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Nutrition and Ageing

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Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry ((SCBI,volume 90))

Abstract

The ageing trajectory is plastic and can be slowed down by lifestyle factors, including good nutrition, adequate physical activity and avoidance of smoking. In humans, plant-based diets such as the Mediterranean dietary pattern are associated with healthier ageing and lower risk of age-related disease, whereas obesity accelerates ageing and increases the likelihood of most common complex diseases including CVD, T2D, dementia, musculoskeletal diseases and several cancers. As yet, there is only weak evidence in humans about the molecular mechanisms through which dietary factors modulate ageing but evidence from cell systems and animal models suggest that it is probable that better dietary choices influence all 9 hallmarks of ageing. It seems likely that better eating patterns retard ageing in at least two ways including (i) by reducing pervasive damaging processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress/redox changes and metabolic stress and (ii) by enhancing cellular capacities for damage management and repair. From a societal perspective, there is an urgent imperative to discover, and to implement, cost-effective lifestyle (especially dietary) interventions which enable each of us to age well, i.e. to remain physically and socially active and independent and to minimise the period towards the end of life when individuals suffer from frailty and multi-morbidity.

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Correspondence to John C. Mathers .

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© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Malcomson, F.C., Mathers, J.C. (2018). Nutrition and Ageing. In: Harris, J., Korolchuk, V. (eds) Biochemistry and Cell Biology of Ageing: Part I Biomedical Science. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 90. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2835-0_13

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