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The researchers have discovered that a balanced diet promotes healthspan and specific components in the nematode\u2019s diet exert a protective effect. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\nSummary: Living longer doesn\u2019t always mean living healthier, and researchers are exploring how diet can extend healthspan. A study in worms shows that specific dietary RNA molecules protect cells from harmful protein build-up, a major driver of aging and age-related disease.<\/p>\n
These RNAs activate stress responses and autophagy, enhancing resilience and slowing cellular aging across the body. While still early-stage research, the findings suggest diet could play a powerful role in promoting healthier aging in humans too.<\/p>\n
Key Facts<\/p>\n
Dietary RNA Benefits: Food-based RNAs reduce harmful protein aggregates.Protective Mechanism: They trigger autophagy and stress resilience pathways.Whole-Body Impact: Worms lived healthier and more active lives with balanced diets.<\/p>\n
Source: University of Basel<\/p>\n
People are living longer than ever, but a long life doesn\u2019t necessarily mean a healthy one. <\/p>\n
For many, the question isn\u2019t so much \u201cHow old do I want to get?\u201d but rather \u201cHow do I want to get old?\u201d. While lifespan refers to the years we live from birth to death, \u201chealthspan\u201d describes the number of years we spend in good health.<\/p>\n
The researchers have discovered that a balanced diet promotes healthspan and specific components in the nematode\u2019s diet exert a protective effect. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\n
Healthy aging is also a question of diet. It\u2019s long been known that not just the quantity, but also the individual nutrients impact how we age. Using the tiny worm\u00a0Caenorhabditis elegans, Spang\u2019s team has now demonstrated that certain RNA molecules in food have a positive effect on the worm\u2019s fitness in old age.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese molecules prevent the formation of harmful protein aggregates that are typically linked with aging and disease,\u201d says Spang.<\/p>\n
The results of their study have been published in\u00a0\u201cNature Communications\u201d.<\/p>\n
How diet shapes aging<\/p>\n
With age, the body becomes less efficient at removing altered and damaged proteins. These can accumulate and form harmful protein aggregates in cells. Such protein aggregates are considered drivers of aging and are associated with multiple age-related diseases including muscular and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
The researchers have discovered that a balanced diet promotes healthspan and specific components in the nematode\u2019s diet exert a protective effect. The worms feed mainly on bacteria that contain double-stranded RNA molecules.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese dietary RNAs are absorbed in the gut and activate quality-control mechanisms to protect from cellular stress,\u201d explains Emmanouil Kyriakakis, the study\u2019s first author.\u201d<\/p>\n
This low-level stress essentially trains the body to cope with protein damage more effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diet-dependent mechanisms slow cellular aging<\/p>\n
Diet activates autophagy\u2014a cellular \u201cclean-up\u201d process that degrades and recycles damaged proteins. This mechanism reduces harmful protein aggregation and thus slows down cell aging.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were surprised to find that the gut communicates with other organs,\u201d says Kyriakakis. \u201cWe observed protective effects not only locally, but also in muscles and throughout the whole organism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healthier aging \u2014 even in worms
Overall, the worms exposed to a balanced diet were more active and healthier in old age.\u00a0 \u201cThe dietary-RNA species elicit a systemic stress response that protects the worms from protein aggregation during aging,\u201d says Kyriakakis. \u201cthereby extending their healthspan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings confirm that diet strongly influences health in old age. \u201cSpecific food components can stimulate the body\u2019s own protective mechanisms,\u201d adds Spang.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, a little stress can be good for you.\u201d Whether individual nutrients can also spark beneficial effects in humans \u2013 and potentially help prevent age-related diseases \u2013 remains to be investigated. But it\u2019s certainly conceivable. What is clear already: What we eat can shape the way we age.<\/p>\n
Key Questions Answered:Q: What is healthspan, and how does it differ from lifespan?<\/p>\n
A: Healthspan refers to the number of years spent in good health, whereas lifespan is simply the total years lived.<\/p>\n
Q: How does diet affect aging at the cellular level?<\/p>\n
A: Certain dietary RNA molecules help prevent harmful protein aggregates and activate cellular clean-up processes like autophagy.<\/p>\n
Q: What did the study on worms reveal about dietary RNA?<\/p>\n
A: Worms fed bacterial RNAs showed reduced protein damage, stronger stress defenses, and healthier aging overall.<\/p>\n
About this diet, genetics, and aging research news<\/p>\n
Author: Angelika Jacobs<\/a>
Source: University of Basel<\/a>
Contact: Angelika Jacobs \u2013 University of Basel
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n