BACKGROUND: Diet quality is suggested to be an important element in a healthy aging experience among elderly population. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association of diet quality and parameters related to healthy aging in elderly living in urban areas. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 1,355 older adults aged 60 years or older living in big cities in Indonesia from April 2016 until June 2017. Diet quality was assessed using the healthy eating index (HEI-2015) while healthy aging was determined using the healthy aging index (HAI) consisting of 5 physiological indicators: systolic blood pressure, forced vital capacity, random blood glucose, serum cystatin C, and digit symbol substitution test. The correlation among study variables was analyzed using Spearman’s correlation test and linear regression test. RESULTS: The HEI-2015 and HAI scores obtained in this study were (48.8±3.5) and (5.2±0.3) respectively, thus demonstrating a slightly poor diet quality and health status. The HEI-2015 score was strongly associated with the HAI (ρ=–0.85, p<0.05; β=–0.08, 95% CI: –0.13–(–0.02), p<0.05). Four components of the HEI-2015 were found to be strongly associated with the HAI score: whole fruits, total vegetables, sodium, and added sugars. The physiological parameters of the HAI correlating strongly with the HEI-2015 score were systolic blood pressure and random blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to establish the strong correlation between the HEI-2015 and HAI. Our findings suggest that improving diet quality would help urban elderly support their healthy aging experience.

Kimchi, the traditional fermented vegetables with seasonings from Korea, is globally renowned as healthy food with anticancer properties. Colorectal cancer is the world’s third leading cancer with an increasing incidence rate over the past years. High red meat intake is strongly associated with colorectal cancer and the World Health Organization has identified red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). This study aimed to investigate the chemopreventive potential of cabbage kimchi against the promotion of colorectal cancer by red meat in vivo using 1,2-dimethyhydrazine (DMH)-injected rats. Kimchi supplementation at moderate (5%) and high (10%) amount significantly suppressed the formation of precancerous lesions in the colon of red meat-fed rats. Using fecal water, the aqueous extract of feces, we found out that kimchi supplementation limited iron-mediated oxidation and reduced lipid peroxidation in the feces of rats. Furthermore, kimchi supplementation reduced the toxicity of fecal water of red meat-fed rats towards human colonic epithelial cells in vitro by suppressing the formation of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The chemopreventive effects of kimchi were associated with acidification of fecal matrix and increase in fecal lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Gene expression analysis in the colon of rats demonstrated that kimchi supplementation prevented colorectal carcinogenesis by up-regulating the expression of tumor suppressor genes and antioxidant enzymes, as well as by down-regulating the expression of proinflammatory proteins. Taken together, our findings suggested that consuming kimchi at moderate or high amount could protect against colorectal cancer promotion associated with high red meat intake.

Kimchi, the traditional fermented vegetables with seasonings from Korea, is globally renowned as healthy food with anticancer properties. Colorectal cancer is the world’s third leading cancer with an increasing incidence rate over the past years. High red meat intake is strongly associated with colorectal cancer, and the World Health Organization has identified red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). This study aimed to investigate the chemopreventive potential of cabbage kimchi against the promotion of colorectal cancer by red meat in vivo using carcinogen-injected rats. Rats were fed by AIN-76 diet enriched in freeze-dried beef sirloin supplemented or not with kimchi powder for 120 days prior to killing. Kimchi supplementation at moderate (5%) and high (10%) concentration significantly suppressed the formation of precancerous lesions in the colon of red meat-fed rats. Using fecal water, the aqueous extract of feces, we found out that kimchi supplementation limited iron-mediated oxidation and reduced lipid peroxidation in the feces of rats. Furthermore, kimchi supplementation reduced the toxicity of fecal water of red meat-fed rats toward human colonic epithelial cells in vitro by suppressing the formation of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The chemopreventive effects of kimchi were associated with the acidification of fecal matrix and increase in fecal lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Gene expression analysis in the colon of rats demonstrated that kimchi supplementation prevented colorectal carcinogenesis by up-regulating the expression of tumor-suppressor genes and antioxidant enzymes, as well as by down-regulating the expression of proinflammatory proteins. Taken together, our findings suggested that kimchi consumption is correlated with lower promotion of colorectal cancer associated with red meat intake.