A vegan diet may be key to good health and help delay the signs of aging, as a new study has revealed that this plant-based eating pattern could reduce a person’s biological age. The results of the research have been published in BMC Medicine and reveal that after following this diet for eight weeks, decreases were observed in the ages of the heart, hormonal system, liver, and inflammatory and metabolic systems. These changes were not seen in those whose diet included meat, eggs and dairy products.
Those who followed a vegan diet also lost, on average, two kilograms more than those who did not, due to consuming 200 fewer calories through meals provided during the first four weeks of the study. According to the experts, the weight loss could have contributed to the differences observed in biological age between the two groups.
The findings are based on a small study of 21 pairs of identical twins aged 39, half of whom followed a vegan diet while the other twin followed an omnivorous diet. Some experts suggest that a vegan diet could result in nutritional deficiencies over the long term and may not be suitable for all ages, while others believe the differences could be due to weight loss.
Diet type, body weight and aging
Biological aging refers to the decline in the functioning of the body’s tissues and cells, as opposed to chronological age. At the end of the study, researchers observed decreases in estimates of biological age based on levels of DNA methylation, a type of chemical modification of DNA used to estimate biological age. Previous research has shown that increased levels of DNA methylation are associated with aging.
However, Varun Dwaraka of epigenetic testing company TruDiagnostic Inc and Christopher Gardner of Stanford University in California and their colleagues, who carried out the study, say it is unclear to what extent the differences they found between peers can be attributed to differences in diet, adding that further research is needed into the relationship between diet, weight and ageing, as well as the long-term effects of vegan diets.
“The findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating that increased vegetable intake and reduced meat consumption have significant health benefits.”
Esther López-García, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Autonomous University of Madrid and member of the Nutrition Group of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, who did not participate in the study, explained in statements to Science Media Centre Spain that “the researchers used a clinical trial to understand the impact of a purely vegetarian dietary pattern and a healthy omnivorous dietary pattern. It was carried out with 21 [pares de] “twins, so that sex, age or inherited genetic factors would not alter the comparison of the effects of the intervention. For eight weeks, they were provided with food and instructions to maintain these dietary patterns. They found that participants who had followed a vegetarian diet had less methylation and a lower degree of cellular aging.”
“In this way, it is confirmed that diet acts by altering specific biological mechanisms that lead to better or worse aging. However, despite the attractiveness of the conclusion, this type of work is not able to examine the effect of the vegetarian or omnivorous diet in the long term. Furthermore, to conclude that a diet is associated with healthy aging or greater longevity, we need to see how these diets are associated with real health problems in older people or how they are associated with dying earlier or earlier. To do so, studies of large populations followed for many years (cohort studies) remain essential and the basis for making dietary recommendations to the population. This work is insufficient to recommend that the population follow vegetarian diets,” concludes the expert.
According to Carmen Romero Ferreiro, professor of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Head of Research for the Degree in Nutrition at the Francisco de Vitoria University, and according to statements to the same media: “The findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating that a higher intake of vegetables and a reduction in meat consumption have significant health benefits. Previous research has shown that plant-based diets can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve metabolic health. This study offers a new perspective by showing that, in addition to these benefits, a vegan diet could positively influence aging processes at a cellular level.”
However, she also warns that “there are some limitations in this study such as the small sample size and the differential weight loss between groups, which could have influenced the results obtained.”
