A New Study Found This Daily Habit May Help Slow Aging

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Regularly taking a multivitamin has been shown to slow down biological aging, or how we grow older on the inside, according to a study in Nature Medicine.

The researchers based their findings on data drawn from the Cocoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS). This well-established, large-scale randomized trial examined how taking multivitamin–multimineral vitamin supplements and/or cocoa flavanols may benefit several age-related chronic conditions among older adults. In particular, the study authors analyzed blood test results for those who took the multivitamin since the cocoa flavanols didn’t have any effect on slowing down biological aging.

After tracking older adults aged 60 and older over the course of two years, scientists found those who took a multivitamin every day experienced slower biological aging equivalent to about four months. And, those participants who were at a more accelerated biological age at the start of the study reaped greater benefits.

“Our research group tested whether those randomized to take a typical daily multivitamin versus a placebo have improvements in various aging-related outcomes. What we found is taking a daily multivitamin may be a viable intervention option when it comes to slowing down the biological aging process,” says senior study author Howard D. Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine in Boston, MA.

Here’s more of what the study uncovered and why a multivitamin may be a key to the fountain of youth:

Aging is more than just a number

While you may not look your age on the outside, internally, it can be a different story. Your chronological age represents how many years you’ve been on the planet, but biological aging is a measure of how your body is growing older on a cellular level.

It all comes down to your own particular epigenetic clocks, which estimate how you’re aging inside based on changes in your DNA. Over the course of a lifetime, your DNA, aka your unique genetic makeup, typically undergoes a chemical modification in the body. This process, called DNA methylation, can alter your genes, affecting how you naturally age.

Epigenetic clocks keep tabs on certain DNA methylation sites, helping to track the pace at which your body is aging. “These are sites within our DNA that turn ‘on’ or ‘off’ in order to keep the body functioning,” says Sesso. “As a person grows older, some of these DNA methylation sites will start to turn ‘off,’ affecting how one ages.”

Those changes in individual DNA methylation sites, or those comprising defined epigenetic clocks, tend to be unfavorable if you’re defining them as an outcome, explains Sesso. “There are disease-specific epigenetic clocks for specific conditions that have been linked with accelerated aging and greater morbidity and mortality,” he adds.

What the study found

Sesso and his colleagues analyzed information from the COSMOS trial, specifically looking at blood samples of 958 healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70. Subjects either took the daily multivitamin or were given a placebo.

The goal was to assess the effects of taking a multivitamin every day, in this case a Centrum Silver supplement, on five DNA methylation markers of biological aging. “It’s been shown these five clocks are the most common ways to summarize the different ways that we age,” says Sesso.

Blood samples were evaluated for changes at the end of the one- and two-year marks. Compared to the placebo group, those in the multivitamin camp showed slowing in all five epigenetic clocks, including a significant deceleration in the two clocks that are predictive of mortality. In terms of time, the individuals who took the vitamin supplement had an epigenetic clocks’ rate of increase slowed by around 1.5 to two months per year in contrast to those taking the placebo.

It’s not completely understood why the multivitamin worked the way it did, but one hypothesis may be the fact that you’re getting your complete daily nutrients in one supplement. There’s something about the combination of all of these that might be driving the effects, says Sesso.

“A daily multivitamin is unique in that it contains all essential vitamins and minerals, plus a few other bioactive compounds that focus more on the natural interactions of nutrients,” Sesso says. “A multivitamin may mimic the importance of a healthy dietary pattern to improve health span.”

Of course, it’s preferable to get your daily essential nutrients from a diverse, rich, and wholesome diet, making sure you get adequate amounts of lean protein and colorful fruits and veggies, notes Sesso. However, if that’s not possible, a multivitamin can at least cover the bases.

The takeaway

“The research shows a multivitamin slowed biological aging, which may reveal a key mechanism by which a daily multivitamin has been shown [in the COSMOS trial] to decrease the risk of lung cancer or diminished cognition,” says Sesso. This is promising news since lung cancer is mostly diagnosed in people who are 65 or older and some measure of cognitive decline typically occurs with aging.

There’s no doubt the study results are encouraging, but according to Sesso, there’s still more work to be done to further understand the exact role a multivitamin plays in delaying biological aging.

In the meantime, taking a multivitamin certainly can’t hurt, and has little to any downsides for most people, says Sesso. “It’s a low-risk, safe and cost-effective option that could be a viable part of slowing down the aging process.”

However, a multivitamin shouldn’t be the only thing you do to stay robust. “It’s very important to focus on eating a nutritious diet, getting a good night’s sleep and staying physically and socially active,” Sesso stresses. “A multivitamin can be a positive addition to your daily regimen, but it shouldn’t be looked at as a replacement for those vital lifestyle habits.”

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