Mediterranean diet and telomeres

Does your diet consist of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and grains? What about olive oil and fish, or even red wine? Then you are taking care of your telomeres!

These foods make up the base of the Mediterranean Diet. In a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, the Mediterranean Diet was shown to be significantly associated with longer telomere length.

This may be because the foods eaten in this diet are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. 4,700 registered nurses, aged 30-55 participated in the study.

The nurses’ diets were scored based on how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet and the telomere length in their blood was measured. Women with higher diet scores had longer telomere lengths.

Shorter telomeres are often correlated to increased risk of aging-related disease, so this diet protects your telomeres. Countries following the Mediterranean diet such as Spain, Italy and Greece have some of the lowest rates of heart disease and increased life expectancy!

To see more, please watch the following CNN video where Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses the importance of telomeres and the Mediterranean diet. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/03/health/mediterranean-diet-longevity/