What we eat, how much we sleep and how we manage stress directly influence the pace of brain aging, the latest studies in the field reveal. Emotional imbalances, gut inflammation, and a disordered lifestyle can accelerate cognitive decline even when the diet seems right at first glance.
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“Lifestyle, stress, the thoughts you have come a lot in addition to the diet. Diet is not everything. Stress is very clearly known to lead to changes and changes in the gut, in the gut microbiota. You can end up with gut dysbiosis, even if you eat predominantly plant-based products, but you're not emotionally balanced or you don't exercise enough or you don't sleep well. All of these contribute.”says Maria Varga, nutritionist doctor, for “Adevărul”. So sleep, exercise, managing emotions and quality of daily life can amplify or sabotage the effects of a healthy diet.
What long-lived populations teach us
Moreover, the specialist brings into discussion the populations of the Blue Zones, the areas in the world with the most healthy centenarians. “I wanted to remind you of the Blue Zones and the centenarians of the world, whose diets are mostly plant-based and have accents of animal foods depending on where they come from. What is common to all populations is eggs, and those in the Loma Linda area don't eat meat at all, but they do eat dairy and eggs.” she explained.
The long-lived do not follow strict diets, but eating habits that have been repeated for generations and surprisingly coincide with current nutritional recommendations. As Mariana Varga explains, the food in the Blue Zones is “predominantly Whole Foods Plant Based”, with slight variations depending on the area: some communities occasionally eat animal foods, others (like Loma Linda) live without meat, but include dairy and eggs in their diet. However, the common element remains the same: the basis consists of plant-based foods, simple cooking and a diet centered on minimally processed products. “The long-lived populations support the information we receive from the studies and confirm the part of the Orthodox fast that we should all keep,” adds Maria Varga. Prolonged fasting, traditional in Romania, exposes the body to consistent periods of plant-based nutrition and works as a natural cycle to reduce inflammation.
The pro-inflammatory diet and the faster-aging brain
These clinical observations are also supported by research recently published in the European Journal of Epidemiology. The study “The association between a pro-inflammatory diet and brain age in middle-aged and older adults”, conducted on more than 21,000 participants, shows that a pro-inflammatory diet accelerates brain aging, especially after the age of 60.
The researchers analyzed food consumption against an inflammatory index, then compared the data with MRI images to calculate “brain age”. Those who ate the diets considered pro-inflammatory had, on average, biological brains nearly a year “older” than those in the healthier eating group.
“The brain has an accelerated aging due to a pro-inflammatory diet, which primarily includes ultra-processed food, but also processed food. Too many saturated fats of animal origin, too much meat contribute to this inflammation,” Maria Varga believes.
According to him, inflammation starts in the gut, and the way the microbiota changes explains the connection to the brain. “Beneficial bacteria feed mostly on plant-based foods. Potentially pathogenic bacteria feed on saturated animal fat and excess meat. Inflammation in the gut will lead to inflammation in the brain,” she claims.
Why we age differently
In the case of elderly people, the effects are amplified. “It's very clear that they end up eating less variety, less fiber, a lot more processed food, sleep less and worse, exercise less and take a lot of medication”explains the nutritionist.
As we age, she continues, the gut flora changes. “Older people have much lower populations of bacteria that produce butyrate, which is one of the very important short-chain fatty acids for gut health. So do populations of bifidobacteria, and concentrations of achermansia are reduced.”
Butyrate is a fatty acid with an anti-inflammatory role and essential for colon health. Bifidobacteria support digestion and local immunity. Akkermansia helps maintain the intestinal barrier. When these populations decrease simultaneously, the intestinal system becomes more vulnerable and inflammation increases with age. She mentions studies where transplanting microbiota from young mice to old mice improved cognitive functions. “There are also clinical cases in humans, with patients with cognitive decline or early Alzheimer's who have done FMT and who have clearly improved their functions.”
FMT, or fecal microbiota transplantation, a procedure in which the healthy intestinal flora of a donor is transferred to a patient to rebalance the microbiota. In the cases she described, the restoration of a functional gut ecosystem was followed by a noticeable improvement in cognitive functions.
Studies show that the concentration of those toxins called LPS, produced by potentially pathogenic bacteria, increases in the blood of older people. “These substances are significantly increased in elderly people,” says Maria Varga. They are associated with prediabetes, decreased insulin sensitivity, decreased muscle mass, and accelerated aging.
For a healthy body, Maria Varga recommends a diet based on as many vegetables, fruits and whole grains as possible, chosen varied and colorful. It emphasizes resistant starch from legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, beans or peas, polyphenols from intensely colored fruits and vegetables, and traditional fermented foods. She mentions pickles made with salt, not vinegar, but also concoctions like kimchi, kombucha or braga.
According to his statements, prebiotics and fiber remain essential for a balanced microbiota. She mentions foods like leeks, garlic, onions, asparagus, artichokes, oats, nuts, seeds, pectin from apples, and insoluble fiber from whole grains. Maria Varga also recommends the shotgun or 16S microbiota tests, which can show which bacterial species are completely missing and where re-inoculation or supplementation is needed.
For the elderly, prebiotic supplements are useful, she says, precisely because the daily diet becomes limited with age. “It is very important to reduce animal fat and the amount of meat consumed. All studies have shown clearly: the more plant foods will keep the brain healthier and lead to longevity.”
Maria Varga also mentions how Orthodox fasting, practiced for over two millennia, is aligned with the principles of the anti-inflammatory diet. “The Orthodox fast includes at least 180 days of exclusively vegan food per year, respecting the two days a week of fasting and the four fasts, which are specially set according to the season, not only from a religious point of view”it concludes.
