Scientists Identify 10 Dietary Patterns Linked to Slower Biological Aging - Video

Could following a healthy diet actually slow down the body's biological aging process? A new study suggests that several different dietary patterns, including Mediterranean, Nordic, plant-based and DASH diets, may be associated with slower biological aging, indicating that there is no single ideal diet for healthy aging.

Published in Nature Communications, the study conducted by researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) examined associations between 10 healthy dietary patterns and molecular markers of aging among approximately 7,500 adults.

Researchers initially analysed data from 6,470 participants in Germany's Rhineland Study and independently validated their findings using information from another 1,034 individuals in the EPIC-Potsdam Study.

To assess biological aging, the team examined DNA methylation patterns in blood samples. These chemical modifications influence gene activity and change with age, allowing researchers to estimate biological age using specialised tools known as epigenetic clocks.

The findings revealed that greater adherence to all 10 dietary patterns was associated with slower biological aging, although the strength of the associations varied slightly between diets.

Interestingly, researchers found that individuals following one healthy dietary pattern did not necessarily follow others, suggesting that different approaches to nutrition may offer similar biological benefits.

The study also identified stronger associations between healthy eating and slower biological aging among smokers compared with nonsmokers, although researchers emphasised that this finding does not diminish the established health risks of smoking.

Further molecular analysis revealed that more than 70% of biological pathways associated with dietary patterns were shared across all 10 diets.

These pathways were involved in essential cellular functions, including metabolism, cell signalling and tissue maintenance.

Certain diets also showed distinct associations. The DASH diet was linked to cardiovascular-related pathways, while the MIND diet showed connections with pathways involved in memory and cognitive function.

However, the observational findings cannot establish that healthy diets directly slow aging or prevent disease.

REFERENCE: Juliana F. Tavares, et al.; Associations between diet quality, epigenetic aging and epigenome in two population-based cohorts. Nature Communications, 2026; 17 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-77064-4