Sweet danger: Study links excess sugar to faster cellular aging

Researchers have found that a diet rich in beneficial nutrients and low in sugar is associated with a lower biological age at the cellular level. Even a gram of sugar makes a difference. Scientists also confirmed that the healthiest (and not just the tastiest) diet is the Mediterranean diet.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco invited over 300 middle-aged women, both white and black, to participate in the study.

On average, according to their declarations, these women consumed 2.2 ounces of added sugar daily, although the range was large: from just 0.1 to 11.1 ounces of added sugar daily. A bar of milk chocolate contains about 0.9 ounces of added sugar, and a can of cola about 1.4 ounces, the researchers remind us.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that adults consume no more than 1.8 ounces of added sugar daily.

Next, the researchers looked at epigenetic changes related to gene activity that indicate cellular aging. It turned out that the healthier someone's diet was, the younger their cells appeared.

Adverse changes could already be observed with the consumption of an additional gram of sugar daily.

"Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may be that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day is akin to turning back the biological clock by 2.4 months, if sustained over time," says co-author of the study, Prof. Barbara Laraia.

Particularly beneficial was eating according to the so-called Mediterranean diet. Key components were anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients, including essential vitamins and minerals.

"The diets we examined align with existing recommendations for preventing disease and promoting health, and they highlight the potency of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients in particular," said Dr. Dorothy Chiu, the lead author of the study published in "JAMA Network Open."

"We knew that high levels of added sugars are linked to worsened metabolic health and early disease, possibly more than any other dietary factor…Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging is underlying this relationship, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar intake limits healthy longevity," added co-author of the discovery, Dr. Elissa Epel.