Polyphenol-Rich Diets Associated with Slower Biological Aging: Insights from a Clinical Trial

A study, published in September 2023, explored the impact of different diets on biological aging, which is a measure of how fast your body is aging based on DNA methylation.

They used various DNA methylation-based aging clocks to assess this in 256 participants with abdominal obesity or dyslipidemia over an 18-month period.

The participants were divided into three diet groups:

one following healthy dietary guidelines,
one on a Mediterranean (MED) diet, and
one on a polyphenol-rich, low-red/processed meat Green-MED diet.

The Green-MED diet included walnuts, green tea, and Mankai, a green plant, with higher polyphenol content.

The researchers found that participants who adhered more closely to the Green-MED diet had a slower rate of biological aging, as indicated by specific methylation aging clocks known as Li and Hannum methylation age.

This slowing of biological aging was associated with increased intake of Mankai and green tea, and it corresponded with higher levels of polyphenols in urine.

Overall, participants following either the MED-style or Green-MED diets showed a nearly 9-month reduction in their biological age compared to what would be expected based on their chronological age.

This suggests that diets rich in polyphenols, such as those found in green tea and Mankai, may have a positive impact on biological aging.

This study is one of the first clinical trials to suggest a potential link between polyphenol intake, urine polyphenol levels, and the rate at which the body ages.

Source: Yaskolka Meir, A., Keller, M., Hoffmann, A. et al. The effect of polyphenols on DNA methylation-assessed biological age attenuation: the DIRECT PLUS randomized controlled trial. BMC Med 21, 364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03067-3

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