Everybody knows smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products is about as harmful a habit as one can pick up. Doing so heightens the risk of stroke, heart disease and cancer, to name just a few of its ills.
But as you’re downing that burger, fries and rich dessert while watching the smokers huddled outside a restaurant, don’t get too smug.
Sure, you never touched a cigarette. But that pile of fatty food on your plate might be doing just as much harm.
Scientists at Columbia University found that restricting calories can slow the aging process by 2 to 3%. That equates to as much as a 15% drop in the risk of premature death, which is about the same benefit one would get from quitting tobacco.
Their study underlines the importance of a good diet in living a long and healthy life. How did researchers know watching your calories slows aging?
They recruited 220 non-obese men and women and separated them into two groups. One group was put on a calorie-restrictive diet, while the other ate normally.
Scientists then watched the groups over the next two years.
At the midpoint and end of the study, investigators measured DNA methylation (MEH-thuh-LAY-shun), a biologic marker that can be used to measure the speed of biological aging. This age doesn’t always match the one on your driver’s license.
They found people who restricted their eating aged more slowly than those who did not.
The good news is, we can change our diets, eating healthier foods in moderation. It’s never too late.
As for the smokers out there who have been successful at watching their waistlines, don’t take any of this as encouragement to keep puffing away.
All the dieting in the world won’t undo the harm of a tobacco habit.