A new clinical study has shown that getting omega-3 vitamin daily works to delay aging in people, according to the British Medical Express.
These results came after analyzing data from a three-year clinical trial that included 777 Swiss participants aged 70 and over.
Previous research has shown that reducing calories may help slow aging, and other studies, conducted on animals or in small experiments, have indicated that supplements such as vitamin D and omega-3 may achieve similar positive effects. However, the effectiveness of these factors in humans is still unclear.
In this regard, researchers Heike Bischoff Ferrari and Steve Horvath, along with their team, relied on molecular biology tools known as “epigenetic clocks” (scientific tools used to measure an individual’s biological age based on chemical modifications to DNA) to analyze the effect of these factors on aging rates. Participants were assigned to eight treatment groups, which included 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily, and/or 1 gram of omega-3 daily, and/or 30 minutes of home exercise, 3 times a week, over 3 years.
Blood sample analysis showed that omega-3 consumption moderately slowed biological aging, according to several epigenetic markers, and this effect lasted for up to 4 months, regardless of participants’ age, sex, or body mass index. The results also showed that combining omega-3, vitamin D, and exercise had the best effect, according to one test.
The researchers found that combining these three interventions was the most effective in reducing cancer risk and reducing physical frailty over the study period. They explained that each intervention works through different but interconnected mechanisms, which enhances their effects when combined.
Despite these encouraging results, the researchers acknowledged that the lack of a standardized measure of biological aging is a limitation of the study, which prompted them to use the most reliable tests available. They also noted that the sample involved does not represent the entire global population of older adults, which may affect the generalizability of the results.
Omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3s) are polyunsaturated fats that perform important functions in your body. Your body can’t produce the amount of omega-3s you need to survive. So, omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients, meaning you need to get them from the foods you eat.
