Mixed
Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer leukocyte telomere length, a biomarker of biological aging.
Adopting a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern—high in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, fish, and olive oil, with moderate alcohol and low red meat—is associated with longer telomeres, a marker of slower biological aging. This benefit appears to come from the combined effect of the diet rather than any single food, suggesting that overall dietary quality is the key lever for longevity.
In this large study, greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with longer telomeres.
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=4676) and rigorous adjustment for confounders, but limited by cross-sectional design preventing causal inference.
Source
Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses' Health Study: population based cohort study
Marta Crous‐Bou et al. · BMJ · 2014
DOI 10.1136/bmj.g6674
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