An interesting study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition explored the role of vitamin D supplements in slowing the biological ageing process.
The study is based on data from a VITAL (VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL) sub-study co-led by researchers at the Harvard-affiliated Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia.
Findings from a randomised controlled trial revealed that vitamin D supplementation helps in the maintenance of telomeres. The trial observed that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and also protect the length, thus helping in slowing the biological ageing process.
What are telomeres?
Telomeres are protective caps found at the ends of chromosomes. They shorten during ageing and are also linked to the development of certain diseases. Telomeres are made of repeating sequences of DNA, that prevent chromosome ends from degrading or fusing with other chromosomes.
“This is of particular interest because VITAL has also shown benefits of vitamin D in reducing inflammation and lowering risks of selected chronic diseases of ageing, such as advanced cancer and autoimmune disease,” mentioned co-author JoAnn Manson, the principal investigator of VITAL.
What is VITAL?
VITAL is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation that tracked U.S. females aged 55 years and older and males aged 50 years and older for five years.
The VITAL Telomere sub-study included 1,054 of these participants, whose telomere length in white blood cells was assessed at baseline, year 2 and year 4.
Findings of the study:
It was found through the trial that in comparison with taking a placebo, taking vitamin D3 supplements significantly reduced telomere shortening over four years, preventing the equivalent of nearly three years of ageing.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation had no significant effect on telomere length throughout follow-up. However, further studies are required to understand the findings.
