Switching to a vegan diet for eight weeks might make you biologically younger, according to a recent study.
Researchers discovered that eating a vegan diet led to reductions in biological age estimates, which are based on DNA methylation levels.
DNA methylation is a chemical change to DNA that affects gene activity without altering the DNA itself.
Previous studies have linked higher DNA methylation levels with aging.
The study, published in BMC Medicine, involved a small, randomized trial with 21 pairs of adult identical twins.
Researchers Varun Dwaraka, Christopher Gardner, and their team aimed to see the molecular effects of a short-term vegan diet.
In each twin pair, one twin ate an omnivorous diet that included meat, eggs, and dairy, while the other twin followed a vegan diet for eight weeks.
The participants were mostly women (77%) and averaged 40 years old with a body mass index (BMI) of 26. For the first four weeks, participants were given pre-prepared meals. During the last four weeks, they prepared their own meals after receiving nutrition classes from health educators.
The researchers analyzed blood samples taken at the start of the study, at four weeks, and at the end of the eight weeks. They used these samples to measure DNA methylation levels and infer the biological ages of the participants and their organ systems.
By the end of the study, those on the vegan diet showed a decrease in biological age estimates, known as epigenetic aging clocks. This decrease was not seen in those who followed the omnivorous diet. The researchers also noted reductions in the biological ages of the heart, hormone, liver, inflammatory, and metabolic systems in the vegan group but not in the omnivorous group.
However, the researchers caution that it’s unclear how much of these differences can be directly attributed to the diets themselves. Notably, the vegan participants lost an average of two kilograms more than the omnivorous participants, possibly due to lower calorie meals during the first four weeks. This weight loss could have influenced the changes in epigenetic age.
The study suggests that short-term vegan diets could have a rejuvenating effect, but more research is needed to understand the relationship between diet, weight, and aging. The researchers also call for further studies to explore the long-term impacts of vegan diets on biological age.
In summary, this study hints that going vegan for just two months might make you biologically younger. However, the exact reasons for this effect and its long-term benefits require more investigation.
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