A vegan diet for eight weeks can decrease biological age estimations due to reduced levels of DNA methylation. It is an epigenetic modification that alters gene expression but not DNA itself. Previous research suggests that increased levels of DNA methylation are linked to aging.
This study, recently published in BMC Medicine, was based on a small, randomized controlled trial of 21 adult identical twins. 77% of them were women. They were an average of 40 years old and had a body mass index of 26 kilograms per square meter.
In this study, researchers wanted to understand the impact of a short-term vegan diet on the body at a molecular level. They asked one twin from each pair to follow an omnivorous diet that included meat, eggs, and dairy for eight weeks. On the other hand, the other twin was asked to eat a vegan diet for the same duration. For the first four weeks, participants were given prepared meals to eat. Then they learned about nutrition and prepared their own meals for the next four weeks.
The researchers studied how diet affects DNA methylation by looking at blood samples from participants at different times during the study. They used DNA methylation to estimate the participants’ biological ages and the health of their organs.
When researchers observed the results, they found that participants who ate vegan diet showed decreased epigenetic aging clocks and ages in the heart, liver, hormone, metabolic and inflammatory systems as compared to those who ate an omnivorous diet.
Researchers of this study said that the difference observed between participants on different diets may not be due to their dietary compositions. They noted that participants who ate a vegan diet lost two kilograms more on average than participants who ate an omnivorous diet due to differences in calorie content in the initial four weeks.
The study suggests weight loss variations may have contributed to differences in epigenetic age between two groups. There is also a need for further research on the relationship between dietary composition, weight, and aging and the long-term effects of vegan diets.
Reference Link:
Varun Dwaraka, Unveiling the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging: insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS), BMC Medicine (2024).
