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Scientists Find Supplement to Slow Down Aging andreswd – Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Even though about 75%<\/a> of Americans take a supplement regularly, there\u2019s been a lot of debate about whether most people actually benefit from them. Now, new research suggests that one supplement, in particular, may slow down aging and therefore help extend your life.<\/p>\n The study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine,<\/a> analyzed the impact of multivitamin use in older adults and linked it to a few additional months of life. For the study, researchers used data from the COcoa Supplement Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) and analyzed data on DNA methylation (a sign of biological aging) from blood samples of 958 randomly chosen, healthy participants with an average age of 70.<\/p>\n The study participants were randomly assigned to take a daily cocoa extract and multivitamin, a daily cocoa extract and placebo, a placebo and a multivitamin, or two placebos. The researchers analyzed samples for changes in five different epigenetic clocks (a tool that uses biological markers to measure age<\/a>) during several periods in the two-year trial.<\/p>\n After crunching the data, the researchers discovered that people in the multivitamin group had slower aging based on calculations from five epigenetic clocks. These indicated that the older adults had about four months less biological aging over the two-year study period. People who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the study received the most benefit.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to point this out now: The study was partially funded by Mars Edge, a segment of Mars dedicated to nutrition research and products, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) also provided pills and packaging used in the study. But those companies weren\u2019t involved in the study design, data analysis, or final paper.<\/p>\n Meet the experts:<\/strong>Scott Keatley, R.D., is co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy<\/a>; Jessica Cording, R.D<\/a>.,is the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers; Eric Ascher, D.O.,<\/a> is a family medicine physician at Northwell\u2019s Lenox Hill Hospital; Sidong Li, M.D.<\/a>, lead study author and a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School<\/p>\n It\u2019s not cheap to take a daily multivitamin, and data has been mixed<\/a> on how much their use may impact health, making it fair to wonder if this is a health hack worth pursuing. Here\u2019s what dietitians and a doctor want you to keep in mind.<\/p>\n Why might taking a multivitamin slow biological aging?<\/strong><\/p>\n It likely comes down to nutrition, says Scott Keatley, R.D., co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy<\/a>. \u201c<\/strong>Filling gaps is a big part of how a multivitamin may help you,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n In this particular study, daily multivitamin use significantly raised blood levels of carotenoids and vitamin E. \u201cThese are big antioxidants that help fight cellular aging,\u201d Keatley says. \u201cThese increases emerged at year one and held steady into year two, suggesting consistent, meaningful nutritional support over time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jessica Cording, R.D<\/a>., <\/strong>author of The Little Book of Game-Changers, agrees. \u201cWhen we\u2019re covering our nutritional bases, whether through supplements or nutrition, it\u2019s supporting more efficient mitochondrial functioning, which is a key factor in aging,\u201d she says. \u201cIt also protects against deficiencies that might impair immune response and other factors involved in the aging process.\u201d<\/p>\n Cording stresses that this study focused on older adults. \u201cThat is a population that is more prone to nutrient deficiencies,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n But research hasn\u2019t definitively concluded that taking a multivitamin helps you live longer.<\/strong> A 2024 JAMA Network Open<\/a> analysis of data from nearly 400,000 healthy American adults who were followed for more than 20 years found no link between regular multivitamin use and a lower risk of early death.<\/p>\n Can you get the same perks from eating a balanced diet?<\/strong><\/p>\n This study didn\u2019t investigate that, but it\u2019s possible, says Sidong Li, M.D.<\/a>, lead study author and a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. \u201cMaintaining a balanced and healthy diet is always the top priority for promoting healthy and high-quality aging,\u201d Dr. Li says.<\/p>\n