A recent report of results and clinical data from a DO-Health study from the University of Zurich shows that the daily consumption of omega-3s or vitamin D in combination with daily effort can reduce the aging process. The study showed that a mixture of 1 gram of omega-3s or 2,000 IU vitamin D reduces the risk of infections and falls, cancer and premature vulnerability. This is still a fairly new concept and no extensive tests have been done to confirm the results, but the findings are promising.
“These results inspired us to measure the direct influence of these three therapies on the biological aging process in the Swiss Do-Health participants,” says Bischoff-Ferrari, professor of geriatrics and geriatric medicine at the University of Zurich.
Scientists have been able to measure the difference between biological aging and chronological aging with the use of epigenetic clocks. These clocks measure the modifications that have been applied in DNA molecules. When researchers analyzed lab samples of the participants, they stipulated that omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D can delay biological aging for up to 4 months, regardless of the genetic composition of the participant.
“This result is expanding our earlier findings from the DO-Health study, in which these three factors combined had the greatest impact on reducing the risk of cancer and preventing premature vulnerability for a period of three years, to delaying the biological aging process,” says Bischoff-Ferrari.
However, Bischoff-Ferrari states: “There is no generally accepted gold standard for measuring the biological age”, but “we analyzed the best currently validated epigenetic clocks, which reflect the position of art.” Ultimately, Bischoff-Ferrari and other researchers are planning to expand their result analyzes to all DO health participants. This not only includes Swiss participants, but also those from Germany, France, Austria and Portugal to take on more genetic diversity.