For eight weeks, following a vegan diet is linked to lower biological age estimates based on DNA methylation levels. DNA methylation is an epigenetic change that modifies gene expression but not DNA itself.
Ageing has been linked to higher levels of DNA methylation, according to earlier studies. The results are published in BMC Medicine and are based on a small randomised controlled experiment including twenty-one pairs of identical adult twins.
To study the molecular effects of a brief vegan diet, Varun Dwaraka, Christopher Gardner, and colleagues gave one half of each twin pair instructions to follow an omnivorous diet for eight weeks, which included consuming between 170 and 225 grams of meat, one egg, and one and a half servings of dairy per day, and the other half to follow a vegan diet for the same amount of time.
The average participant in the sample was 40 years old, with a body mass index of 26 kilograms per square meter. Of the sample, 77% were women (32). Participants in the study received nutrition instruction from health educators before consuming meals that had been prepared for them for the first four weeks of the trial and in the final four weeks, they made their meals.
The effects of food on DNA methylation levels were examined by the authors using blood sample analysis performed on study participants at baseline, week four, and week eight. The biological ages of the subjects and their organ systems were deduced from their DNA methylation levels.
By the time the trial was over, the researchers had seen drops in those who followed a vegan diet’s estimates of biological age, or what are known as epigenetic ageing clocks, but not in those who followed an omnivorous diet. In addition, they saw reductions in the ages of the liver, heart, hormones, and inflammatory and metabolic systems in those who followed an eight-week vegan diet as opposed to an omnivore one.
The authors issue a warning, stating that it is uncertain how much the nutritional components of the participants can account for the disparities seen between those who followed various diets. They point out that while the meals served during the first four weeks of the trial varied in terms of calorie content, individuals who followed a vegan diet lost an average of two kg more than those who followed an omnivore diet.
They hypothesize that the observed variations in epigenetic age between the two groups may have been caused by these weight loss variances. They emphasize that more research is required to examine the long-term consequences of vegan diets as well as the association between dietary composition, weight, and ageing.
