If you’re fortunate, you have many choices to cook and eat daily. And you likely have some favorites regularly featured on your dinner plates. The question is, what are these choices doing to help you feel better and age healthier? Are you satisfying your taste buds at the expense of your physical and cognitive health? We’ve previously highlighted the impact of the foods you eat on your health and well-being. So let’s take a look at some of the most recent insights and research focusing on how the foods you eat can shape how you age.

A new study published in JAMA Network examined the connection between sugar intake and biological aging. This study of about 340 middle-aged women, both Black and White, found that the more added sugar in your diet, the older your biological age, even if your diet is otherwise healthy. It’s clear that lowering your sugar intake and eating healthily can lead to a younger biological age, regardless of your chronological age. Both what you put into your body and what you leave out are critical to healthy aging. To read more about this study, put down your teaspoon and look here. (Though if you struggle to cut out added sugar from your diet, there may be a tech solution in the offing to help with that challenge- read about possible future innovations here.)

What other foods should you limit in order to age healthier? We’ve previously highlighted the risks posed to your health from processed foods. Now, another study (presented at the recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference) has underscored the risks from processed foods, in particular processed red meats such as hotdogs, sausages, and other high sodium, high nitrate, saturated fat-filled foods. What this study found was that these highly processed foods contribute to a faster cognitive decline and a 15% higher risk of dementia, building upon the existing evidence that diet and dementia are inextricably linked. So consider some veggies next time you’re firing up the grill and read more about this research here. 

And to take it even a step further, one additional new study investigated the impact of a vegan diet on the aging process. This research, part of the Stanford Twin Study (you can watch a documentary on Netflix about this), examined what would happen when sets of twins (genetically identical) were given different diets for 8 weeks. One twin ate a healthy vegan diet during those 8 weeks and the other, a healthy omnivore’s diet. Those on the vegan diet consumed fewer calories, lost weight, and had improved LDL cholesterol levels. Their epigenetic markers (reflecting their biological age) also appeared to be younger, suggesting that such a diet could slow the aging process. While 8 weeks is insufficient to determine the long-term effects of a vegan diet and more research needs to be done, once again, this study demonstrates there is an undeniable connection between what you eat and how your body ages. Read more about this research here and here.

Finally, if you’re curious about other nutritional updates, you may want to take a look at a recent nutritional roundup from The New York Times and a recent Washington Post article on some surprising health benefits of foods likely in your fridge!