Can Certain Foods Reverse Biological Ageing? The Methylation Diet and Lifestyle Study Suggests It's Possible
- Alastair Hunt
- May 21
- 9 min read
Updated: May 27
The science of ageing is evolving rapidly, and with it, new ways of measuring how well - or poorly - our bodies are holding up over time. One of the most promising tools in this field is the epigenetic clock, which examines subtle chemical changes to our DNA to estimate our biological age. In a recent secondary analysis of a pioneering dietary trial, researchers explored how specific foods may influence these markers - and possibly slow, or even reverse, the ageing process.
As ever, please talk to your doctor or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle, especially if you are under treatment. Links to all studies at bottom of page.
What is Epigenetic Age and Why It Matters
Chronological age is just a number, but biological age may better reflect our overall health. Scientists can now estimate biological age using “epigenetic clocks” mathematical models that measure DNA methylation - chemical tags that influence how genes are expressed. One of the first and most widely used of these is Horvath’s clock, developed in 2013. It uses DNA from various tissues, including saliva, to predict age based on methylation patterns and is known for its robustness. Learn more about epigenetic clocks here.
Accelerated epigenetic ageing - where your biological age exceeds your chronological one - has been linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Interventions that slow or reverse this process may, therefore, offer genuine protective health benefits.
Who Took Part in the Study?
This secondary analysis looked at data from the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle study, a small but carefully controlled trial involving 43 healthy adult men aged 50 to 72. The cohort was relatively homogeneous: predominantly white (81%) and highly educated, with over half holding a graduate degree. Six men dropped out, leaving 38 for the final analysis.
Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. While the control group continued their usual lifestyle, the intervention group followed a comprehensive eight-week programme involving:
a specialised diet
30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise five times a week
seven hours of sleep nightly
a 20-minute daily meditation practice.
However, this analysis focused on the dietary data, looking to identify which specific foods may have influenced biological age changes.
What Did the Diet Include?
The diet followed by participants in the intervention group was both precise and purposeful, centred on foods thought to support healthy DNA methylation. It was an omnivorous but heavily plant-based plan designed to deliver key nutrients that act as cofactors or substrates in methylation pathways.
Daily meals were to include dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, and generous servings of colourful vegetables. Low glycaemic fruits were recommended twice a day, alongside beets and seeds - specifically pumpkin and sunflower - chosen for their folate content. Eggs featured prominently, at five to ten per week, and liver was encouraged three times weekly for its high vitamin and mineral density.
Participants were also asked to consume at least one food daily from a special group labelled ‘methyl adaptogens’. This included turmeric, garlic, green tea, oolong tea, berries and rosemary - foods rich in polyphenols believed to influence DNA methylation and gene expression. Just as importantly, participants were told to strictly avoid grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol and added sugars.
What Did the Study Find?
At the end of the trial, the intervention group showed an average decrease in epigenetic age of 2.04 years, while the control group experienced an increase of 1.10 years. This resulted in a between-group difference of 3.14 years favouring the intervention. Notably, the degree of change varied significantly between individuals. Some participants reduced their epigenetic age by nearly nine years, while others saw little to no improvement - or even slight increases.
While this may seem surprising for an eight-week period, epigenetic age is not fixed and can shift relatively quickly in response to stress, inflammation, sleep patterns, and lifestyle factors. The control group, which received no structured support for diet, exercise or stress reduction, may have experienced subtle negative shifts in these areas. Additionally, because the group was already epigenetically older at baseline, this increase could reflect an ongoing trend in biological ageing that the intervention helped to offset in the treatment group.
What Might Be Driving These Effects?
To better understand why some participants responded more strongly than others, the researchers looked closely at dietary patterns and other lifestyle variables. This secondary analysis focused on whether specific foods or personal factors could explain the variability in epigenetic age changes between individuals. After controlling for weight changes and baseline differences in biological ageing, the strongest association was found with the of methyl adaptogens.
Polyphenols in these foods appear to work through several biological mechanisms. One of the key actions is the modulation of DNA methyltransferases - enzymes that regulate which genes are switched on or off. Compounds such as EGCG (from green tea), curcumin (from turmeric), allicin (from garlic), and anthocyanins (from berries) have been shown to regulate these enzymes and influence gene expression linked to ageing. Many of these compounds also interact with signalling pathways such as PIK3/AKT/mTOR, which govern cell growth, metabolism, and repair. These pathways are often disrupted in age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurodegeneration.
Some methyl adaptogens may also help maintain telomere integrity. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of DNA strands that shorten with age and maintaining their length is associated with cellular longevity. Certain polyphenols seem to protect telomeres in healthy cells while helping trigger cell death in damaged or cancerous ones. Although this has been mostly observed in laboratory settings, it offers a promising area for further study.
This study’s findings are consistent with other research from around the world. In Japan, men who followed traditional diets rich in vegetables and green tea had lower epigenetic age than those consuming more Westernised diets. In Europe, large observational studies linked adherence to polyphenol-rich Mediterranean diets with slower biological ageing, beyond the antioxidant benefits alone. A one-year Mediterranean diet trial, DIRECT PLUS, even showed signs of reversing epigenetic ageing in participants who were biologically older at the outset. The study, which added walnuts, green tea and a polyphenol-rich plant called makai to a green Mediterranean diet, also found beneficial effects. They identified specific compounds like tyrosols (from olives and green tea) and urolithins (formed in the gut from berries, pomegranates and seeds) that were associated with slower ageing. When combined - such as EGCG with urolithin A in mouse models - these compounds showed greater benefits than when consumed alone, suggesting that a diverse intake of polyphenols from whole foods may offer synergistic effects.
Interestingly, although participants in the Methylation Diet study's intervention group lost an average of 2.1kg (4.6lb), weight loss alone did not predict reductions in epigenetic age. This diverges from some studies that link caloric restriction with slower ageing. However, other research, including work by Horvath himself, suggests that short-term weight changes may not impact biological ageing unless sustained over longer periods. In this study, the benefits appeared to arise more from specific bioactive foods than from calorie reduction alone.
It’s also worth noting that legumes and whole grains - commonly recommended in many healthful diets - were excluded from the MDL diet, not because they are unhealthy but to reduce short-term digestive discomfort during the intervention. Their exclusion also helped the researchers isolate the effects of foods directly associated with methylation pathways.
Practical Advice for Readers
For those interested in supporting healthy ageing through diet, this study adds to growing evidence that nutrition can shape how we age at the cellular level. Here are some simple, evidence-informed steps to consider:
Include turmeric, berries, green or oolong tea, garlic and rosemary in your meals regularly. Enjoy as wide a variety of polyphenol rich foods as possible.
Focus on eating more cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, and folate-rich vegetables like beets.
Reduce intake of ultra-processed foods, alcohol and added sugars.
Maintain consistency over time. Results in this study were seen in just eight weeks, but long-term habits are key.
If you’re following a traditional or modern Asian diet, many of these principles still apply - and can be easily adapted. Green tea, oolong tea are readily available for many, as are turmeric (used in curries), garlic and ginger, which offer similar benefits. Leafy greens like chye sim, kai lan and bok choy are rich in folate and can be included in soups, stir-fries or rice dishes. Instead of processed snacks, choose antioxidant-rich fruits such as dragon fruit and papaya. Where possible, opt for brown rice or quinoa in place of refined grains and reduce the intake of sugar-laden drinks.
Building meals around fresh, colourful vegetables, moderate protein and minimal added sugar supports the same cellular processes highlighted in this study.
Limitations and What We Still Don’t Know
The study’s small sample size and focus on a homogenous group of healthy men mean results may not apply to everyone. The eight-week duration was short, and dietary compliance relied partly on self-reporting. Other lifestyle changes like sleep and meditation, although included in the intervention, weren’t closely tracked in this analysis.
Furthermore, the study only used Horvath’s epigenetic clock. Broader measures including immune or metabolic ageing might yield deeper insights.
Final Thoughts
This study provides some evidence that dietary patterns - particularly those rich in specific polyphenol-rich foods - can influence how we age on a biological level. While more diverse and long-term studies are needed, these findings suggest we may have more control over our biological clock than we once thought. Small changes in daily diet could make a big difference in how we age.
Changing your health for the better is about progress, not perfection, and even small changes can have a powerful and positive effect on health. For most people, improving health is about finding motivation and prioritising self-care - with an ultimate goal of taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps that fit into your unique lifestyle and circumstances, The Whole Health Practice is here to help.
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Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies
Villanueva JL, Vita AA, Zwickey H, Fitzgerald K, Hodges R, Zimmerman B, Bradley R. Dietary associations with reduced epigenetic age: a secondary data analysis of the methylation diet and lifestyle study. Aging (Albany NY). 2025 Apr 17;17(4):994-1010. doi: 10.18632/aging.206240. Epub 2025 Apr 17. PMID: 40266024; PMCID: PMC12074822.
Other
Fitzgerald KN, Hodges R, Hanes D, Stack E, Cheishvili D, Szyf M, Henkel J, Twedt MW, Giannopoulou D, Herdell J, Logan S, Bradley R. Potential reversal of epigenetic age using a diet and lifestyle intervention: a pilot randomized clinical trial. Aging (Albany NY). 2021 Apr 12;13(7):9419-9432. doi: 10.18632/aging.202913. Epub 2021 Apr 12. Erratum in: Aging (Albany NY). 2022 Jul 27;14(14):5959. doi: 10.18632/aging.204197. Erratum in: Aging (Albany NY). 2024 Mar 15;16(5):4943-4945. doi: 10.18632/aging.205700. PMID: 33844651; PMCID: PMC8064200.
Pradhan, S.; Blanton, C.; Ochoa-Reparaz, J.; Bhattarai, N.; Sharma, K. Herbs and Spices: Modulation of Gut Microbiota for Healthy Aging. Gastroenterol. Insights 2024, 15, 447-458. https://doi.org/10.3390/gastroent15020032
Yaskolka Meir A, Rinott E, Tsaban G, Zelicha H, Kaplan A, Rosen P, Shelef I, Youngster I, Shalev A, Blüher M, Ceglarek U, Stumvoll M, Tuohy K, Diotallevi C, Vrhovsek U, Hu F, Stampfer M, Shai I. Effect of green-Mediterranean diet on intrahepatic fat: the DIRECT PLUS randomised controlled trial. Gut. 2021 Nov;70(11):2085-2095. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-323106. Epub 2021 Jan 18. PMID: 33461965; PMCID: PMC8515100.
Veenstra JP, Johnson JJ. Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus): Health-promoting benefits and food preservative properties. Int J Nutr. 2021;6(4):1-10. Epub 2021 Jun 24. PMID: 34651071; PMCID: PMC8513767.
Ansary J, Forbes-Hernández TY, Gil E, Cianciosi D, Zhang J, Elexpuru-Zabaleta M, Simal-Gandara J, Giampieri F, Battino M. Potential Health Benefit of Garlic Based on Human Intervention Studies: A Brief Overview. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Jul 15;9(7):619. doi: 10.3390/antiox9070619. PMID: 32679751; PMCID: PMC7402177.
Shen CY, Jiang JG, Yang L, Wang DW, Zhu W. Anti-ageing active ingredients from herbs and nutraceuticals used in traditional Chinese medicine: pharmacological mechanisms and implications for drug discovery. Br J Pharmacol. 2017 Jun;174(11):1395-1425. doi: 10.1111/bph.13631. Epub 2016 Oct 29. PMID: 27659301; PMCID: PMC5429334.
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