Fresh evidence of the benefits of the so-called Mediterranean diet for DNA was revealed last night.
A team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, looked at the impact of the well-researched diet on telomeres – repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that get shorter each time the cell divides.
Telomere shortening is accelerated by stress and inflammation, and is linked to reduced life expectancy and a raised risk of age-related diseases.
Details were taken from 4,676 healthy women in the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study. Analysis suggested that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with longer telomeres.
This diet consists of a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes such as peas, beans and lentils, and mainly unrefined grains, as well as a high intake of olive oil, a moderately high intake of fish, a low intake of dairy products, and some alcohol.
Details of the study appear in The BMJ.
Researcher Immaculata De Vivo said: "To our knowledge this is the largest population-based study specifically addressing the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and telomere length in healthy, middle-aged women. Our results further support the benefits of adherence to this diet to promote health and longevity."
Co-author Dr Marta Crous-Bou added: "Our findings showed that healthy eating, overall, was associated with longer telomeres. However, the strongest association was observed among women who adhered to the Mediterranean diet."
They call for future research to discover which components of the Mediterranean diet directly impact telomere length, and to investigate the role of genes.
The British Heart Foundation said the findings "reinforced" the need for a balanced and healthy diet.
Associate medical director Dr Mike Knapton said: “Longer telomeres may partially explain the link between diet and risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Previous findings from the same study had shown that those with unhealthy lifestyles had shorter telomeres."
Crous-Bou, M. et al. Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses’ Health Study: population based cohort study. BMJ 3 December 2014 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g6674 [abstract]
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