A new study suggests that a Mediterranean diet can make one live longer by slowing down the body's aging process.
Study leader Immaculata De Vivo, an associate professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, worked with her colleagues in analyzing the data of 4,600 participants. The data came from an ongoing nurse survey that has been tracking the health of the nurses for the past 37 years, according to Healthday News.
The participants were scored between 0 and 9 depending on their compliance with the Mediterranean diet, and their scores were then compared to the age of their telomeres. The diet consisted mainly of plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables (except potatoes), whole-grain bread, nuts, beans and seeds.
Telomeres are the "plastic tips" of the body's chromosomes that protect the genes and cells from being damaged. Earlier studies have linked this genetic compound to aging and cancer. When telomeres become too short or inactive, the cells start to die and this triggers the beginning of the aging process.
The analysis showed that those who were most compliant with the Mediterranean diet had the slowest rate of aging in their telomeres. Researchers believe that their findings were able to establish a strong link between the Mediterranean diet and extended longevity.
Other factors considered in the results of the study included telomere length, body mass index, smoking history, exercise, postmenopausal hormone therapy and hypertension.
"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," the researchers wrote. "Our results further support the benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet for promoting health and longevity."
But, other experts warned not to be too excited about the finding as it still not conclusive.
"All observational studies have the potential to produce misleading estimates, and we should not assume that the association with telomere length is necessarily causal," Dr. David Llewellyn, a senior research fellow in clinical epidemiology at the University of Exeter, said to BBC News. He is not part of the study.
This study was published in the Dec. 2 issue of the British Medical Journal.
