Diet and Lifestyle Changes May Reverse Biological Age in Middle Aged Women

Results from a recent study suggested that biological age reduction may be possible through a DNA methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle.

The study, published in the journal, Aging, was led by Kara Fitzgerald, ND, a practicing naturopathic doctor and clinical researcher who specializes in epigenetics and longevity. Previous research conducted by Fitzgerald indicated that diet and exercise had potential to reverse biological age in men. For this study, Fitzgerald and a team of researchers from the Institutes of Functional Medicine (IFM), Virginia Commonwealth University, and the American Nutrition Association set out to discover the impact of diet and lifestyle interventions on the biological age of middle-aged women.

The investigation included six healthy women with chronological ages ranging from 46 to 65 years. Each participant was instructed to follow specific guidelines for their diet, sleep schedules, and exercise routines. The guidelines also included various lifestyle tips and relaxation coaching sessions. Participants were also given a greens powder and a probiotic twice a day. Researchers measured the women’s biological age through DNA methylation analysis both before and after the intervention, which lasted for eight weeks.

Results showed that the participants’ biological age reversed by an average of 4.6 years after the trial period.

“The dramatic biological age reduction we saw in this study, using widely accessible, nonpharmaceutical interventions over a relatively short time frame, exceeded our expectations,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “This adds to data we previously published on middle-aged men, who experienced an average biological age reduction of 3.23 years using an intervention that was very similar.”

According to Fitzgerald, because the participants were all considered healthy and biologically young from the beginning of the program, the study’s lifestyle and dietary interventions appear to have directly targeted aging itself rather than the aging effects of disease.

“The fact that they got biologically younger suggests that our intervention targeted the underlying biological mechanism of aging itself,” said Fitzgerald. “Since aging is the number one independent risk factor for chronic disease, the potential implications of being able to affect aging mechanisms are significant.”