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Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found a link between excessive sugar intake and a person’s biological age. They warn that added sugar can speed up the biological aging process.
They say a high intake of sugary foods can rev up the body’s biological clock, even if the rest of a person’s diet is healthy.
What the Study Revealed
The dietitians involved in the study recruited 342 middle-aged women, including African American and White participants.
On average, the volunteers consumed about 60 grams of sugar per day, with some exceeding 300 grams daily. The researchers observed that those who consumed high amounts of sugar appeared biologically older.
The findings may help explain why people with the same chronological age can age at different rates. The team says sugar is a major, often overlooked factor. Lead author Barbara Laraia, a dietitian, says cutting just 10 grams of added sugar a day “is equivalent to turning the biological clock back by 2.4 months” if sustained over time.
How It Works
Over time, DNA accumulates changes beyond mutations—epigenetic modifications. Those changes make up what’s called the epigenetic clock, which can give a reasonably accurate estimate of biological age, according to Science Alert. Scientists read those marks to gauge a cell’s age and the damage or stress it has experienced.
Diet, lifestyle, genetics, and disease influence how fast the epigenetic clock ticks. This study is among the first to look specifically at sugar’s role in a diverse cohort.
The results showed that added sugar can alter epigenetic switches tied to aging—faster than nutrient-rich foods can reverse them.
Participants who followed a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants had cells that looked younger. Those who followed a Mediterranean diet showed the slowest ticking of their epigenetic clocks.
Overall, the more added sugar a person consumed daily, the older their salivary DNA appeared to researchers. This held even when someone ate foods that support DNA maintenance and repair. The results suggest that added sugar can accelerate cellular aging. But the study relied on dietary records collected over three non-consecutive days. Previous work has suggested epigenetic markers can vary depending on when during the day a DNA sample is taken. Because of those limits, the authors say longer-term studies in both men and women are needed.
Elissa Epel, a co-author of the study, said, “We knew that high levels of added sugar were linked to metabolic decline and early diseases, possibly more than any other dietary factor. Now we know that accelerated epigenetic aging underlies this connection.”
The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
For reference, the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men. That includes an extra spoonful in tea or coffee as well as syrups or sweet condiments added during cooking.
