Consuming foods and beverages that have high phosphate levels may speed up age-related issues, according to findings published in the FASEB Journal.

To conduct this research, a team of physicians used three groups of mice and observed the effects of feeding a high-phosphate diet to one group and compared them to the others who were not on the diet.

In the first group, the animals were missing one gene that prevented the chemical levels from rising, and only lived 8 to 15 weeks. The second group were genetically altered at birth to have naturally low phosphate levels, and lived the longest – about 20 weeks. The third group, which had the same genetic makeup as the second group, but ate a diet high in phosphate levels, died within 15 weeks.

The results show that high levels of this chemical were toxic in the mice, and could have a similar effect on humans.

M. Shawkat Razzaque, a physician from the Department of Medicine, Infection and Immunity at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, stated that “humans need a healthy diet and keeping the balance of phosphate in the diet may be important for a healthy life and longevity.” The physician added that “this research suggests that our phosphorous balance influences the aging process.”

People can achieve a phosphorus balance by including milk, grain and foods rich in protein, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.