Arteries are large blood vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and heart, and vital nutrients from the digestive system, to every cell and organ of the body . This allows cells to transform nutrients from the food you eat, with the oxygen you inspire, into abundant energy reserves in the energy factories of your cells (mitochondria). These blood vessels handle blood moving under high pressure so they have strong, thick elastic walls made up of endothelial cells that line the inner wall (intima layer) closest to the opening of the vessel, as well as a mesh of invested elastin and collagen fibers in the middle layer (media). Arterial aging has been defined as a progressive age-related deterioration and sclerosis (stiffening  and thickening) of the arterial wall, a loss of elastin and accumulation of collagen in the middle layer of the artery, a significant loss of flexibility, and a dangerous dysfunction of endothelial cells. (1)

It is important to realize that so called age-related change is not defined by just the passage of time referred to as chronological age. It is also determined by the combined impact and consequences of food and lifestyle choices that you consistently make over time affecting biological or functional age. These routine choices can affect positive changes in your life, or promote dysfunctional decline and age-like changes at any age. As a result, you can be relatively old at an early chronological age, and biologically younger at a more advanced age. These considerations also apply to vascular aging. While there are age-related changes that typically occur due to wear and tear over time, the aging of your arteries is exacerbated by  your routine food and lifestyle choices. 

Negative lifestyle choices can exaggerate age-related cellular damage that undermines the body’s ongoing attempt to stabilize, renew and replace cells. The foundation of this damage stems from two basic processes: chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Inflammation is a natural, protective function of your immune system that plays a major role in the healing and recovery of cell and organ injury. However, when  it is exaggerated chronically over time, it outlives its usefulness,  becomes a major risk factor for chronic disease, and is hallmark of biological aging in every part of your body including your blood vessels. (2) Oxidative stress is caused by the increased production and  activity of  reactive oxygen free radicals from animal-based and processed foods, as well as alcohol, nicotine, radiation etc. in the absence of sufficient antioxidant protection.

 Diets routinely high in animal and processed foods, and low in whole plant food, create hyperacidity,  chronic irritation, chronic inflammation, and dangerous oxidative stress over time. The resulting vascular wear and tear can  damage the various layers of the artery wall  including the endothelial cells lining the inner blood vessel wall. This can foster plaque and clot formation, vascular blockage and the inability of endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide that promotes blood vessel relaxation and dilation. Elastic fibers in the wall break down, while collagen fibers accumulate, causing arteries to stiffen, lose their flexibility, and lose the ability to control blood flow. As a result, the arterial wall thickens, constricts, and increases systolic blood pressure that can foster more arterial damage, and increase the workload on the heart to promote cardiovascular, kidney, and brain disease..

 A common example of this damage and oxidative stress is the conversion of cholesterol into dangerous oxidized cholesterol ( oxysterols) from the excessive consumption of meat, french fries  and foods processed with, milk, cheese, butter and eggs. (3) This increases risky oxidized fats/lipoproteins, fatty foam cells, damaged  endothelial cells and impaired endothelial function that promote blood vessel damage, and premature arterial aging. Keep in mind that a whole plant diet provides significantly  more protective antioxidants than any other eating plan, and is your best protection against oxidative stress.   

 The increased  consumption of cooked animal and processed foods also provide a dangerous increase in a number of other chemical agents (including heterocyclic amines, saturated and trans fats, advanced glycation end-products, heme iron, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuG5c), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), methionine, and arachidonic acid) that contribute to chronic inflammation, systemic toxicity, oxidative stress in the mitochondria, blood vessels, and vital organs, damage to blood vessels in the heart and brain, and premature vascular aging. (4)(5)

Several other metabolic and lifestyle factors accelerate vascular aging. A high fat animal/processed-food diet, chronic sleep deficiency, chronic stress, and sedentary behavior promote insulin resistance resulting in dangerous elevations of insulin and blood sugar. Elevated insulin and blood sugar promote inflammation, impair nitric oxide production and damage the arterial endothelium via the process of glycation. In the glycation reaction, sugar molecules cross-link the amino acid chains of protein interfering with their normal movement and function, producing advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that are considered a main driver of accelerated aging . 

Many aging changes are directly associated with the buildup of AGEs, including chronic inflammation, compromised action of hormones and enzymes, decreased cognitive function, increased neurotoxicity and amyloid-beta deposits found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and damage to collagen in blood vessels associated with the loss of arterial elasticity and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, as important as it is to maintain a healthy level of  blood sugar to satisfy your energy needs, a consistent and long term elevation of blood sugar, is a major toxic threat that can accelerate vascular aging and ravage the body.    

It is important to realize that  AGEs are not only produced by internal elevations, alterations and interactions of sugar and protein in the body, but are also found in significant amounts in foods when protein and fat combine with sugar especially at higher cooking temperatures. This is where we see a major and remarkable protective benefit of a whole food plant-focused diet that is not discussed enough. The highest content of AGEs, and their toxic by-products, are found in animal foods high in fat and protein, including all meat, cheese, eggs and butter, all processed oils and ultra-processed fast foods (French fries, fried bakery products etc. ) that have been exposed to high, dry-heat cooking methods, including barbecuing, browning, roasting, grilling, frying and toasting. Whole plant foods lower in fat, and devoid of processed oils,  including raw and cooked vegetables that are steamed and sauteed in more moist and low heat conditions, legumes and whole grains have significantly lower, safe levels of AGEs that support decreased vascular aging.  

Routine consumption of excessive salt, typically found in animal-derived and ultra-processed foods, can also damage the gel-like mesh (glycocalyx) that protects the endothelial cells lining the inner walls of blood vessels. (6)(7) The glycocalyx/endothelium converts the amino acid, L-arginine, into nitric oxide that dilates blood vessels to increase blood flow throughout the body. Chronic, high salt intake causes the glycocalyx to shrink and degrade allowing sodium to enter the cells lining your blood vessels causing them to stiffen, and limit the production of nitric oxide and dilation of blood vessels, dangerously restricting  blood flow to the heart and other vital organs. (8) Excessive salt also causes the glycocalyx to shred into the bloodstream attracting cells of the immune system that trigger inflammation, promote blood vessel damage and  increase the risk of heart, brain, and kidney disease. (7)

There are several factors within your reach that reduce artery damage and prevent vascular aging at any age. Adopt a diet of whole-plant foods without added salt, oil and sugar. Dietary nitrates from a diversity of leafy greens, beets, arugala etc. provide the substrate for optimal nitric oxide production by your arterial endothelial cells. Regular aerobic exercise (walking 30 minutes, 5 times per week), and resistance training (2 hours per week), and increased restorative sleep, enhance the production of nitric oxide, growth hormone and testosterone that decrease inflammation, decrease arterial stiffness, increase artery flexibility, and remarkably improve the function of your endothelial cells to decrease arterial aging at any age. 

References

1. Seung JL, and  Sung-Ho P. Arterial aging. Korean Circ J. 2018 Feb 28;43(2):73-79.

2. Franceschi, C et al. Inflammaging and “garb-aging”. Trends Endocrinol Metab, 2017 Mar 28;28(3):199-209

3. Yanigisawa R, et al. The impacts of cholesterol, oxysterols and cholesterol dietary compounds on the immune system. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 13;23(20):12236.

4. Mengchao J, et al. The role of intestinal microbiota in cardiovascular disease. J Cell Mol Med.  2019 Feb 3;23(4):2343-2350. 

5.  Bastide NM, et al. Heme iron from meat and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta- analysis and a review of the mechanisms involved. Cancer Prev Res. (Phila) 2011 Feb;4(2): 117-84.

6. Sembajwe LF, et al. Glycocalyx-sodium interaction. Nutrients 2023 June;15(13):2873.

7. Vinaiphat A, et al. Damage arising from high salt hypertension elucidated by vascular bed system profiling. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosic and Vascular Biology. March 2023;43(3):427-442.

8. Oberleithner H, et al. Salt overload damages the glycocalyx sodium barrier of vascular endotheliun. Pflugers Arch. 2023 July 28;462(4):519-528.