- Over the last few years, researchers have been focusing on finding new ways for people to slow their biological aging.
- Past studies show that making certain Healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating a Healthy diet, may help slow the biological aging process.
- A new study found that taking a daily multivitamin may help slow biological aging, including in older adults who are already experiencing accelerated biological aging.
Over the last few years, researchers have been focusing on finding new ways for people to slow their biological aging — the process by which the body begins to age, which may not match a person’s chronological age.
Past studies show that making certain healthy lifestyle choices, such as not smoking, being physically active, getting enough sleep, and eating a healthy diet may help slow the biological aging process.
“Living longer is one thing; living better is just as important,” Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine, told Medical News Today. “More clinical trials are needed under the effects of lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions on biological aging captured through epigenetics and other
Sesso is the senior author of a new study recently published in Nature Medicine that found that taking a daily multivitamin may help slow biological aging, including in older adults already experiencing accelerated biological aging.
For this study, researchers analyzed data from blood samples of 958 randomly selected participants of the COcoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS), with an average chronological age of 70.
“COSMOS represents the first large-scale randomized clinical trial that examines the effects of a common dietary supplement on epigenetic clocks; we (hoped) to delve further into this in COSMOS,” Sesso explained. “We previously reported benefits in the COSMOS trial for the benefits of the multivitamin intervention on (e.g.) cognition and the cocoa extract intervention on (e.g.) cardiovascular disease death, so we leveraged the longitudinal biospecimens collected in a large subset of COSMOS participants to determine whether these benefits extended to improvements in biological aging versus placebo.”
For this study, Sesso said they used the standard Centrum Silver multivitamin formulation at the time the COSMOS trial began in the mid-2010s, which is sold in the United States.
“It contains all essential vitamins and minerals at lower amounts, along with a few other nutrients,” he explained. “Whether the COSMOS trial findings extend to similar broad-based multivitamin formulations is an important question; intuitively, it may, but we simply don’t have data to address it directly.”
Study participants were randomly selected to take daily either a multivitamin and cocoa extract, cocoa extract and placebo, a multivitamin and placebo, or just placebos over two years. The multivitamin contained vitamins A, C, D3, E, and K, as well as B vitamins, and minerals such as magnesium, zinc, calcium, and others.
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that participants in the multivitamin group had slowed two of the five epigenetic clocks, compared with the placebo group. This translates to about 2.7–5.1 months of slowing after two years.
The two specific “second-generation” epigenetic clocks that the multivitamin slowed were PCGrimAge and PCPhenoAge, while the other three, which the multivitamin had no significant effect on, were the Horvath and Hannum clocks or the DunedinPACE measure.
“This finding as part of a long-term, large-scale randomized clinical trial supports multivitamin use to improve biological aging in older adults (men aged ≥60 years and women aged ≥65 years).”
— Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH
“Keep in mind that, on average, biological aging through these clocks increased in both intervention groups, but the changes over two years were significantly less in the multivitamin group,” he added.
Additionally, scientists reported that study participants who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the COSMOS trial benefited the most from taking the daily multivitamin.
“We were intrigued by this finding, which indicates that older participants who initially presented with greater biological aging versus their chronological (actual) age at baseline benefited more. It suggests that by identifying those with more accelerated biological aging (e.g. chronic conditions, poor diet), there would be greater improvements in biological aging through these epigenetic clocks among those taking a simple daily multivitamin compared with a placebo.”
— Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH
“We plan to delve more deeply into other epigenetic clocks from our DNA methylation data in COSMOS, plus have additional epigenetic data in two other large randomized clinical trials testing dietary supplements,” Sesso said, when asked about the next planned steps for this research.
“More clinical trials are needed to (understand) the effects of lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions on biological aging captured through epigenetics and other biomarkers,” he added.
MNT spoke with Zeeshan Khan, MD, chief of geriatric medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study, who commented that his first reaction to its findings was a bit of relief mixed with cautious optimism, as for years, patients have asked him if they should be taking a multivitamin.
“Before this article, the evidence has been somewhat ambiguous for generally well-nourished adults,” Khan explained. “Now we have a high quality study which has found a safe, accessible, and affordable intervention that may slow down a key epigenetic aging clock.”
“My optimism is cautious because we are still in the early stages of research in this complex field. We don’t yet know if slowing an epigenetic aging clock will definitely translate to a longer/healthier life. However, this study gives me a concrete and evidenced-based point of discussion for patients who are proactive about their health and worry about aging.”
— Zeeshan Khan, MD
Khan said while this study is a “great first step,” to translate this into a firm clinical recommendation, several things need to happen next.
“First, we need long-term follow-up on clinical outcomes: do those patients with a slowed down epigenetic clock actually experience fewer age-related diseases (think heart attack, cancer, or dementia),” he detailed. “Next, what was the mechanism of action? Was it a specific vitamin or mineral in the supplement? Future studies could test different formulations to pinpoint the key ingredients and help us understand why it works.”
“Finally, I would like to see the results replicated in diverse populations and see how well the intervention compares with other known interventions such as the Mediterranean diet,” Khan added. “This would help us build a comprehensive and evidence-based toolkit to promote healthy aging.”
MNT also spoke with Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, for her tips on how readers can find a daily multivitamin to help them potentially slow their biological aging. Or, for those who prefer not to take a multivitamin, how can readers get those same vitamins in their diet, hopefully with the same benefit?
“I encourage clients to think ‘food first, supplements second, as necessary’,” Richard said. “Multivitamins can help fill nutrient gaps, but they cannot replicate the complex matrix of nutrients, fiber, and bioactive compounds found in whole foods that support healthy aging.”
When selecting a multivitamin or any supplement, Richard said to look for quality and transparency.
“Choose brands that are third-party tested (i.e., USP, NSF, or ConsumerLab) to verify quality (high standard of ingredients) and purity (that what is described to be inside is actually inside),” she detailed. “Avoid common marketing red flags including vitamins and minerals in ‘megadoses,’ (i.e., 500% of the Recommended Daily Allowance), unsubstantiated health claims, and celebrity-type endorsements.”
Richard said the supplement should also match the stage of life.
“Products formulated for older adults may include certain nutrients needed at higher levels, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium, which can become more difficult to absorb with age, whereas a child will have entirely different needs, as will an athlete and so on.”
Richard also reminded readers that many of the vitamins found in multivitamins can be obtained through dietary patterns associated with longevity, such as:
- B vitamins (leafy greens, legumes, whole grains)
- Vitamin C (citrus, berries, peppers)
- Vitamin D (fatty fish, fortified dairy, juice, plant milks, irradiated mushrooms),
- Vitamin E (nuts, seeds, wheat germ, vegetables and fruits)
- Magnesium (beans, nuts, legumes, vegetables
- Various antioxidant compounds found in plants such as berries, colorful vegetables, herbs, and spices
“Healthy aging starts with what is on your plate from what was purchased in the grocery store, at the farmer’s market, or harvested from the land, not from a bottle in the supplement aisle,” Richard advised. “Prioritize investing your dollars on colorful produce and a good pair of walking shoes and then on appropriate supplements as needed and recommended by an RDN and/or your healthcare team.”
