Nutrition Pearls: How Omega-3 Fatty Acids Affect Cellular Aging

Linda is a 55-year-old woman who is concerned about staying healthy as she gets older. She has read that increasing her omega-3 intake, particularly by adding fish to her diet, is the best source. She comes to you today to ask if you have any other recommendations.

How do you advise your patient?

What is the correct answer?
(Answer and discussion on next page)

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Answer: It’s not any one component of a Mediterranean diet that is linked with slower cellular aging—it's the pattern as a whole.

A 2011 study correlated blood levels of fish- or shellfish-sourced omega-3 fatty acids with the length of the study participants’ telomeres—indicating that a greater intake of omega-3s is associated with longer telomeres.¹  

Given this established link, telomere length and longevity remains an important area of study. Here is a recap of the latest research. 

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The Research

Making use of data gathered through the Nurses’ Health Study, scientists at Harvard University assigned Mediterranean Diet scores to the dietary questionnaires of over 4600 participating women who were considered healthy controls (eg, free of chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease). The women also had provided blood samples that were used to measure telomere length.²

The Results

Even after taking into account variables including age, body mass index, and smoking status, women with the highest Mediterranean Diet scores had the longest telomeres. This suggests that these women are aging more gradually—at least on a cellular level.

Furthermore, when researchers analyzed each component of the Mediterranean Diet score individually, they could not find any single item that was significantly associated with telomere length.

Finally, the researchers classified the women’s dietary scores into 2 dietary patterns: prudent (ie, high intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and other seafood, poultry, and whole grains) or Western (ie, high intake of red and processed meats, butter, high fat dairy products, eggs, sweets and desserts, French fries, and refined grains). Note: I do love that French fries were mentioned specifically as being part of a Western diet! The data showed that neither of these patterns could be associated with telomere length.

What’s the “Take Home”?

So, what is the difference between a prudent and a Mediterranean-style diet? It’s unclear from the report, but a Mediterranean Diet includes moderate alcohol intake (particularly taken at meals) and a higher ratio of mono-unsaturated fats to saturated fats (eg, replacing butter with olive oil for cooking).

The important take-home message here is that it’s not any 1 (or even any 3, 4, or 5) component of a Mediterranean diet that is linked with slower cellular aging—it’s the pattern as a whole.

References:

1. Harlan T. Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent cellular aging. Dr Gourmet website. www.drgourmet.com/bites/2011/121411.shtml. Accessed December 2014.

2. Crous-Bou M, Fung TT, Prescott J, et al. Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses’ Health Study: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2014;349:g6674.