2 months of eating a vegan diet ‘takes years off your biological age’

According to a new study, sticking to a vegan diet – even for just two months – shaves years off your biological age.

The scientists found that eating only vegan foods for eight weeks led to reductions in biological age estimates.

The American team conducted a trial involving 21 pairs of adult identical twins.

Their findings, published in the journal BMC Medicine, were based on levels of DNA methylation – a type of chemical modification of DNA that changes gene expression, but not the DNA itself.

Previous research has shown that increased DNA methylation levels are associated with aging.

The team investigated the molecular effects of a short-term vegan diet by instructing one half of each twin pair to eat an omnivorous diet for eight weeks – including between 170 and 225 grams of meat, an egg and 1.5 servings of dairy each day. while the other half ate a vegan diet for the same amount of time.

Participants were on average 40 years old and had an average body mass index (BMI) of 26 kg per square meter; 77% of the participants were women.

For the first four weeks of the study, participants ate meals that were prepared for them, and for the second four weeks, participants ate meals that they prepared themselves after taking nutrition classes.

The researchers investigated the effects of diet on DNA methylation levels by analyzing blood samples collected from participants at baseline, week four and week eight of the study.

The team used DNA methylation levels to infer participants’ biological ages and their organ systems.

By the end of the study, the team observed decreases in biological age estimates — known as epigenetic aging clocks — in participants who ate a vegan diet, but not in those who ate an omnivorous diet.

Professor Christopher Gardner, of Stanford University, California, said: “We also observed decreases in the heart, hormones, liver and inflammatory and metabolic systems of participants who ate a vegan diet, but not an omnivorous diet, for eight weeks. “

The researchers cautioned that the extent to which the differences observed between participants eating different diets could be attributed to their dietary compositions is unclear.

They noted that participants who ate a vegan diet lost an average of two kilograms (4.4 lbs) more than those who ate an omnivore diet due to changes in the calorie content of the meals provided during the initial four weeks of the study.

The researchers suggest that variations in weight loss may have contributed to the observed differences in epigenetic age between the two groups.

Corresponding author Dr Varun Dwaraka [CORRECT]of TruDiagnostic Inc, added: “Further research is needed to investigate the relationship between diet composition, weight and aging, in addition to the long-term effects of vegan diets.”