Can A Mediterranean Diet Pattern Slow Aging?

By Jane Farrell

Researchers have found new correlations between a Mediterranean diet and healthy aging.

Hallmarks of the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, include: a variety of minimally processed whole grains and legumes as the staple food; plenty of a huge diversity of fresh vegetables consumed on a daily basis; fresh fruits as the typical daily dessert; cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, and seeds as the principal source of fat; moderate consumption of fish; dairy products consumed in low amounts; red and processed meat consumed in very low frequency and amounts; and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts only with meals.

The latest research on the diet and aging appears in a series of six articles in the March issue of The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. While touting the benefits of the diet, the reports also emphasized the need to carefully evaluate research data in order to measure those benefits correctly, according to a news release from the Gerontological Society of America.

Among their findings, the new articles report on underlying mechanisms of the diet; the positive relationship between the diet and physical and cognitive function; the value of taking a coenzyme Q10 supplement while adhering to the diet; and the role of the diet in reducing inflammation.

But in several of the studies, the level of benefit was dependent on how adherence to the diet was measured.

“Greater clarity on how this diet is defined, in both interventions and observational studies, will be critical in the aim of achieving a consensus on how to optimally apply this dietary pattern towards maximizing healthy aging,” said Michelle A. Mendez, PhD, and Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences Editor-in-Chief Anne B. Newman, MD, FGSA, in an opening editorial.

The exact mechanism by which an increased adherence to the diet exerts its favorable effects is still unknown to scientists.

However, writing in one of the new articles, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis say that there is accumulating evidence of important adaptations induced by the Mediterranean dietary pattern. These include lipid lowering; protection from oxidative stress and inflammation; and modification of growth factors that can promote cancer.