Older adults who exercised frequently and took omega-3 and vitamin D supplements saw slower biological aging by up to four months, a new study found

Omega-3 Could Help Slow Aging—And It Works Even Better with Vitamin D and Exercise Experts weigh in on the "groundbreaking" research

• New research suggests that taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements may be able to slow biological aging in adults over the age of 70.
• Biological aging—or, how old someone’s cells appear, independent of their actual age—was reduced to an even greater extent when people took omega-3s, vitamin D, and engaged in regular exercise.
• Getting adequate exercise and micronutrients aren’t necessarily cures for aging, experts said, but are an important part of maintaining your health.

Taking supplements and exercising are trusted strategies for boosting health—now, new research suggests they might also help promote healthier aging.

The research, published in the journal Nature Aging on Feb. 3, found that taking regular doses of omega-3 fatty acids may be able to slow biological aging in older adults. The combination of omega-3 supplements, vitamin D supplements, and consistent physical activity led to even greater benefits.

These interventions were able to slow participants’ biological aging by up to almost four months, researchers found.

The findings are based on data from 777 Swiss participants in the University of Zurich’s DO-HEALTH study, Europe’s largest study of healthy adults aged 70 years and older.

The DO-HEALTH clinical trial has found that nutritional supplements and regular strength training can have wide-ranging benefits in older adults, from cancer prevention to lowering the risk of falls. For this study, researchers wanted to see if the same was true for biological aging.

Biological aging refers to how old a person’s body seems, based on genetic, environmental, and other factors, regardless of how old they actually are. A healthy person may have a biological age that’s lower than their chronological (or actual) age, while a less healthy person may have accelerated aging beyond their chronological age.

These reductions in biological aging from omega-3, vitamin D, and exercise may “appear small,” but they could have significant effects for public health as a whole, explained lead study author Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, MD, MPH, DrPH, chair of Geriatrics and Ageing Research at the University of Zurich.

The findings “support these three public health strategies as a combined solution at the public health level to extend health span in older adults,” Bischoff-Ferrari told Health. “Further, these strategies are affordable and safe.”

Measuring Biological Aging

For this study, researchers had participants follow one of eight treatment arms, involving varying combinations of omega-3 supplementation, vitamin D supplementation, and/or 30 minutes of strength training exercises three times weekly.

Participants had their blood drawn four times over the course of three years, and researchers analyzed the samples using various “epigenetic clocks.” These tests track changes in DNA molecules, allowing scientists to measure a person’s biological and chronological aging.

Steven Horvath, PhD, a principal investigator at Altos Labs U.K., is one of the early developers of epigenetic clocks and collaborated with Bischoff-Ferrari on this research.

These tests are “state-of-the-art,” Horvath told Health. “One such clock, GrimAge, was named after the Grim Reaper for a reason—its predictive accuracy for mortality and morbidity risk has been rigorously validated across dozens of epidemiological studies worldwide,” he said.

After analyzing participants’ DNA with epigenetic clocks, Bischoff-Ferrari and her colleagues found that omega-3 fatty acids actually slackened aging at the biological level, regardless of participants’ body mass index (BMI), age, and gender. Aging was slowed even further among participants who followed all three interventions, combining omega-3 supplementation with vitamin D supplementation and exercise.

The results of the study are “groundbreaking”, Horvath said, and could “[pave] the way for preventive health and rejuvenation studies” down the line.

We know that both the environment and our behaviors can impact how genes function, added Kenneth Koncilja, MD, a geriatrician at Cleveland Clinic. This research is a look into how that could affect aging. However, experts agreed more research needs to be done.

“I would prefer larger populations, more diversity, longer follow-up, and more details about comorbidities and subgroup analytics,” Koncilja told Health.

Next, Bischoff-Ferrari said the research team is planning to include DO-HEALTH participants from other European countries to see if the results stand.

“There is enough smoke here to assume there is a fire behind it,” Koncilja said. “Does this fill the gap [completely]? No.”

How Might Omega-3s, Vitamin D, and Exercise Impact How You Age?

Though it wasn’t investigated specifically in the new study, experts said there are a number of reasons why these three lifestyle changes could be able to affect aging at the molecular level.

The benefits seen from taking omega-3 fatty acids can likely be attributed to their “well-documented anti-inflammatory effects,” said Bischoff-Ferrari. Inflammation is a known driver of accelerated aging, she said.

Omega-3s may also be able to reduce oxidative stress, which ages the body. Simply put, they can help support healthy cell functioning, Koncilja said.

The same is true for vitamin D.

Research suggests that vitamin D can fight inflammation, and it may be involved in the process of how cells age, too.

“Vitamin D releases [a protein called] klotho, which reduces free radicals and can delay [cells’] loss of function,” explained Koncilja. However, this has only been observed in studies in a test tube, and it’s not clear if this is exactly what happens in the body, he added.

But there are many other documented benefits of vitamin D, especially when it comes to managing and preventing chronic disease, said Koncilja.

Finally, strength training has been linked to protection against muscle loss, a healthy metabolism, and better brain health, Koncilja said. Research has also shown that, since strength training can limit the effects of chronic disease, it slows biological aging and keeps DNA healthy.

Because strength training, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids affect health in different ways, it makes sense that a combination of all three led to the greatest biological aging benefits, Bischoff-Ferrari explained.

“If we think about cancer, which is an accepted model of accelerated aging, we know that vitamin D reduces uncontrolled cell growth, omega-3 reduces inflammation, and exercise induces cancer cell death,” she said. “Given that each of the interventions play on different mechanistic pathways, we expected additive benefits. And this is what we found for cancer prevention, prevention of frailty, and now for slowing biological aging.”

How Can You Slow That Biological Clock?

The concept of biological aging can seem a bit inaccessible or complex, but this study shows that our everyday lifestyle choices can have a significant effect on the health of our cells and how quickly they age.

What’s especially exciting is that “these strategies are safe and accessible and sustainable,” Bischoff-Ferrari said. “Combining simple strategies may allow us to have additive health benefits.”

For now, though, it’s important to emphasize that “these interventions are not a cure for aging,” said Horvath. Still, he’s letting the research guide his own lifestyle choices.

“After exercising for 30 minutes this morning, I took an omega 3 and vitamin D pill with my coffee,” he said.

In general, daily exercise—including regular strength and resistance training—”is foundational to your health and longevity,” said Koncija.

So is maintaining healthy levels of micronutrients in your diet.

Each day, most adults need about 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D, which can be found in sunlight and in certain foods, including mushrooms, fish, and dairy. Women need about 1.1 grams of omega-3 fatty acids daily, while men need about 1.6 grams. You can get omega-3s in chia seeds, salmon, and plant oils.

If you think you might have any micronutrient gaps in your diet, talk to your primary care physician, Koncija recommended. You can discuss whether omega-3 or vitamin D supplements might be helpful.

Edited by Health, where she covers breaking and trending news on health and wellness topics. Her work has been featured in The Heights, an independent student newspaper at Boston College, and Minnesota Monthly." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Julia Landwehr Julia Landwehr Julia is a news reporter and editor for Health, where she covers breaking and trending news on health and wellness topics. Her work has been featured in The Heights, an independent student newspaper at Boston College, and Minnesota Monthly. learn more

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Brian Mastroianni