Many studies have pointed out the benefits of the diet of the Mediterranean region, in countries from Spain and Portugal all the way to Greece; now, in the latest study regarding the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, aging has been proven to become slower following it.
For years, the diet of countries like Italy, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia has become increasingly popular due to recent findings of its health benefits (back in 2013, UNESCO declared it Intangible Cultural Heritage), but the most recent discoveries have pointed out the Mediterranean diet's aging benefits.
It seems that, altogether, for those who practice the Mediterranean diet, aging is really nothing but a number. According to Science Daily, the British Medical Journal has just released a new study talking about the many health benefits a diet high on fish, fruits, vegetables and olive oil can provide to the body.
The research paper, entitled "Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses' Health Study: population based cohort study," studies the value of the Mediterranean diet on aging, finding very interesting results.
For their research, scientists analyzed data from 4,676 healthy women in their middle age (from the Nurses' Health Study) that had to complete food questionnaires along with getting their blood tested continuously to measure telomere length.
According to The Washington Post, it was found that those women who ate more foods associated with the Mediterranean diet (such as nuts, legumes, fruits and unrefined grains) had longer telomeres in their blood cells.
Telomeres are the sequences of DNA that create protective caps at the end of chromosomes, which is the reason they're often associated with longevity. Every time cells divide, the shorter telomeres get; so, a cell's aging process can be measured through the length of these sequences.
Other causes for telomeres to become shorter are inflammation and stress, both of which are obviously unrelated to the studies regarding Mediterranean diet and aging.