University of Sydney links high-carbohydrate diet to biological age changes in adults aged 65 to 75

Researchers from the University of Sydney conducted a nutritional study involving adults aged between 65 and 75 divided into four groups for four weeks, lomazoma.com reported. Participants who followed a high-carbohydrate mixed diet showed the largest improvement in measurements used to estimate biological age lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. In this group, carbohydrates accounted for 53 percent of daily calories, fat provided 28 to 29 percent, and protein comprised 14 percent. Based on the calculated values, individuals in this group were estimated to be approximately three and a half years younger at the end of the four-week period than at the beginning.

Nearly all participants in the University of Sydney trial experienced weight loss, even though weight reduction was not the study's objective lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. The researchers calculated biological age shifts using 20 biomarkers, including insulin, cholesterol, and the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. According to the authors, it remains unknown whether these observed changes will persist beyond the four-week study duration.

Nutrient profile and microbiome effects

Participants in the trial consumed minimally processed foods, obtaining carbohydrates from whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit rather than refined options lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Nutrition specialist Emma Bardwell noted that minimally processed carbohydrates retain their natural matrix, requiring more metabolic effort to break down, which prevents rapid spikes in blood glucose. Repeated glucose spikes can lead to chronic inflammation linked to conditions such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Whole sources also supply dietary fibre that feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids to help regulate inflammation.

Fibre intake and health associations

Dietary fibre intake correlates consistently with lower risks of premature death, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and colorectal cancer, according to the report lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. A cited Japanese study of more than 41,000 adults found that individuals with the highest fibre intake had a significantly lower risk of dementia with daily life impairment compared to those with the lowest intake. According to Bardwell, 96 percent of people in the United Kingdom fail to reach the recommended intake of 30 g of fibre per day.