New Study “What to Eat to Look Younger”

33gail33 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

I can only get the first paragraph - is there anything else of note other than berries, leafy greens and cruciferous veggies?

Three servings of liver per week …. nope. 😬

33gail33 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

I can only get the first paragraph - is there anything else of note other than berries, leafy greens and cruciferous veggies?

Three servings of liver per week …. nope. 😬

springlering62 wrote: »

What to eat to look younger: the scientist’s age-reversal diet

Groundbreaking research by the nutritional biochemist Dr Kara Fitzgerald has found that a diet rich in leafy greens and berries can take years off your biological age
June 18 2021, The Times

Feeling your age — or older? What if you were told that by eating the right foods you could not only keep looking young, but reverse the signs of ageing — specifically turning back the clock by three years in eight weeks? It sounds impossible and yet scientists have shown for the first time that it is possible to reverse the ageing process through dietary changes. Dr Kara Fitzgerald, a researcher in nutritional biochemistry at the Institute for Functional Medicine in Washington and the lead author of a groundbreaking paper published in the journal Aging, found that a diet rich in leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables and berries dramatically reduced the biological age of a group of middle-aged participants.

It is welcome news for those who feel as though they have aged five years in the past 12 months, even more so because the diet involves everyday foods and straightforward lifestyle changes. “There are so many claims made about reversing the ageing process,” Fitzgerald says. “But ours is the first and only randomised, controlled and peer-reviewed clinical trial to show that diet and lifestyle changes can bring immediate and rapid reduction in biological age.”

We think of our age in years, but while our chronological age is what we celebrate with birthdays, our bodies also age biologically as we accumulate damage to various cells and tissues in the body. This biological age varies from person to person and can be accelerated by bad habits. “Some of it is under genetic control, but it is mostly controlled environmentally and is dependent on how we live our lives, including factors such as stress,sleep and, of course, the food we eat,” Fitzgerald says.

For example, a 27-year-old woman who eats a lot of processed foods high in fat and sugar, who does no exercise and who has smoked for the past ten years is likely to have a biological age much higher than 27.

Scientists can now accurately predict biological age by looking at DNA methylation, a process that occurs in our bodies in which chemical tags called methyls attach to molecules of DNA, affecting cell turnover and the switching on and off of genes associated with disease. From middle age onwards the cumulative result of this process leads to increased risk of age-related inflammatory diseases, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Fitzgerald wanted to find out if these changes in cell function could be reversed through adopting a healthy diet, effectively making our bodies younger.

For her trial she recruited a group of 43 healthy men aged between 50 and 72 and asked them to follow a largely plant-based diet, low in sugar and salt and containing no processed foods or alcohol, for eight weeks. All of the foods were selected because they contained specific nutrients known from previous research to have a positive effect on biological ageing. On the daily menu were two servings (about 130g) of dark, leafy greens such as kale, cabbage, spinach or Swiss chard; two servings of cruciferous vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and watercress; and colourful veg such as peppers and carrots. In addition the men were asked to eat seeds, beetroot and berries and to use rosemary, turmeric and garlic in cooking.

They also drank two cups of green tea (or three of oolong tea) every day and stuck to a “gentle” intermittent fasting window of consuming all meals between 7am and 7pm each day for two months. Small servings of fish or organic meat were allowed and non-vegetarians were advised to add up to three 75g servings of liver and five to ten eggs each week, both foods that are thought to enhance biological age-reversal.

“There was nothing startlingly new or different and we just asked people to avoid processed foods, cut down on sugar and cut out alcohol for the duration,” Fitzgerald says. “Aside from that they were eating foods that we have mostly been eating for ever.” The men were asked to exercise moderately (for 30 minutes on five days a week), to get at least seven hours’ sleep and to practise breathing exercises to reduce stress.

The results of the study, conducted with laboratory assistance from the Yale University Center for Genome Analysis and independently analysed at McGill University in Quebec and the National University of Natural Medicine in Oregon, surprised even Fitzgerald and her team. When they used a tool called the Horvath DNAm age clock to remeasure the biological age of the men, they found that those on the anti-ageing diet had reduced their biological age by 3.23 years on average during the two-month trial compared with the 20 participants in the control group who had eaten as they normally would.
Fitzgerald, who is 54, also tested the anti-ageing diet plan on herself with equally dramatic results. “I periodically measure my own biological age and the latest results showed I’m at my youngest yet relative to my chronological age,” she says. “I probably have a biological age of 50. I am now biologically younger than 82 per cent of people my age — up from 50 per cent the last time I measured.” A larger trial, this time involving middle-aged women as well as men, is planned, with an accompanying app to help users to make healthy dietary choices.

In the meantime Fitzgerald sticks to her diet as much as possible and encourages others to do the same. In daily life one’s diet doesn’t need to be as strict as the one prescribed in the clinical trial — just aim to introduce as many of the elements of it as you can. “I’m very busy but have perfected the art of easy food prep options,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be torturous.”
Here’s what she recommends you eat to turn back the clock.

What Dr Kara Fitzgerald recommends


Have two daily servings of dark leafy greens 
Eat two 65g servings every day. “Kale, Swiss chard and spinach are all excellent as they contain lots of folate and other nutrients,” Fitzgerald says.

A study has also indicated that a daily serving of leafy greens is significantly associated with lower rates of age- associated cognitive decline.

Salad greens such as romaine, iceberg and other lettuce were excluded from the trial because they lacked the nutrient density of the darker leafy greens.

Eat a variety of mushrooms 
“Mushrooms of all varieties, including button, shiitake, cordyceps, porcini and oyster mushrooms, are what I call ‘rock star methyl donors’, meaning they contain valuable nutrients when it comes to preventing biological ageing,” Fitzgerald says. “We absolutely love them for their nutrient density.” Another study from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in the US has shown that mushrooms contain unusually high amounts of two antioxidants — ergothioneine and glutathione — that could help to fight the signs of ageing.

Have half a teaspoon of turmeric daily Curcumin, the active component of the spice turmeric, is “one of the compounds or nutrients that helps the body in terms of reversing ageing”, Fitzgerald says. Add half a teaspoon to salad dressings or to vegetable curries and stir-fries — mixing tur–meric with black pepper and some oils can increase absorption by 2,000 per cent, she says — or take a supplement. “I take extra curcumin in supplement form just to be sure I get enough,” Fitzgerald says.
Drink two cups of green tea a day Drink two daily cups of green tea or three cups of oolong, each brewed for ten minutes so that the essential compounds are released, to get another dose of anti-ageing nutrients. “Polyphenol plant components such as theogallin in green tea have an important role in DNA methylation regulation,” Fitzgerald says. “Basically, they help to reverse ageing in a smart way by improving cell health.”

Eat tomatoes to prevent skin ageing “Tomatoes are a rich source of lutein, an antioxidant carotenoid that has a profound effect on our biological age,” Fitzgerald says. Peppers and grapes are other good plant sources of lutein. Eating tomatoes also means you get a good intake of lycopene, the antioxidant compound that gives them their red colour, which is associated with preventing skin ageing.

Add half a teaspoon of rosemary to meals Add rosemary to your meals whenever you can — the participants in the study were advised to add half a teaspoon to dishes daily. “Rosmarinic acid is the star component of rosemary,” Fitzgerald says. “Use the herb to season fish, chicken or vegetables as there is plenty of science to show that even small amounts have epigenetic [gene-balancing] benefits.”

Eat two garlic cloves a day (raw or cooked) The phytonutrient allicin found in garlic is another important component of the anti-ageing diet. “Two medium cloves provide a good dose,” Fitzgerald says. “But use it as often as you can.” Garlic, onions and leeks are also important prebiotic foods, helping to create the environment needed for a healthy gut. “A healthy gut will make nutrients essential for reversing biological ageing, including folate, more available to the body,” she says.

Eat an apple — or a tangerine — every day Apples are an excellent source of anti-ageing nutrients. “They are a brilliant addition to the diet and, if you eat them with the skin on, are a great supplier of quercetin and other polyphenols that help to regulate our genetic expression and reverse ageing,” Fitzgerald says. Other fruits that help to reverse your biological age include avocados, clementines, elderberries, pomegranates and tangerines. Don’t worry about the sugar content of fruit. “Yes, fruit contains sugar and we should be mindful of that,” she says. “But eating some every day is important.”

Eat a handful of berries every day Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries — any berry is good, and Fitzgerald says that the more of them you eat, the better. Participants were asked to eat a handful of berries every day. “They are extraordinarily good in terms of the nutrients and plant compounds they provide,” she says. Berries are a rich source of anthocyanins, antioxidants that give them their red and purple colour and which have been shown to help to prevent age-related metabolic damage.
Eat a lot of eggs “Eggs are arguably the best dietary source of choline, and it’s really hard for the body to make, so getting it in the diet is essential for keeping your cells and DNA functioning well,” Fitzgerald says. “If you like eggs, get your choline by eating five to ten of them a week.” She says that choline supports cell maintenance and it’s used to make healthy cellular membranes.

Eat two servings of cruciferous veg a day “Broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, as well as bok choy, contain sulforaphane, a sulphur-rich compound with potent health benefits,” Fitzgerald says. “Cruciferous vegetables also contain compounds called glucosinolates that can be converted by digestion and microbial action in the gut to indoles, thiocyanates and isothiocyanates — biologically active derivatives that are known to reduce inflammation and prevent some forms of cancer.” Radish, turnip and watercress are other cruciferous vegetables with similar benefits and in her trial Fitzgerald asked participants to consume two small servings (about 65g each) of any cruciferous veg every day.

Load up on pumpkin or sunflower seeds All nuts and seeds are helpful, but three are particularly beneficial. “Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds are all rich in important health-preserving nutrients, including omega-3 fats, B vitamins and antioxidants,” Fitzgerald says. “If you don’t like eating them, have them as seed butters, choosing varieties without any added sugar.” For the trial she recommended eating four tablespoons of seeds (or two to three teaspoons of seed butter) daily.
Add beetroot to salads “Participants in the trial were asked to eat a beetroot every day if they could,” Fitzgerald says. “Add beet to salads and don’t forget to use the beetroot leaves, which are also nutrient-rich.” If you don’t like eating it, try beetroot shoots instead. Beetroot contains minerals important for health, such as potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc and manganese. It is also a rich source of inorganic nitrates, converted in the body to nitric oxide, which has been shown to regulate blood vessel and brain health.

If you can stand it, eat lots of liver Liver is described by Fitzgerald as “a food-based multivitamin” and she recommended that participants in her trial consumed up to three 75g servings of it each week. “It is rich in methionine, an amino acid essential for healthy biological ageing,” she says. “But it is rich in vitamin B12, folate and choline too, so is an absolutely fantastic addition if you are a meat eater.” Although she doesn’t recommend an animal protein-heavy diet, eating small portions (150g) of preferably organic meat, poultry or fish once or twice a week will provide “nutrients important for DNA methylation support”.

What not to eat During the stricter first eight weeks of the trial participants were asked to abstain from alcohol. Although an occasional glass of red wine is “generally fine as it is packed with resveratrol”, Fitzgerald does not recommend drinking alcohol — certainly not more than the recommended 14 units a week.

“Salty and sugary foods and sweets should be avoided, as should all refined and processed foods,” she says. “There is growing evidence in particular that raised blood sugar levels from a diet high in sugar and processed foods affects processes that can accelerate biological ageing.”

Participants were also asked to avoid dairy, grains, beans and pulses, although small amounts of these are recommended in day-to-day life. “I take cream in my coffee and I eat legumes and pulses,” Fitzgerald says.

Try not to eat outside a 7am-to-7pm window, which will also help to stabilise blood sugar.

33gail33 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

Three servings of liver per week …. nope. 😬

I enjoyed eating liver fried in a pan with caramelized onions when I was growing up. I don't ever make it for myself, though. What I really like and buy now and again is liverwurst... yum!

As an aside, my mom once served cow tongue for dinner. It was tasty and tender, but I couldn't eat more than a couple bites realizing I was chewing on a tongue.

amusedmonkey wrote: »

I'm resistant to making changes that will be hard to keep up, I would rather age 30 years in one day than give up grains, dairy, and legumes or eat animal meat every day. Liver is out of the question. It's interesting to see, nevertheless. I already consume plenty of greens and love berries when they're available, and sleep very well.