Slowing ageing may take more than a multivitamin
By Rachel McDonald, the Australian Science Media Centre
A multivitamin a day may slow some measures of biological ageing, according to an international study.
The research looked at the blood of 958 older adults who were either taking a multivitamin, a cocoa extract supplement, or a placebo pill over 2 years, and used blood samples to analyse 'epigenetic clocks'.
These 'clocks' are DNA patterns in blood that are used to assess how fast people are ageing biologically compared to their chronological age.
Using five different epigenetic clocks, the researchers found two suggested people who were taking multivitamins were biologically ageing slightly more slowly than those taking cocoa supplements or placebo. The cocoa supplements did not have a clear effect, they said.
Víctor Celemín Capaldi, a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Oviedo, told the Spanish Science Media Centre that epigenetic clocks are becoming increasingly popular as tools to measure ageing, as ageing itself becomes a higher priority in medical research.
"Ageing has become established as the main risk factor for the most significant diseases in our society, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases," he said.
"Therefore, studies such as these, which use molecular methods to measure 'biological age' reliably and objectively, are becoming increasingly important and are crucial in the scientific race to improve human health and well-being”.
Professor Luigi Fontana from the University of Sydney told the AusSMC that while this was a "well-conducted trial", the results should be interpreted with caution.
"The study reports that a daily multivitamin slightly slowed two of five DNA-based ‘epigenetic clocks’ used as markers of biological ageing in older adults. However, the magnitude of the effect is extremely small, and the effect was not consistent across all the ageing measures tested," he said.
"It is also important to remember that epigenetic clocks are still research tools rather than validated clinical endpoints. While they can respond to lifestyle or pharmacological interventions, we do not yet know whether small changes in these biomarkers translate into meaningful reductions in disease risk, disability or mortality."
Dr Laura Sinclair from the University of Exeter told the UK SMC that epigenetic clocks can be "powerful tools" for measuring how our bodies age, but "they are only one piece of the ageing puzzle".
"Other hallmarks, things like DNA damage, changes in proteins, and problems in cellular communication, also play a role in ageing. If we want to really know if supplements can slow biological ageing, we need to look at the full picture," she said.
"This study doesn’t recommend going out and buying supplements. If a person eats a nutritionally balanced diet, then many dietary supplements would probably be superfluous to their individual requirements."
Professor Jenny Gunton, Director of the Centre for Diabetes, Obesity and Endocrinology at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, said it was important not to overuse vitamin supplements.
"It is important to note that more is probably not better - for some vitamins, excess doses are harmful. An example of this is vitamin B6, which at high doses causes nerve damage," Prof Gunton said.
"In people who are concerned that their diet does not contain enough of the range of vitamins that it could, this data supports taking one multivitamin supplement per day."
Professor Pilar Guallar Castillón from Autonomous University of Madrid said the study was a complementary analysis of a wider clinical trial looking at broader impacts of taking a specific multivitamin. That study found no evidence of the multivitamin improving lifespan or reducing the risk of cancer or heart problems - the main causes of premature death.
"My personal advice is to stop taking multivitamins, whether in pills or gummies. Instead, follow a healthy, varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables - the main natural sources of vitamins and minerals - and do not spend your money on nutritional supplements," she said.
You can read the AusSMC expert reaction here
You can read comments from the UK SMC and SMC Spain here
This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.
Contact: Rachel McDonald
Phone: +61 8 7120 8666
Email: info@smc.org.au