Scientists have discovered that vitamin D supplementation may offer protection against biological aging. A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vitamin D helps maintain telomeres, which are crucial for protecting chromosomes. The research suggests that vitamin D3 supplements can significantly reduce telomere shortening, potentially preventing the equivalent of nearly three years of aging.
Humans are obsessed with freezing time, especially when it comes to aging. Though aging is a natural process, the quest to slow it down, or even reverse it, never ends. For centuries, scientists have been working on slowing down the aging process.
Now, new research has found that a certain vitamin could offer protection against biological aging. The nutrient in the spotlight is vitamin D
In a groundbreaking study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers found that vitamin D supplementation helps maintain telomeres, protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during aging and are linked to the development of certain diseases. The study is based on the data from a VITAL sub-study co-led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia.“VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve telomere length. This is of particular interest because VITAL had also shown benefits of vitamin D in reducing inflammation and lowering risks of selected chronic diseases of aging, such as advanced cancer and autoimmune disease,” co-author JoAnn Manson, MD, principal investigator of VITAL and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system said in a statementWhat are telomeres A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome.
These protect the ends of chromosomes from degrading or fusing with other chromosomes. Telomere shortening is a natural part of aging and is associated with an increased risk of various age-related diseases.
Previous short-term studies have suggested that vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may help support telomeres, however, the results have been inconsistent. The VITAL was a large, five-year trial that tested vitamin D3 (2,000 IU/day) and omega-3 fatty acid (1 g/day) supplementation in US females aged 55 years and older and males aged 50 years.
The sub-study had 1,054 participants, whose telomere length in white blood cells was assessed at baseline in the second and fourth years.
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They found that people who took vitamin D3 supplements significantly reduced telomere shortening over four years, preventing the equivalent of nearly three years of aging compared with those who didn’t. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, however, had no significant effect on telomere length throughout follow-up. “Our findings suggest that targeted vitamin D supplementation may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted,” Haidong Zhu, PhD, first author of the report and a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, added.
Sunlight is the most effective way for the body to produce vitamin D naturally. When the skin is exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun, it produces vitamin D. Some foods are also rich in vitamin D. These include fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, herring, and trout. Red meat, egg yolks, liver, and cod liver oil are also good sources of the vitamin.
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