{"id":149363,"date":"2025-09-20T13:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T13:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/149363\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T13:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T13:44:11","slug":"surprising-study-finds-vitamin-d-slows-down-aging-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/149363\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprising Study Finds Vitamin D Slows Down Aging\u2014Here\u2019s How"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Certain vitamins and supplements<\/a> claim to boost health and longevity. While we\u2019re believers that all claims should be looked at with a dose of skepticism, new research finds that vitamin D may help you live longer and age healthfully.<\/p>\n

Meet the Experts: Joseph Mercola, D.O.<\/a>, board-certified family physician and author of Your Guide to Cellular Health; and Amy Davis, R.D., L.D.N.<\/a>, Live Conscious nutrition consultant. <\/p>\n

A trial<\/a> followed more than 1,000 healthy American women over 55 years old and men over 50 for a period of four years and found that, compared to a placebo, taking 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3<\/a> daily helped slow down the shortening of telomeres. Telomeres are \u201cprotective caps on your chromosomes that naturally wear down with age,\u201d explains Joseph Mercola, D.O.<\/a>, board-certified family physician and author of Your Guide to Cellular Health, and they protect DNA during cell division, a process that the body uses to repair and grow. Every time that happens, they get a bit shorter, which makes them a marker of biological age<\/a>. \u201cWhen telomeres get too short, your cells can\u2019t divide properly and start to malfunction or die,\u201d Dr. Mercola adds. \u201cWhen they shrink too fast, your risk for things like heart disease, cancer, and premature aging symptoms goes up.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the start of the study, participants had varied vitamin D levels, and those who took vitamin D3 had more telomere protection than those who didn\u2019t after four years. \u201cThat\u2019s a measurable slowdown in cellular aging,\u201d says Dr. Mercola. Another group in the study took omega-3 supplements and did not experience the same results. <\/p>\n

Wondering if you\u2019re getting enough vitamin D<\/a>? The National Institute of Health recommends adults not get more than 2000 IU of vitamin D a day.<\/p>\n

While the study is promising, and there are others like it<\/a>, there were a few limitations, including the participant pool lacking broad demographic and health diversity, potentially limiting the strength of the findings, explains Amy Davis, R.D., L.D.N.<\/a>, Live Conscious nutrition consultant. Still, both of our experts do think that, in the way of studies, this one was a pretty solid randomized clinical trial. \u201cWhile more studies would help clarify the full picture, this adds real credibility to vitamin D3\u2019s role in slowing age-related decline,\u201d Dr. Mercola concludes.<\/p>\n

How vitamin D might slow aging<\/p>\n

Vitamin D is known<\/a> as the \u201csunshine vitamin\u201d that may boost mental and bone health. More research is needed to determine exactly how it slows telomere shortening, but it likely has to do with<\/a> its anti-inflammatory effects, immunity protection, and its role in cell function, particularly within the mitochondria, explains Dr. Mercola. \u201cYour mitochondria are the energy factories of your cells, and keeping them healthy helps preserve your metabolic power, your resilience, and even your brain function,\u201d he says. \u201cVitamin D also supports the production of glutathione, your body\u2019s master antioxidant. That means less oxidative stress, fewer damaged proteins and membranes, and slower wear and tear on your cells.\u201d Research<\/a> shows that oxidative stress may play a role in everything from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis. <\/p>\n

Other ways to age healthfully<\/p>\n

Of course, as is the case with any supplementation, you should talk to your doctor before going all-in on vitamin D supplements and make sure you\u2019re practicing other healthy habits such as eating a Mediterranean-style diet<\/a>, exercising regularly, getting good sleep, and maintaining an active social life.<\/p>\n

Your body gets vitamin D through sun exposure, which you naturally absorb safely in small increments, says Dr. Mercola. (Still, don\u2019t skip the sunscreen<\/a>!) \u201cYour body is built to regulate how much vitamin D it makes from sunlight,\u201d he adds. \u201cIf you supplement, test your levels first.\u201d Your doctor can draw blood and determine if you have a deficiency and if supplements are needed. <\/p>\n

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