Page 72 - EatingWell Special Edition Superfoods 2019

A L I F E S T Y L E T H A T L A S T S

disease, cancer and diabetes. In fact, a new global
study published in The Lancet found that 1 in 5
deaths—from illnesses such as cancer, heart dis-
ease and stroke—is attributable to diet, mainly
from eating too few whole grains, nuts, seeds
and fruits.

Here’s what the latest science says about how
food works this anti-aging magic and which
superfoods you should add to your plate.

How Diet Affects Your DNA
The genes you inherit are fixed—you have
the DNA you have. But a wide variety of fac-

tors in your environment can change which of
your genes will be “expressed” and which will
not. This process is called epigenetics, and it
has been linked to several important factors in
how well someone ages. Psychological stress,
trauma, tobacco and alco-
hol use, environmental pol-
You can be in the lution and what you eat all
fast lane, headed have epigenetic effects. The
toward illness most sensitive time for di-
and aging at a etary ones is when you’re
quicker pace, says developing in the womb,

Elissa Epel, Ph.D., but there is plenty of evi-
or hang out in the dence showing that what
slow lane and you eat can make altera-
take your time. tions too, says David Sin-

clair, Ph.D., a co-director
of the Paul F. Glenn Cen-
ter for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical
School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The epi-
genetic ‘clock’ is slower in people who eat well,”
he says. In other words, eating nutritious food
can change the way your genes are expressed
and therefore your risk of age-related illnesses

like heart disease and cognitive issues.
A lot of nutritional epigenetic research is
done in animals and petri dishes, but one study
in humans found evidence of positive epigenetic
changes in the cells of folks three to six hours
after they ate about ¾ cup broccoli sprouts (tiny
sprouts of broccoli plants that look like alfalfa).

Folic acid, vitamin B 12 and polyphenols from
plants such as broccoli sprouts and green tea
are all known to play key roles in an epigenetic
process called DNA methylation.

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