ISLAMABAD, FEB 08 (ONLINE): In the study published in Nature Aging, researchers reported that taking these supplements over 3 years slowed biological aging by 3 to 4 months, with even greater effects observed when combined with exercise.
They explained that biological aging happens at the molecular level, so even if two people are the same age, their bodies may age at different speeds depending on their overall health.
Although a reduction of a few months in biological aging may seem modest, the researchers said this could have meaningful public health benefits, including a lower prevalence of certain age-related conditions.
The researchers analysed data from the DO-HEALTH trial, which examined the impact of supplements and exercise on older adults across five European countries between 2012 and 2014.
They reviewed information from over 700 participants aged 70 and older, who were assigned either a placebo or omega-3, vitamin D, and exercise alone or in combination.
All participants were based in Switzerland, and approximately half were in good health, without major chronic illnesses or disabilities.
“In our prior studies in the same trial (DO-HEALTH) of generally healthy adults age 70 and older, we found omega-3 lowered the rate of falls by 10% and reduced the rate of infections by up to 13%Trusted Source, while omega-3, vitamin D and exercise combined lowered the risk of pre-frailty by 39% and invasive cancer by 61%,” Bischoff-Ferrari told us.
“Given these health benefits, we explored whether these treatments also translated to slowing of biological aging. For this we studied the most reliable molecular markers of biological age: epigenetic clocks,” she told us.
“Our findings provide a strong signal that omega-3 supplementation (1 [gram per day] algae-based) slows biological aging in humans, and that the combination vitamin D and exercise may make this effect even stronger. Biological age was slowed by 3-4 months in 3 years.”
– Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, MD, MPH, DrPH
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