A new study from Spain has uncovered a surprising link between obesity and epigenetic aging that’s well worth exploring. It proposes that following a VLCKD may be able to reverse biological aging. The research involved a cross-sectional cohort comprising two groups: one with 20 individuals of normal weight and another with 28 individuals classified as obese. Furthermore, a longitudinal cohort of 10 obese participants was tracked over 180 days.
These initial findings suggest that participants following the very low-calorie ketogenic diet achieved significant biological age reversal. In the study, participants who followed this dietary approach reversed biological age by more than six years. It doesn’t stop there, as the intervention made big strides in improving glucose and insulin levels in the participants. Because people living with obesity are at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, this is especially important.
The methodology of the research involved taking blood samples from participants at various intervals: baseline, after 30 days, and at the conclusion of the 180-day period. Through the analysis of these samples, researchers measured biological age, giving clues as to how the ketogenic diet may be beneficial.
The way the ketogenic diet takes effect is by severely restricting carbohydrates, typically to less than 50 grams a day. This process initiates metabolic ketosis, which allows you to start losing fat fast. This translational mechanism seems to be the key to a composite pancreatic beta cell protective health benefit reported among ug participants.
In the course of our study one researcher shared with us a powerful reflection on what our findings could mean.
“A very low-calorie ketogenic diet does show benefits, but any weight loss leading to a patient achieving a healthy weight has been shown to improve all medical conditions and prolong the life span; it is difficult to definitively conclude that the type of diet is independent of the weight loss,” – Ali.
This research has opened up exciting new possibilities for understanding how dietary interventions work. This is one way we know they can drastically affect not just body weight, but biological aging. What we observed in our participants was a slowing down of biological age clocks. This underscores the importance of dietary approaches to mitigate health risks associated with aging often associated with increased obesity.
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