Summary
A Mediterranean diet has been widely reported as being associated with healthy ageing. New research covering 5,000 Boston nurses for over a decade has found that persons consuming a balanced – but largely Mediterranean-style – diet tend to remain genetically younger; having longer, healthier telomeres. Telomeres cap the end of chromosomes and are understood to prevent the loss (“unravelling”) of genetic information during cell division. Shorter telomeres are generally associated with a broad range of age-related diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Reference
Roberts, M. (2014). Mediterranean diet keeps people ‘genetically young’. London: BBC Health News, December 3rd 2014.
This relates to:
Reference
Crous-Bou, M. Fung, TT. [and] Prescott, J. [et al] (2014). Mediterranean diet and telomere length in nurses’ health study: population based cohort study. BMJ. December 2nd 2014, 349: g6674.
