Category Archives: Aging

Healthy Diet Associated with Better Quality of Life in Older Adults

As we age and increase our risk for a variety of ailments and diseases, quality of life becomes very important to our overall well-being. Healthy diets have been shown to decrease the risk

Photo by Flickr user U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/13473984523)
Photo by Flickr user U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/13473984523)

and/or severity of many of these diseases, which begs the question “does a healthy diet result in an overall increase in quality of life as we age?”

A new study accepted into the journal Experimental Gerontology asked this very question and examined associations between diet and reported quality of life in older adults.

2457 (53% women) Australian adults between the ages of 55 and 65 participated in this study. Diet and quality of life were determined via a self-reported mail-in questionnaire.

Diet quality was scored based on the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI), recommended food score (RFS), and the Mediterranean diet score (MDS).

Quality of life was scored based on the RAND-36 test.

Important Findings:

  • For men, higher DGI and RFS scores were associated with higher energy.
  • For men, higher DGI scores were associated with better overall health, both physical and mental.
  • Photo by Flickr user  moodboard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/67835627@N05/7267002470/)
    Photo by Flickr user moodboard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/67835627@N05/7267002470/)

    For women, higher DGI and RFS scores were associated with better physical function, and better overall health.

  • For women, higher DGI, RFS, and MDS scores were associated with better emotional well-being and better energy.

The results of this study suggest that diet quality is positively associated with a better quality of life in older adults. Specifically, a better diet (and one that focuses on Mediterranean-style diet patterns) resulted in happier, more physically fit, and self-reported overall better health in older Australian adults.

Source:

Milte, C.M., Thorpe, M.G., Crawford, D., Ball, K., and McNaughton, S.A. 2015. Associations of diet quality with health-related quality of life in older Australian men and women. Experimental Gerontology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2015.01.047

The Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Co-Enzyme Q10 Beneficial for Healthy Aging

Healthy aging is a concern of almost everyone, considering barring any unforeseen circumstances, we all grow older. Metabolism is one focus of healthy aging researchers, with variations in metabolism

Photo by Flickr user  Vinoth Chandar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/8530944828)
Photo by Flickr user Vinoth Chandar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/8530944828)

resulting in various ailments among the elderly. Additionally, outside factors that can influence metabolism, like diet and lifestyle choices, are of interest to researchers, as changes in these habits could lead to improved aging and reduced risk of disease and injury in the elderly.

A new study in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences looked at the effect of diet on the metabolic profile of elderly, by comparing the Mediterranean diet, the Mediterranean diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10, the Western diet rich in saturated fat, and a low-fat/high-carb diet rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fat.

This study followed 10 participants, with each participant consuming each of the four diets for a four week period each (16 weeks total).

Metabolic profile of urine of each participant was measured at the start of each diet, and again after a 12 hour fast at the completion of each diet.

Important Findings:

  • Comparing the Mediterranean & CO-Q (Med&CO-Q) diet with the Western/Saturated fat diet, women consuming the saturated fat diet had higher levels of phenylacteylglycine in their urine than those women consuming the Med&CO-Q diet.
  • The Med&CO-Q diet was positively associated with B-carotene plasma levels.
  • The Med&CO-Q diet was negatively associated with Nrf2, thioredoxin, superoxide dismutase 1, and the gp91phox subunit of NADPH oxidase gene expression.
  • The Western/Saturated fat diet was positively associated with isoprostane levels in urine.
  • The Western/Saturated fat diet was negatively associated with CO-Q plasma levels.

These results suggest that the Mediterranean Diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10 may be beneficial for healthy aging in elderly. The specific metabolic findings mentioned above indicate that the

Photo by Flickr user Moyan Brenn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238549826)
Photo by Flickr user Moyan Brenn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238549826)

Mediterranean Diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10 could reduce the risk of disease caused by chronic oxidative stress, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.

It is important to note the sample size in this study was very small (only 10 individuals), so more research is required to further support or refute these claims.

Source:

González-Guardia, L., Yubero-Serrano, E.M., Delgado-Lista, J., Perez-Martinez, P., Garcia-Rios, A., Marin, C., Camargo, A., Delgado-Casado, N., Roche, H.M., Perez-Jimenez, F., Brennan, L., and López-Miranda, J. 2015. Effects of the Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Coenzyme Q10 on Metabolomic Profiles in Elderly Men and Women. Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences 70(1): 78-84.

Strong Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Associated with Lower Risk of Sarcopenia and Frailty in Older Adults

Sarcopenia is defined by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and quality of strength with aging, and is associated with frailty in older adults.

Photo By Adam Jones Adam63 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Adam Jones Adam63 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Not an actual disease, sarcopenia is part of the natural progression of aging. Healthy individuals, as they age, often have some degree of sarcopenia, however, there are ways to avoid severe progression of the condition, by way of diet, exercise, and other lifestyle choices.

A new study, very similar to another recent study on the effect of diet on frailty in older Spanish adults, looked at adherence to different diets on prevalence of sarcopenia in older Iranian adults.

300 Iranian adults aged 55 and older were randomly selected for this study, and were instructed to complete questionnaires related to dietary habits and patterns. Prevalence of sarcopenia was determined for each participant and compared to their responses on the dietary pattern questionnaires.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Strong Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Associated with Lower Risk of Sarcopenia and Frailty in Older Adults

Mediterranean Diet Consumption in Older Adults Associated With Lower Risk of Frailty

A group of Spanish researchers have recently published a paper examining the association between consistent Mediterranean diet consumption and risk of frailty in older community-dwelling adults.

A prospective cohort study looking at 1815 Spanish adults over the age of 60 was employed to examine this relationship.

Photo By CDC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By CDC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
At the beginning of the study, the “degree of Mediterranean Diet adherence” was determined for each study participant, which basically described how strict the participant was in terms of sticking to a Mediterranean-style diet, as well as various frailty measures including: exhaustion, muscle weakness, low physical activity, slow walking speed, and weight loss.

Participants were followed over 3.5 years.

Important findings:

Continue reading Mediterranean Diet Consumption in Older Adults Associated With Lower Risk of Frailty