The Nutritarian Diet: Could Plant-Rich Eating Slow Biological Ageing in Women?

A new study shows a range of health benefits for women who follow a plant-rich “nutritarian” diet, including significantly slower biological ageing.

In yet more evidence of the positive effects of plant-based eating on human health, a new study suggests that nutrient-rich, whole-plant-forward diets can reduce inflammation and biological ageing markers in women.

Conducted by researchers from the Nutritional Research Foundation, Northern Arizona University, and epigenetics company TruDiagnostic, the study explores how such “nutritarian” diets – emphasising cruciferous vegetables, beans and legumes, onions and garlic, mushrooms, berries, nuts, and seeds – can improve women’s health.

The anti-ageing benefits of a nutritarian diet

The study, published in the Current Developments in Nutrition journal, contrasted 48 American women who adopted the nutritarian diet for five years or more with 49 women who followed the Standard American Diet (SAD).

According to the US dietary guidelines, the SAD is characterised as too high in red meat, high-fat dairy, processed and fast foods, refined carbohydrates, added sugars, salt and calories, and too low in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats.

The nutritarian diet, on the other hand, focuses on specific foods linked with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-cancer and heart-healthy properties. These plant-based foods have high-viscous and fermentable fibre content, and are associated with healthy lipid levels and lower risks of mortality from all causes.

The research found that the plant-rich diet significantly slowers epigenetic ageing, as measured by DunedinPACE, a DNA-based clock tool that tracks the pace of biological ageing. The nutritarian diet also exhibited lower dietary inflammatory potential than the SAD, as indicated by the scores on the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern (EDIP) and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII).

The higher presence of T regulatory cells (which regulate your immune system) and lower levels of neutrophils (which can be detrimental to inflammation) presents better cardiovascular health benefits for women following the nutritarian diet.

Additionally, greater levels of DII – as was the case with women on the SAD – are linked to increased risk of frailty, type 2 diabetes, higher total and LDL cholesterol levels, cancers, and all-cause mortality. Similarly, a high EDIP score is also associated with greater cancer and mortality risks, alongside hip fracture and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Nutritarian diet followers were further found to have lower body mass indices, insulin-like growth factors, and blood glucose levels than women eating high amounts of red meat and processed food.

Growing evidence of plant-based diets and longevity

“These findings suggest that the Nutritarian diet not only reduces inflammatory markers but may also slow biological processes associated with ageing,” said lead author Deana M Ferreri. “This research aligns with the growing body of evidence supporting the role of plant-rich diets in promoting long-term health.”

Indeed, the study joins mounting evidence of the anti-ageing benefits of plant-based diets. Last year, a Stanford University School of Medicine study of identical twins (which also involved TrueDiagnostic) found that vegan diets can lower LDL cholesterol, fasting insulin levels and weight while reducing telomere loss, which slows ageing in the body. That research formed the basis of the Netflix series You Are What You Eat.

Another study by Stanford University and TrueDiagnostic, published in July, focused solely on ageing, and revealed that vegan diets can lower biological age in as little as eight weeks, much faster than an omnivore diet.

It follows research from 2021 that linked plant-based diets to longer life expectancy, noting that US women aged 20 and above can live over 10 years longer with these eating patterns. Even in older populations, veganism lowers the use of medication by 58%, a separate study has found.

The nutritarian diet chimes with the philosophy of the Blue Zones, six regions across the world where people live longer than average due to regular exercise or movement and whole-food plant-based diets.

This latest study comes just as scientists advising the US government on its next dietary guidelines have drafted recommendations to reduce red meat and encourage a shift to plant proteins like beans, legumes and peas, prioritising them (along with nuts, seeds and soy products) above animal proteins in the official guidelines.