A new study reports that vitamin D supplementation may help slow some of the mechanisms of biological aging.
The research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that vitamin D may help maintain the stability of telomeres, the protective caps at the end of chromosomes that tend to shorten as people get older.
That shortening is a natural part of aging, but it has been linked to certain age-related diseases. Among those diseases are cancer of the bladder, lungs, kidneys, and gastrointestinal systems.
“Our findings suggest that targeted vitamin D supplementation may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted,” said Haidong Zhu, MD, PhD, the first author of the study and a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, in a statement.
“Telomere length was protected with vitamin D supplementation, but it’s not clear how that translates to real life biological aging,” said Stanford University in California clinical associate professor of medicine Marilyn Tan, MD, to Healthline. Tan has nothing to do with the study.
Added David Cutler, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, “The present study involved only a relatively small number of people, looked only at telomeres in white blood cells, and did not look extensively at the health impact of these telomere changes.” “So, one can derive quite limited clinical implications from this study.” Cutler also had no part in the research.
Vitamin D and the aging process
Based on the VITAL randomized controlled clinical study under direction of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the researchers developed their conclusions.
The researchers monitored 1,054 subjects for their study to investigate if omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D may slow down biological aging and reduce telomere shrinkage.
Men ages 50 and above and women ages 55 and above comprised the research group. Over five years, the researchers tracked the subjects measuring telomere length in white blood cells at baseline, year two, and year four.
The researchers found that telomere length was not much changed by omega-3 fatty acids.
On the other hand, those who took vitamin D in contrast to those given a placebo reportedly had far less telomere shortening and avoided the equivalent of almost three years of aging.
Such a slowing down in the aging process offers major advantages, according to experts.
“Slowing biological aging could improve life expectancy and quality of life, and it could lower the risk of many disease states,” Tan remarked.
Health benefits of vitamin D
Over recent years, the health advantages of vitamin D have been hailed.
According to an October 2024 research, vitamin D supplements can help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure as well.
Other studies have also shown that enough vitamin D might aid to enhance cardiac condition.
A July 2020 research indicated that those with prediabetes might choose to use vitamin D supplements to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes development.
Furthermore well-known to help prevent osteoporosis and strengthen bones is vitamin D.
Furthermore associated to low vitamin D levels have been psoriasis and chronic inflammation.
On the other side, high vitamin D levels have apparently resulted in increased blood calcium levels as well as gastrointestinal problems and renal troubles.
