Discover How Omega-3s Could Be Your Secret to a Youthful Life

A lot of people want to slow down or perhaps reverse the aging process. Human aging can be slowed down by consuming fewer calories, according to earlier clinical research. Animals' biological aging has also been proven to be slowed by taking omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D. It was unclear, though, if these techniques would be effective in humans as well.

A slowing of the aging process is also linked to the treatments that were previously examined in the DO-HEALTH trial, which was headed by Heike Bischoff-Ferrari. These demonstrated that regular exercise, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids lower the incidence of infections and falls, as well as cancer and early frailty. Bischoff-Ferrari, a professor of geriatrics and geriatric medicine at the University of Zurich, states, "These results inspired us to measure the direct influence of these three therapies on the biological aging process in the Swiss DO-HEALTH participants."

Epigenetic clocks are one scientific method for quantifying biological aging. They quantify the distinction between biological and chronological aging by documenting methylation, which is a chemical alteration of the DNA molecule. For the first time, the DO-HEALTH study has examined the sensitivity of this molecular biological measuring technique to targeted therapy.

Together with Steve Horvath, senior researcher at Altos Labs Cambridge (UK), who created the watches, the team lead by Heike Bischoff-Ferrari examined the impact of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and/or basic strength exercise on biological aging in 777 individuals over 70. Over the course of the three-year study, eight different treatment combinations were tested: participants either received 30 minutes of strength training at home three times a week or received 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D and/or 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids (from algae) daily.

Slower biological aging Regardless of the individuals' gender, age, or body mass index, the researchers discovered that ingesting omega-3 fatty acids slowed down biological aging across many epigenetic clocks by up to four months when they examined the blood samples. According to one of the four epigenetic clocks utilized, strength training, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids worked even better together.

"This result extends our previous findings from the DO-HEALTH study, in which these three factors combined had the greatest impact on reducing the risk of cancer and preventing premature frailty over a three-year period, to slowing down the biological aging process," Bischoff-Ferrari explains.

According to the study's author, each of these measures operates through a unique mechanism that enhances the overall effect when used together.
 

At the same time, the research team highlights the study's shortcomings. According to Bischoff-Ferrari, "there is no generally accepted gold standard for measuring biological age." "However, we analyzed the best currently validated epigenetic clocks, which reflect the state of the art." Bischoff-Ferrari and top worldwide researchers in the Global Health Span Extension Consortium intend to use DO-HEALTH and other global intervention studies as a validation platform for new aging biomarkers in order to further enhance the therapeutic application of biological clocks.

Additionally, the researchers note that because the sample is limited to Swiss individuals, it may not accurately reflect the global population of older persons (70 years of age and older). To take into consideration a wider range of genomes and lifestyles, scientists intend to expand their analysis to include all DO-HEALTH participants in the future, including those from Germany, France, Austria, and Portugal.
 

To examine the benefits of the therapies separately and in combination, the 2157 study participants were randomized into eight groups: Group 1 was given 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily (more than 200 percent of the 800 IU normally advised for older persons), 1 g of omega-3 fatty acids daily, and three times a week, a basic at-home exercise regimen; Vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids were given to Group 2; vitamin D3 and the exercise program were given to Group 3; and omega-3 fatty acids and the exercise program were given to Group 4. Group 5 was given only vitamin D3, Group 6 was given only omega-3 fatty acids, Group 7 was given only the exercise program, and Group 8 was given a placebo.

At baseline, year 1, year 2, and year 3, participants received follow-up phone calls every three months and conducted thorough and standardized health and functional evaluations at the study centers, which included lifestyle factors including food and physical activity. Under the direction of the University of Zurich, the DO-HEALTH cohort and biobank is the biggest study of healthy persons in Europe who are 70 years of age or older. The EU's Seventh Framework Program for Research has provided funding for the DO-HEALTH project and its global research network.

The Swiss National Science Foundation (principal investigator Bischoff-Ferrari) provided funding for the epigenetic measures.