Reviewed by dietitian Annie Nguyen, Ma, RD
Photographer: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis. Ettywell design.
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A new study suggests that moderate quantities of zinc can help to delay the aging.
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Researchers discovered that adding exercises can improve the effects of zinc.
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It is worth noting that too much zinc can increase the speed of aging.
Many of us are constantly looking for ways to delay or turn aging, and one thing that ages faster is inflammation. For example, we have previously reported on research that suggests that an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment-brain aging-with 21%. And another study suggests that eating more antioxidant-rich food-which is an anti-inflammatory is you to live longer with a higher quality of life.
One of these anti -inflammatory nutrients is zinc, an essential trace mineral that you have to get from food or supplements, because the body does not make it alone. Although you do not need a lot of zinc every day, this antioxidant-working mineral plays an important role in supporting DNA, wound healing and immunity-all things that influence aging.
Scientists jumped into the anti-aging bandwagon, not just to prevent it, but to measure it. Tools that use algorithms to determine people's biological era are now available and are often used in studies. Biological age is defined as the chronological age -dependent decrease of biological functions, characterized by 12 biomarkers that fall under three categories that can be measured with blood work.
So, although the chronological age is how old you are in years from birth to the present, the biological age is the speed with which your body ages. For example, the biological aging of a 48-year-old woman can keep pace with her chronological era or it can age slower or faster than an average 48-year-old woman.
Researchers from China wanted to know more about the role of zinc in biological aging, plus how exercise could change the effect of zinc on aging. They recently published their findings in the magazine Clinical. Let's break them down.
Related: what is zinc and why do you need it? This is what dietitians say
How was this study conducted?
Data was obtained from the British Biobank, a long -term study that contains medical and lifestyle information on more than 500,000 inhabitants of the UK. For this current study, researchers have drawn data about nearly 69,000 people who met their criteria, including sufficient information about nutrition, physical activity and biomarkers to calculate the biological age.
Participants were divided into two groups: one group without zinc intake and one with that. The group without zinc included more than 35,000 people with an average age of 56; 46% was feminine. The zinc group included more than 33,000 people with an average age of 56; About 65% was female.
Zinc intake was calculated on the basis of the food records of the participants and answers to questions about supplements. The zinc intake of the participants were compared with the daily recommended intake of 11 mg per day for male participants and at least 8 mg per day for female participants, where neither of more than 40 mg went per day. More than 40 mg/day is considered a zinc overdose for both men and women.
The training amount was calculated on the basis of standard questionnaires with regard to physical activity and was converted into the metabolic equivalent of the task (with). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that at least 600 meeting per week, which corresponds to at least 75 minutes of powerful physical activity per week or 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week.
Biological aging was calculated with the help of the Enabl Age tool, which, according to these researchers, is the most up-to-date estimate tool for distinguishing a view of unhealthy aging and for predicting mortality for 5 and 10-year-old death markers.
Confusing factors that influence biological aging and would be adjusted during statistical analyzes include sex, ethnicity group, BMI, family income, sleep disorders, smoking status, alcohol intake and history of cancer diagnosis.
What has this study demonstrated?
In general, this study suggests that participants with delayed biological aging – which means that they age slower – have higher levels of daily zinc intake compared to participants with accelerated aging. In particular, those who received the recommended amount of zinc every day showed an average delay of 0.11 years in biological aging.
However, as with most things, more is not necessarily better, because with zinc intake about the recommended limit of 40 mg/day, it showed an acceleration of almost 7 years in biological aging.
The analysis that included exercise suggests that participants with the recommended dose of zinc intake plus had the recommended amount of physical activity 31% reduced risk of biological aging compared to participants with insufficient zinc intake and insufficient physical activity.
Some limitations of this study include the scary population, because the British biobank usually consists of white people of European descent. The nature of this observational investigation cannot conclude the causal link; In other words, researchers cannot say that zinc causes slower aging, just that it is associated with it. Information about nutrition and physical activity itself was also reported, which always leaves room for errors and bias.
Related: 7 medicines that do not go well with coffee, according to a pharmacist
How does this relate to real life?
According to these researchers, there are insufficient zinc intake about 17% of people around the world, and for this reason they state that zinc supplements can be useful for some. However, this also comes with caution, because too much zinc accelerates aging – by a lot.
Researchers are not exactly certain why zinc seems to be slowing down, but they know that zinc influences age-related processes, including DNA synthesis, protein metabolism, cell proliferation (generating new cells) and mitosis (cell replication). Zinc has also been associated with bone health, immunity support, healthy hormones and the occurrence of diseases of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's. It also works as an antioxidant, which reduces inflammation, researchers add. And fewer inflammations means slower aging.
If you want to eat your zinc, focus on sources such as seafood, meat, poultry, dairy, nuts and seeds. Both our 30-day high-protein meal plan for healthy aging and 30-day anti-inflammatory meal plan for healthy aging contains a lot of food with healthy aging, including that with a lot of zinc. If you need more guidance to ensure that you eat for healthy aging, make an appointment with a registered dietician to help you design a plan based on your needs, lifestyle and preferences.
This study also included the role of physical activity, and noted that in combination with sufficient zinc intake, aging was further delayed. The study made no distinction between types of exercises – such as cardio versus strength training – only that participants met minimal guidelines. If you are not currently physically active, you start moving more all day long and be deliberately.
For example, do more travel in the house from the car with groceries, or up and down through the stairs when putting the laundry. Take regular breaks all day for stretching, put a set of squats or walk around the house for a round. Gradually increase the amount over time until you better meet the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of powerful physical activity per week.
Related: I am a dietician and these 6 small changes have helped me to eat more fiber
The Bottom Line
A new study suggests that adequate zinc intake can slow biological aging, even more in combination with exercise. But researchers also discovered that too much zinc was associated with much faster biological aging. Consider assessing which food you are currently eating that offers zinc. If you think you don't get enough, choose which food you should add. But before you are supplementing with zinc, you meet your caregiver or a registered dietician to ensure that you do not get more than your body needs.
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