This is a teaspoon that many Spaniards take daily, and if not avoided, it ages by 2.4 months.

It is no longer a question of not eating too much sugar to avoid weight gain or to maintain an adequate diet. In fact, it has now been proven that excessive sugar consumption accelerates biological aging. This is stated in a study published in JAMA Network is OpenThe point is that if we reduce sugar to a minimum, it is associated with a younger biological age at the cellular level.

The current WHO recommendation from 2002 is that sugar intake should be less than 10% of total daily calorie intake. Moreover, if this intake is reduced to less than 5%, additional benefits will accrue. According to the organization, 5% of total calorie intake is equivalent to approximately 25 grams (about 6 tablespoons) sugar per day for an adult with a normal body mass index.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) explain that even people who eat a healthy diet increase their epigenetic age with every gram of added sugar they consume. They examined the relationship between added sugar and epigenetic aging in a heterogeneous group of middle-aged women, as the study was originally conducted in a sample of white men. The scientists analyzed how three different measures of healthy eating affected what they call the “epigenetic clock,” a biochemical test that can roughly estimate health and lifespan.

The bottom line is that every spoonful of sugar you eat each day ages you by 2.4 months: “Given that epigenetic patterns are reversible, cutting out 10 grams of added sugar per day could be equivalent to delaying the biological clock by 2.4 months if maintained over time.”as the media explained Scientific and technical newspaper The study’s lead author, Barbara Laraia.

“Focusing on foods rich in essential nutrients and low in sugar could be a new way to help people eat right for longevity,” the expert added. That is, the more sugar we eliminate, the younger we will keep our cells.

The work helps to better understand why sugar is so harmful to health. As study co-lead author Dr. Elissa Epel, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, explains, “We knew that high levels of added sugar were associated with poor metabolic health and early disease onset, probably more than any other dietary factor. And now we’ve shown that accelerated epigenetic aging underlies this link, and it’s likely one of many ways that excessive sugar consumption limits healthy longevity.” the researcher concluded.

Also, as a final note and good news for many of us: The study highlights that the diet that appears to have the strongest link to less epigenetic aging is the Mediterranean diet.