The cross-sectional study examined food records from 342 Black and white women with a mean age of 39 years from Northern California, comparing their diets to epigenetic clock measures obtained from saliva samples. Senior co-author Elissa Epel, PhD, a professor in UCSF's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said high levels of added sugar are known to worsen metabolic health and that accelerated epigenetic aging may underlie this relationship.

The research is among the first to establish a connection between added sugar and epigenetic aging and to examine this in a diverse midlife population, the researchers noted. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that dietary choices can influence aging at a molecular level.

Study Methodology and Results

The women's diets were scored against a Mediterranean-style diet, a diet associated with lower chronic disease risk, and a newly developed Epigenetic Nutrient Index based on nutrients such as Vitamins A, C, B12, E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber, and isoflavones. Adherence to any of the healthy diets was significantly associated with a lower epigenetic age, with the Mediterranean diet showing the strongest association, according to the researchers. The findings align with broader nutritional science showing that diets rich in vegetables and key micronutrients can modulate cellular aging. For instance, a study published in Aging found that foods rich in methylated adaptogens significantly reduced epigenetic age in an eight-week trial [1].