A modern study has shown that eliminating this food from your diet can reverse the aging process.

Your health is not only affected by what you eat, but also by what you eliminate from your diet. Scientists have now identified a specific product in your daily diet that, when reduced, can potentially reverse the signs of aging.

Fruits, vegetables, and a diet luxurious in vitamins and minerals are necessary for well aging. But a recent study found that even when people ate a well diet, every gram of added sugar could boost their biological age.

This test published in Jama Network Open examined the link between added sugar and epigenetic aging, which assesses an individual’s aging through DNA methylation patterns. The results revealed that reducing sugar intake had a profound effect, potentially reversing biological aging at the cellular level.

“We knew that high levels of added sugars were associated with penniless metabolic health and early disease, probably more than any other dietary factor. Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging underlies this association, and this is likely one of many ways that excessive sugar consumption limits well longevity,” study co-author Elissa Epel said in Press Release.

Co-author Barbara Laraia said: “Given that epigenetic patterns appear to be reversible, it may turn out that eliminating 10 grams of added sugar per day is equivalent to turning back the body clock by 2.4 months if maintained over time. Focusing on foods luxurious in key nutrients and low in added sugars may be a modern way to motivate people to eat healthily for longevity.”

The study analyzed the dietary records of 342 black and white women with an average age of 39 in Northern California. To understand their epigenetic scores, participants’ saliva samples were assessed and compared with their dietary records.

The researchers also compared the participants’ diet results to those of the Mediterranean diet, which is luxurious in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods, a diet associated with a lower risk of chronic disease.

Finally, they assessed the diets using the Epigenetic Nutrient Index (ENI), which measured nutrients associated with antioxidant or anti-inflammatory processes and DNA maintenance and repair. The results suggested that following all diets luxurious in vitamins A, C, B12 and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber and isoflavones was associated with a lower epigenetic age. However, the strongest association was observed for the Mediterranean diet.

The researchers came to an vital conclusion: eating foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated aging, even if the rest of the diet was well.

“The diets we studied are consistent with existing recommendations for disease prevention and health promotion, and in particular, they emphasize the potential of nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. From a lifestyle medicine perspective, it is inspiring to see how following these recommendations can promote a younger cellular age relative to chronological age,” said Dorothy Chiu, the study’s first author.