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These Nutrition Studies Have Changed Our Perspective On Sugar, The Mediterranean Diet, & More
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Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
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In December of last year, we shared our top nutrition learnings from 2023—from the metabolic health benefits of savory breakfasts to the case for seafood diversity. Now, even just a few months into 2024, we've seen research that is just as worthy of time in the spotlight.
With findings that make the case for eating for biological age, provide new intel on the Mediterranean diet, and more, these nutrition studies have been the talk of our mindbodygreen team lately:
Your food choices can help lower your biological age (and dementia risk)
Biological age is more than a trendy test in the well-being community—it can actually help gauge dementia risk. And food can play a huge role in it. In one new study published in the journal Annals of Neurology, researchers set out to understand why a healthy diet is linked to a lower risk of dementia,1 discovering that biological age plays a role.
To do so, they analyzed data from over 1,600 participants aged 60 or older without dementia at the start. They found that adhering to a healthy diet, as measured by the MIND diet score, was associated with a slower pace of aging and reduced risks of dementia and mortality in the future.
This slower pace of aging, as measured by epigenetic factors, accounted for a pretty significant portion of the association between a healthy diet and lower dementia risk. This means that monitoring the pace of aging could in fact inform dementia prevention strategies.
Still, there are plenty of other factors at play when it comes to biological age—so don’t freak out if yours is higher than your chronological age. It doesn’t mean you’re sure to get dementia. However, this study does remind us that attending to our well-being through a holistic diet rich in brain-boosting foods is worthwhile for longevity.
A bit more on the MIND project
Sugar-sweetened beverages raise the risk of cardiovascular concerns, regardless of physical exercise
A recent meta-analysis2 published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition examined 20 clinical studies investigating the cardiovascular risks of various beverages, including tea, coffee, fruit juice, energy drinks, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages.
The analysis revealed that long-term consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and alcohol increased the risk of cardiovascular mortality in both men and women. However, due to insufficient data, researchers were unable to determine the cardiovascular risk associated with fruit juices (high in natural sugar) and energy drinks.
Interestingly, another research study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition around the same time investigated whether physical activity could combat the effects of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages3 on cardiovascular disease.
In this study, comprised of 100,000 adults, those who drank SSBs more than twice a week had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of recommended levels of physical activity.
Now, don't get it twisted, exercise is great for the heart. However, this study suggests it may not fully diminish the negative effects of excessive sugary drinks—another reason to be mindful of sugar intake.
Neither of these studies included the impact of the occasional sugar-sweetened beverage, so no need to go overboard with restriction. Instead, just be mindful of how much sugar is in the drinks you're reaching for daily.
When in doubt, check the label
The Mediterranean diet may lower depression risk in women 60+
The Mediterranean diet, celebrated for its longevity perks and user-friendly guidelines, keeps racking up new accolades. So when we came across a new study showing yet another benefit of following it, we weren't necessarily surprised. However, what's interesting about this research is that it dug into the specific foods that could be driving most of the diet's effects.
The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, surveyed 798 participants aged 64 to 97 to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet. People (particularly women) who closely followed this diet had a 54.6% lower risk of depression symptoms4.
What’s more, women who ate three or more servings of fish per week had a 62% lower risk of depression. For men, consuming more nuts and fruits was linked to an 82% reduction in depressive symptoms.
Choose your fish wisely
Protein intake is critical (especially during mid-life)
We already know that protein is paramount for optimal well-being (dive deeper into why and how much you need here) but one new study stresses its profound importance during midlife.
Published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study analyzed data from over 48,000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study cohort who were aged 60 and above in 1984. They utilized food frequency questionnaires to assess protein intake (both plant and animal proteins). Researchers deemed “healthy aging” as freedom from major chronic diseases, good mental health, and no impairments in cognitive or physical function.
Results of this particular study showed that higher protein intake, especially from plant sources, was associated with higher odds of healthy aging5.
Plant vs. animal protein
The takeaway
There’s novel nutrition research hitting research journals every day—these are just some of the many exciting advances of 2024 we’ve seen so far. If you're in the market for a deeper dive into nutrition, enroll in our Functional Nutrition Training or pick up one of these editor-approved well-being books for your bedside table.
5 Sources
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38407506/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38425440/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916524000017?via%3Dihub
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/adherence-to-mediterranean-diet-is-inversely-associated-with-depressive-symptoms-in-older-women-findings-from-the-nutbrain-study/5556D31CEE376C6E3C224982E14938B1
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309825/
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