Carotenoids are widely found in plants such as carrots, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, citrus fruits. Carotenoids are essential nutrients for the body, as some of them are precursors of vitamin A , an important nutrient for protecting vision, immune function and skin health. Since humans cannot synthesize carotenoids, they must be consumed through diet.

　　Recently, a research paper published by researchers at West China Hospital of Sichuan University in the journal Biogerontology showed that eating more carotenoids in the diet is significantly related to slowing down biological aging, and this association is consistent among various carotenoids including β - carotene. The paper emphasizes the importance of adequate carotenoids through dietary intake to delay aging.

　　Oxidative stress and inflammation are important factors that cause aging. Carotenoids have strong antioxidant properties and also have anti-inflammatory properties, which can enhance immune function. Therefore, intake of carotenoids may delay aging. In this study, the researchers analyzed 19,280 participants, with an average age of 48 years and 49% of men in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES ) database , obtained carotenoid intake through dietary information and analyzed the association between carotenoid intake and biological aging.

　　The results showed that higher carotenoid intake significantly slowed down the acceleration of phenotypic aging. The higher the dietary intake, the slower the acceleration of phenotypic aging, including various carotenoids, such as α - carotene, β - carotene, β - cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin.

　　Logistic regression analysis found consistent results, indicating that the intake of more carotenoids was associated with a reduced risk of accelerated aging.

　　Further analysis found that there was a significant nonlinear association between carotenoid levels and accelerated phenotypic aging, and the anti-aging effect would be enhanced as the levels increased. This means that maintaining high levels of carotenoids helps fight biological aging.

　　In addition, the study also found that among different groups and people with different health status, higher levels of carotenoids are related to slowing down biological aging. It is worth noting that for people under 60 years old, women, hypertensive patients and diabetic patients, the anti-aging effect of higher levels of carotenoids is more obvious.

　　Finally, the researchers analyzed the contribution of different carotenoids to slowing down aging and found that β - carotene and β - cryptoxanthin are the most influential compounds.

　　Regarding the underlying mechanism, the study pointed out that previous studies have shown that dietary intake of more beta - carotene is associated with longer telomeres, and higher carotenoid intake is associated with increased levels of the anti-aging protein Klotho .

　　In summary, dietary intake of more carotenoids is associated with slowing down biological aging, emphasizing the importance of adequate carotenoid levels through dietary intake to promote healthy aging. For specific populations, further research is needed in the future to explore the potential mechanisms and applications.