On the other hand, eating more sugar was linked to an older biological age.
As we get older, our brains naturally slow down, and by middle age, we often notice that it takes longer to solve problems.
The good news is that a study published last fall found that even a little physical activity can lower your “cognitive age.” Researchers asked 200 middle-aged people to play “brain games” to measure their mental sharpness. They discovered that people who were recently active had mental speed similar to a brain that was about four years younger - compared to when they were inactive. And the activity didn’t have to be intense. It could be as simple as walking, doing household chores, or playing with children.
Furthermore, another study showed that strength training could make a difference, too. Just 90 minutes of weekly strength exercises, like lifting weights or using resistance bands, was linked to reducing biological age by almost four years. People who did this regularly had longer telomeres—the protective caps on DNA—compared to those who didn’t. Longer telomeres suggest a slower aging process.
All of this suggests that staying active throughout the day, eating a plant-based diet, and doing 90 minutes of strength training each week could help slow down some of the negative effects of aging. It's all about making small changes that can have a big impact on your health over time.
This Week on the Dr. Nandi Show
Dr. Partha Nandi, MD, often gets asked, “I want to be healthy and lose weight, but I’m confused. What can I eat?” To answer this, Dr. Nandi and two registered dietitians break down the ins and outs of healthy eating. Also joining the conversation is a woman who tried many diets to control her weight and a blogger whose food choices inspired him to launch a healthy eating campaign. Tune in this Sunday, January 5th, at 1 pm to watch “Healthy Chow.”
