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Daily Multivitamin May Slow Aging, Study FindsMementoJpeg – Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Regularly taking a multivitamin has been shown to slow down biological aging, or how we grow older on the inside, according to a study in Nature Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n The researchers based their findings on data drawn from the Cocoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS). This well-established, large-scale randomized trial examined how taking multivitamin\u2013multimineral vitamin supplements and\/or cocoa flavanols may benefit several age-related chronic conditions among older adults. In particular, the study authors analyzed blood test results for those who took the multivitamin since the cocoa flavanols didn\u2019t have any effect on slowing down biological aging.<\/p>\n After tracking older adults aged 60 and older over the course of two years, scientists found those who took a multivitamin every day experienced slower biological aging equivalent to about four months. And, those participants who were at a more accelerated biological age at the start of the study reaped greater benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cOur research group tested whether those randomized to take a typical daily multivitamin versus a placebo have improvements in various aging-related outcomes. What we found is taking a daily multivitamin may be a viable intervention option when it comes to slowing down the biological aging process,\u201d says senior study author Howard D. Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine in Boston, MA.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more of what the study uncovered and why a multivitamin may be a key to the fountain of youth:<\/p>\n Aging is more than just a number<\/p>\n While you may not look your age on the outside, internally, it can be a different story. Your chronological age represents how many years you\u2019ve been on the planet, but biological aging is a measure of how your body is growing older on a cellular level.<\/p>\n It all comes down to your own particular epigenetic clocks, which estimate how you\u2019re aging inside based on changes in your DNA. Over the course of a lifetime, your DNA, aka your unique genetic makeup, typically undergoes a chemical modification in the body. This process, called DNA methylation, can alter your genes, affecting how you naturally age.<\/p>\n Epigenetic clocks keep tabs on certain DNA methylation sites, helping to track the pace at which your body is aging. \u201cThese are sites within our DNA that turn \u2018on\u2019 or \u2018off\u2019 in order to keep the body functioning,\u201d says Sesso. \u201cAs a person grows older, some of these DNA methylation sites will start to turn \u2018off,\u2019 affecting how one ages.\u201d<\/p>\n Those changes in individual DNA methylation sites, or those comprising defined epigenetic clocks, tend to be unfavorable if you\u2019re defining them as an outcome, explains Sesso. \u201cThere are disease-specific epigenetic clocks for specific conditions that have been linked with accelerated aging and greater morbidity and mortality,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n What the study found<\/p>\n Sesso and his colleagues analyzed information from the COSMOS trial, specifically looking at blood samples of 958 healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70. Subjects either took the daily multivitamin or were given a placebo.<\/p>\n The goal was to assess the effects of taking a multivitamin every day, in this case a Centrum Silver supplement, on five DNA methylation markers of biological aging. \u201cIt\u2019s been shown these five clocks are the most common ways to summarize the different ways that we age,\u201d says Sesso.<\/p>\n Blood samples were evaluated for changes at the end of the one- and two-year marks. Compared to the placebo group, those in the multivitamin camp showed slowing in all five epigenetic clocks, including a significant deceleration in the two clocks that are predictive of mortality. In terms of time, the individuals who took the vitamin supplement had an epigenetic clocks\u2019 rate of increase slowed by around 1.5 to two months per year in contrast to those taking the placebo.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not completely understood why the multivitamin worked the way it did, but one hypothesis may be the fact that you\u2019re getting your complete daily nutrients<\/a> in one supplement. There\u2019s something about the combination of all of these that might be driving the effects, says Sesso.<\/p>\n \u201cA daily multivitamin is unique in that it contains all essential vitamins and minerals, plus a few other bioactive compounds that focus more on the natural interactions of nutrients,\u201d Sesso says. \u201cA multivitamin may mimic the importance of a healthy dietary pattern to improve health span.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s preferable to get your daily essential nutrients from a diverse, rich, and wholesome diet, making sure you get adequate amounts of lean protein<\/a> and colorful fruits<\/a> and veggies, notes Sesso. However, if that\u2019s not possible, a multivitamin can at least cover the bases.<\/p>\n The takeaway<\/p>\n \u201cThe research shows a multivitamin slowed biological aging, which may reveal a key mechanism by which a daily multivitamin has been shown [in the COSMOS trial] to decrease the risk of lung cancer or diminished cognition,\u201d says Sesso. This is promising news since lung cancer is mostly diagnosed in people who are 65 or older<\/a> and some measure of cognitive decline typically occurs with aging.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt the study results are encouraging, but according to Sesso, there\u2019s still more work to be done to further understand the exact role a multivitamin plays in delaying biological aging.<\/p>\n In the meantime, taking a multivitamin certainly can\u2019t hurt, and has little to any downsides for most people, says Sesso. \u201cIt\u2019s a low-risk, safe and cost-effective option that could be a viable part of slowing down the aging process.\u201d<\/p>\n However, a multivitamin shouldn\u2019t be the only thing you do to stay robust. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to focus on eating a nutritious diet<\/a>, getting a good night\u2019s sleep<\/a> and staying physically and socially active,\u201d Sesso stresses. \u201cA multivitamin can be a positive addition to your daily regimen, but it shouldn\u2019t be looked at as a replacement for those vital lifestyle habits.\u201d<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[251522,166706,72274,281,23835,97,269,1119],"class_list":{"0":"post-570432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-accelerated-aging","9":"tag-aging-process","10":"tag-biological-aging","11":"tag-daily-multivitamin","12":"tag-dna-methylation","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-nutrition","15":"tag-older-adults"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}