Vitamin D May Slow a Process Related to Aging, New Study Suggests

People who have a higher vitamin D intake may be slowing down a biological process linked to aging, according to a study published this week.
But don't rush out to buy supplements just yet. The findings need to be confirmed with additional research, and the vast majority of people in the United States are already getting enough vitamin D from diet and sunlight, experts say.
In the new analysis, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and other universities looked at telomeres – the protective caps of DNA code at the ends of chromosomes – which tend to shorten as we age.
It's a biological 'clock' of sorts, and shorter telomeres have been linked to an increased risk of certain diseases. Vitamin D supplements, though, may slow that shrinking process, the new research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found.
While previous studies have shown an association between vitamin D and telomere length, most were observational. The new study is randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled, lending more credence to the findings.
'We think these findings are promising and warrant further study. But we think that the replication will be important before changing the general guidelines for vitamin D intake,' said JoAnn Manson, a co-author of the study and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Reduced telomere shortening
The findings are part of a larger study, called the VITAL trial, that Manson and other researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have been conducting for five years. It involves 25,871 participants – U.S. women age 55 and older and men age 50 and older – who have been given 2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 a day and 1 gram of Omega 3 fatty acid a day to determine their effects primarily on cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention.
The telomere study focused on about 900 of those participants, largely from Boston, whose telomere length in white blood cells was assessed at baseline and again in years 2 and 4.
Researchers found that compared with the group taking the placebo, those taking vitamin D supplements had reduced telomere shortening over four years. Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation, on the other hand, had no obvious effect on telomere length.
How telomeres may be associated with aging
During each cell division, telomeres ensure that the cell's chromosomes do not fuse with one another or rearrange themselves, and with each replication, the telomeres shorten a bit. This process is associated with aging as well as an increased risk of infections, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The researchers think that vitamin D supplementation's benefit is related to tamping down inflammation, Manson said. Inflammation has been associated with autoimmune diseases as well as cancer.
Healthy diet and lifestyle are critical
While vitamin D may have benefits, Manson emphasized that it is not a cure-all. There are many chronic diseases that do not seem to be reduced by vitamin D supplementation, she said.
'Dietary supplements will never be a substitute for healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, and we've made it very clear time and again that the focus should be on the diet and lifestyle rather than on supplementation,' she said. 'However, targeted supplementation for people who have higher levels of inflammation or a higher risk of chronic diseases clearly related to inflammation, those high risk groups may benefit from targeted vitamin D supplementation.'
The telomere study was randomized, meaning participants were randomly assigned to either the vitamin D supplement group or the placebo group to ensure that characteristics such as age, health status, diet and lifestyle are balanced between the groups. Randomization is considered the gold standard in clinical research because it makes the groups as similar as possible at the start of the study.
'All of the risk factors for chronic disease, for telomere shortening, the age, the demographics, the physical activity, diet, underlying health, hypertension, diabetes, all these risk factors are balanced out by the randomization process,' Manson said, meaning the only difference between the two groups was that one received vitamin D and one did not. And the study was also 'double-blinded,' meaning that not only did the participants in each group not know which was receiving the supplement, but neither did the technicians administering it.
What other research and experts say
Not all studies have been as promising with regard to telomere preservation. A paper published in 2023 in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, for instance, concluded that 'routinely supplementing older adults, who are largely vitamin D replete, with monthly doses of vitamin D is unlikely to influence telomere length.'
Between 2014 and 2020, researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, led a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 1,519 participants, to see whether vitamin D supplementation would affect telomere length. They gave the supplement monthly to half of the participants and found no difference between those who received it and those who did not.
Carol Greider, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for her discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that protects telomeres from shortening, said in an email that she was skeptical of the new study's findings.
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction, or qPCR, an assay that was used in the recent study to measure telomere length, has been shown in a number of publications to be unreliable, Greider wrote. The clinical standard for measuring telomere length is a technique called Flow FISH, which is highly reproducible.
Greider also noted that different subtypes of blood cells have different telomere lengths, so any changes in the cell type distribution in the blood could raise or lower the blood's average telomere length, not because the length changed but because the types of cells present changed.
She cited a perspective published in Aging Cell in March, in which the authors question research from 2024 that suggested spaceflight, like the Inspiration4 mission, which lasted just three days, increased the average telomere length of the white blood cells of those on the flight.
It's not that the telomeres are longer, the authors of the Aging Cell article wrote; it's that the composition of their white blood cells changed, raising the average telomere length.
'So while there may or may not be an effect of Vitamin D on telomeres, the methods used in this study are unlikely to be able to accurately document those changes without any control for cell type distributions,' Greider wrote.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mirror

30 minutes ago

• Daily Mirror

Pink hydrangeas will turn blue if fed 1 kitchen scrap ingredient

The more alkaline the soil is, the pinker the blooms will be - but a simple kitchen scrap ingredient that is acidic can help turn pink blooms into mesmerising blue and purple shades Hydrangeas are among the most coveted flowering shrubs for their stunning blossoms and adaptability. The truly captivating aspect of these plants is the colour transformation potential they possess, particularly the switch from pink to entrancing hues of purple and blue. On days graced by sunshine, or when the sky is clear, those blue and purple tinges can elevate your garden's charm, creating an exquisite vista. ‌ In particular, it is the hydrangea macrophylla variety, commonly referred to as the "bigleaf hydrangea", that is celebrated for its colour-changing prowess. Bigleaf hydrangeas are recognised for flowering in pink, blue, purple, or white – each shade an invitation to splendour. ‌ While the white will stay true to its hue, impervious to alteration, the other colours are at the behest of their growing medium. The true alchemy behind transforming a hydrangea's flower colour isn't in treating the petals; instead, it lies within the soil's chemistry, reports the Express. Pink blooms flourish amidst alkaline soil, whereas flowers may still blush pink or begin to adopt a hint of blue along with delightful lavender shades in neutral pH environments. Acidic soils, with a pH value less than 5.5, set the stage for blue hydrangeas, while soils hovering around a pH of 6.5 to 7 coax out the lilac and indigo tones of purple hydrangeas. Hitting up Facebook, a lady revealed how she transformed her hydrangeas from plain pink to a mesmerising mix of blue and purple, crediting the magic to her leftover coffee – an effortless trick that only snatches 15 seconds from your day. ‌ With a snapshot for proof, Christina Edwards exclaimed: "Apparently, my hydrangeas appreciate my morning coffee grounds. The multicoloured hue is due to the extra acidic soil from the coffee!". Curious commenters wanted the lowdown on her method, prompting her to explain: "Yes, coffee is acidic. The colour of the hydrangeas is correlated to the pH of the soil, and more acidic soils produce bluer blooms. "I don't add coffee every day, it's at most three times per week. "There are three bushes and they're all outside, and eventually the coffee grounds decompose into fertiliser, and the rainwater dilutes the coffee." Describing her ultra-simple approach, Christina said: "I brew my coffee in a coffee press, so the grounds left at the bottom of the coffee press, I just pour them onto the soil! I don't mix it in, I just let Mother Nature take care of the rest." It's not just Christina reaping these rainbow rewards; other green-fingered folks chimed in with snaps of their own blossoms turning tantalising tones of blue and purple, thanks to the humble coffee ground hack.

Daily Mirror

30 minutes ago

• Daily Mirror

Alexander Isak as 'Liverpool's No9' gets two-word response and X-rated gesture

Liverpool are interested in Alexander Isak as they look to add to their impressive line of summer transfers already, but Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has weighed in on the rumours Alan Shearer insists there is "no chance" that Alexander Isak will line up as Liverpool's number nine this season. The Reds are reportedly interested in bringing the Newcastle United forward to Anfield this summer, with some impressive transfers having already been confirmed by Arne Slot's side. Slot could see Isak as a straight replacement for the potentially departing Darwin Nunez, who has received interest from reigning Serie A champions Napoli. However, Liverpool are not the only ones keen on tempting Isak into a transfer, with Premier League rivals Arsenal long-term admirers of the Swede. ‌ The Magpies aren't keen on letting Isak depart St James' Park either, with the Carabao Cup winners said to be valuing his services north of £150million. Eddie Howe isn't ready for his most dangerous attacker to leave, and Isak has shown no signs of forcing an exit to another high-profile club. ‌ However, the Reds have showcased their own transfer pull this summer, bringing in some serious talent to join the squad for the 2025/26 season. During an episode of the Rest is Football podcast, Gary Lineker ran through Liverpool's latest signings for the future. He said: "Liverpool have been very impressive so far, I think, with the signings that they've done. They've just completed Florian Wirtz for £116million, so it's a lot of dough for Bayer Leverkeusen. But he's a wonderfully talented player." Rather prematurely, he then included Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez in the list, despite a transfer not yet being completed. Lineker continued: "Kerkez, Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for around £40million, they join Jeremie Frimpong who signed a couple of weeks ago. All three are worth just under £200million." The conversation moved on to where Wirtz would fit into Liverpool's front line, where Shearer chimed in: "I think he'll be floating between the two. I think you'll have obviously Salah on one side and whoever on the other side, and it'll be him that'll be the 10, the forward or whatever, and they'll just sort of rotate and do what they have to do. I think that's where he'll play." Lineker then spotted an opportunity to tease the Newcastle icon about Isak potentially swapping black-and-white for red this summer, as he quipped: "And Isak as the nine? Right?" ‌ The 54-year-old made an X-rated gesture, putting up his middle finger on both hands while grinning, as he emphatically replied: "No chance!" Shearer is likely not ready or willing to part with Isak's services at his beloved Newcastle United, as the Swede helped the side to their first major trophy since 1955 – beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final – and then helped them qualify for the Champions League this upcoming season. ‌ Isak contributed 27 goals and six assists in 42 appearances for Newcastle in the 2024/25 season, and is regarded as a key part of Howe's squad. However, Liverpool have already broken the British transfer record once this season with Wirtz, and could be looking to flex that financial muscle in order to continue their recent success in the Premier League. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Barnama

30 minutes ago

• Barnama

Only One Out Of 10 Premises Licensed At Masai Fire Location

JOHOR BAHRU, June 22 (Bernama) -- The Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) has identified 10 premises operated by different companies within the site of a fire at a lorry and engine oil storage facility in Jalan Cenderai, Taman Kota Puteri, Masai, covering an estimated area of 64,664 square metres. Johor Bahru Mayor Datuk Mohd Haffiz Ahmad said investigations found that only one of the premises, a palm oil storage facility, had been licensed by the council and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). He said the remaining businesses, including a car wash, vehicle parking, a used items dealer, and workshops, were found to be operating without valid licences, and the council would take further action against those involved.