The new findings suggest that higher levels of inflammatory bacteria are linked to accelerated aging and poorer physical performance.
The human intestine is a complex ecosystem, home to trillions of microorganisms that play a vital role in maintaining our health.
Recent findings published in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience have found that the diversity of microbes in the gut may not only influence our physical condition but also affect how quickly we age.
The revelations from a team at the Hungarian University of Sports Sciences open up new possibilities for harnessing the power of probiotics to promote health and longevity, said Professor Zsolt Radak, lead author of the study.
With his team in Budapest, Radak examined the relationship between gut microbiome diversity, biological age (our age determined by the state of our general health, and not by our years of life) and physical fitness in 80 recreational rowers.
For the purposes of the study, each participant underwent a series of fitness assessments and provided a stool sample to test for bacteria in their gut, as well as blood samples to determine their biological age using epigenetic markers.
Epigenetic markers are like switches in our DNA that can control whether certain genes are turned on or off, and play a crucial role in determining how our cells develop, function, and respond to our environment.
The quality of our cells can be influenced by factors such as our lifestyle, diet, and exposure to environmental factors, which can ultimately affect our health and the way we age.
Epigenetic markers allow scientists to measure this cellular decline, providing a snapshot of our “epigenetic clocks” or “biological age.”
unexpected results
“We found that inflammatory bacteria is actually accelerating the aging process, so if you have more inflammatory bacteria then you have advanced aging,” Radak told Euronews Next, adding that accelerated aging “means you are older than your chronological age”.
Similarly, by analyzing the specific bacteria present in the rowers’ gut microbiomes, the researchers found that higher levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria correlated with better indicators of fitness and a slower rate of aging.
In contrast, the presence of inflammatory bacteria was associated with poorer performance on fitness tests.
The athletes ranged in age from 38 to 84 and had participated in the 2019 World Rowing Masters Regatta, an international rowing competition designed specifically for master rowers.
ADVERTISEMENTA crucial link between the gut and aging
The findings suggest a crucial link between gut bacteria, inflammation, fitness and the aging process, challenging the common assumption that more bacteria simply means better health, Radak says.
The study, however, did not determine a cause and effect. It could well be that athletes’ supposedly healthier dietary choices are positively influencing the abundance of beneficial bacteria in their gut.
However, “these bacteria are not related to chronological aging. Which I think is quite an interesting observation because it means that these bacteria are actually involved in DNA methylation aging (epigenetic aging), (and therefore) they are not the result of (chronological) aging,” Radak said.
In other words, inflammatory bacteria, when abundant, are linked to accelerated aging.
“I think these findings are important because we first have to identify the relationships. And then, of course, if you can confirm that, the next step is to modify (treat) this type of abundance (of inflammatory bacteria) and then make modifications to the gut microbiome. that allow, perhaps, a slowdown in aging and a healthier life,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENTRadak’s team is currently conducting a six-month follow-up study in which they altered the gut microbiome of rowers using probiotics to test whether this intervention directly affects biological age.
The findings are expected to be published in early 2024.
Meanwhile, they are also working on a different study involving 60 Olympic champions between the ages of 25 and 102, which aims to explore the impact of early high-level physical activity on the aging process.
Preliminary results have already revealed that elite athletes have an epigenetic age younger than their chronological age, Radak told Euronews Next.
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