It’s not such a tough pill to swallow.
Biohackers have been trying to crack the code for eternal life — or at least to slow down biological aging, for a longer, healthier time on Earth.
And while genetics, sleep habits, stress management and diet are the major drivers of health and aging, a new study has shown that a super cheap, easy habit can make a measurable difference, too.
Biological age can be higher or lower than our chronological age, which is the number of years we’ve been alive.
It’sdetermined by epigenetic clocks, or subtle changes in DNA that regulate gene expression and naturally change as we age, helping to track mortality and the pace of aging.
Now, a study published Monday by researchers at Mass General Brigham discovered that taking a daily multivitamin could slow down aging in older adults.
Researchers took blood samples of 958 healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70.
They then analyzed the DNA data of five epigenetic clocks between groups that took a multivitamin every day for two years and those who took a placebo.
The vitamin group had a statistically significant slowing in the two clocks that predict mortality — and their aging slowed by about four months on five measures of biological aging.
The benefits of the multivitamin were even greater for those who were biologically older than their chronological age at the start of the trial.
The researchers plan to do follow-up research not only to determine further effects on biological aging, but also how this can extend to other benefits of a multivitamin, such as cognitive improvements and reductions in cancer and cataracts.
“A lot of people take a multivitamin without necessarily knowing any benefits from taking it, so the more we can learn about its potential health benefits, the better,” senior study author Howard Sesso said in a press release.
But while millions of Americans pop a pill daily already, some studies have found little evidence to support claims that they prevent death and disease.
Daily multivitamin use actually had no impact on lowering the risk of dying from cancer, heart disease or cerebrovascular diseases, and even had a 4% higher risk of death than nonuse.
If you are looking to introduce a multivitamin into your routine, timing makes a difference.
“Most multivitamins contain a mix of fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins and minerals, making food particularly important for tolerability and bioavailability,” Dr. Pooja Gidwani, a double board-certified internal and obesity medicine physician based in LA, previously told The Post.
“They are typically best taken earlier in the day, since B vitamins can feel energizing for some people.”
