Besides being environmentally friendly, eating a vegan diet appears to improve health and slow biological aging.
A newly published study is reporting that eating a vegan diet for just eight weeks could reduce biological aging estimations based on changes in DNA methylation. Previous studies have shown that DNA methylation, also known as the ‘epigenetic clock’, is associated with aging.
Curiously, the epigenetic effects of a vegan diet compared to an omnivore diet remain largely unexplored. Despite this, a number of studies have indicated potential positive impacts of specific components of a vegan diet, such as heightened intake of vegetables and fruits, on epigenetic aging.
But at the same time, concerns have been raised regarding potential dietary deficiencies in essential “epi-nutrients” necessary for effective epigenetic regulation. Others have pointed to dietary protein intake as a special concern, particularly as this might impact aging and frailty. However, many studies have shown the beneficial impacts of protein regardless of whether it was of animal or plant origin (ref).
This particular research project was both elegant and unusual: it made use of genetically identical twins, most of whom shared similar lifestyles and behaviors. The use of identical twins largely controls for genetic differences, upbringing and lifestyle choices that might influence the results. But recruiting identical twins for dietary intervention studies is difficult, which is the reason this particular study design is rarely used in nutritional research.
“Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with,” said the study’s senior author, nutritionist Christopher Gardner, a research professor of medicine at Stanford University. “They dressed the same, they talked the same and they had a banter between them that you could have only if you spent an inordinate amount of time together.”
The 8-week trial, conducted from May to July 2022, consisted of 22 pairs of identical twins for a total of 44 participants. The study participants consisted of 77% healthy women (32), whose average age was 40 years old, with a BMI less than 40.
Both diets were healthy, featuring vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains but without sugars and refined starches. One half of each twin pair was assigned to eat a healthy omnivorous diet for eight weeks whilst the other twin was assigned a vegan (plant-based) diet for the same length of time. The omnivorous diet consisted of between 170 and 225 grams of meat, one egg, and one and a half servings of dairy each day.
“Our study used a generalizable diet that is accessible to anyone, because 21 out of the 22 vegans followed through with the diet,” Professor Gardner remarked. “This suggests that anyone who chooses a vegan diet can improve their long-term health in two months, with the most change seen in the first month.”
During the first four weeks, a meal service delivered 21 meals per week — seven breakfasts, lunches and dinners. For the remaining four weeks, the participants prepared their own meals, after receiving nutrition classes from health educators. Throughout the study, the participants were interviewed about their dietary intake and kept a log of the foods they ate.
Professor Gardner and collaborators weighed and collected blood samples from all study participants at baseline, week four, and week eight of the study and analyzed their DNA methylation levels to infer the biological ages of the participants and of their organ systems. Professor Gardner and collaborators found decreases in estimates of biological age in the study participants who ate a vegan diet but not amongst those who ate an omnivorous diet.
Additionally, the vegans also showed decreases in the ages of their hearts, livers and inflammatory and metabolic systems — decreases that weren’t observed in the omnivores.
“There was a 10% to 15% drop in LDL cholesterol, a 25% drop in insulin, and a 3% drop in body weight in just eight weeks, all by eating real food without animal products,” Professor Gardner quickly summarized.
This study provides some insights into the benefits of consuming a healthy vegan diet, particularly as it affects aging. However, there are a few confounding variables to be aware of. For example, the vegan study twins lost more weight during the eight-week study than did their omnivorous twin due to differences in the caloric contents of meals provided during the initial four weeks of the study.
Professor Gardner and collaborators proposed that these weight loss variations could have contributed to the observed differences in epigenetic age between both groups. So for this reason, further research is needed to investigate the relationship between dietary composition, weight and aging, in addition to the long-term effects of vegan diets.
“What’s more important than going strictly vegan is including more plant-based foods into your diet,” Professor Gardner said, adding that he has been “mostly vegan” for the last 40 years.
“Luckily, having fun with vegan multicultural foods like Indian masala, Asian stir-fry and African lentil-based dishes can be a great first step.”
Source:
Varun B. Dwaraka, Lucia Aronica, Natalia Carreras-Gallo, Jennifer L. Robinson, Tayler Hennings, Matthew M. Carter, Michael J. Corley, Aaron Lin, Logan Turner, Ryan Smith, Tavis L. Mendez, Hannah Went, Emily R. Ebel, Erica D. Sonnenburg, Justin L. Sonnenburg & Christopher D. Gardner (2024). Unveiling the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging: insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS), BMC Medicine 22: 301 | doi:10.1186/s12916-024-03513-w
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