A new study suggests that following a vegan diet for even just two months could reduce your biological age by years.
Scientists have found that eating only vegan foods for eight weeks can lower your estimated biological age.
The American team conducted a study on 21 pairs of adult identical twins.
Their findings, published in BMC Medicine, are based on levels of DNA methylation, a type of chemical modification of DNA that alters gene expression but not the DNA itself.
Previous studies have shown that elevated levels of DNA methylation are associated with aging.
The team investigated the molecular effects of a short-term vegan diet by instructing one twin to eat an omnivorous diet including 170-225g of meat, one egg and 1.5 servings of dairy products per day for eight weeks, while the other twin was put on a vegan diet for the same period.
The average age of participants was 40 years, the average body mass index (BMI) was 26 kilograms per square meter, and 77% of participants were women.
For the first four weeks of the study, participants ate prepared meals, and for the next four weeks, after attending a nutrition class, participants ate meals they prepared themselves.
The researchers analysed blood samples taken from participants at the start of the study and at weeks four and eight to examine the effect of diet on DNA methylation levels.
The team used DNA methylation levels to estimate the biological age of participants and their organ systems.
By the end of the study, the team observed a decrease in the estimated biological age (known as the epigenetic aging clock) of participants who followed a vegan diet, but not those who followed an omnivorous diet.
“We also observed reduced ageing of the heart, hormones, liver, inflammation and metabolic systems in subjects who followed a vegan rather than omnivorous diet for eight weeks,” said Professor Christopher Gardner, from Stanford University in California.
The researchers cautioned that it is unclear to what extent the differences observed between participants consuming different diets can be attributed to the composition of the diet.
The researchers noted that due to differences in the calorie content of the meals served during the first four weeks of the study, participants who ate a vegan diet lost an average of 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) more weight than those who ate an omnivorous diet.
The researchers suggest that differences in weight loss may have contributed to the differences in epigenetic age observed between the two groups.
Corresponding author Dr. Varun Dwaraka [CORRECT]”Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of a vegan diet, as well as the relationship between dietary composition, weight and ageing,” added TruDiagnostic Inc.
