The cells of multivitamin users may have a younger biological age than cells from non-users, according to new research from the US.
Researchers from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, led by Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, looked at the length of telomere DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes. They found that they shorten as cells replicate and age.
Dr. Chen and his co-workers noted that telomere length may be a marker of biological aging and that multivitamins may beneficially affect telomere length by reducing oxidative damage and chronic inflammation.
Previous studies have reported that telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative damage, which can be prevented by anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin C and E.
The aging and lifespan of normal, healthy cells is linked to how fast the telomeres wear out and shorten. Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomere pioneer at the University of California San Francisco, likened telomeres to the wrapping material around the ends of shoelaces, without which the lace would unravel. During cell replication, the telomeres ensure that the cell’s chromosomes do not unwrap, fuse with each other or rearrange, which can lead to cancer.
With each cell replication the telomeres shorten, and when the telomeres are totally consumed, the cells are naturally destroyed by a process known as apoptosis.
According to their results published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the telomeres of daily multivitamin users are on average 5.1 per cent longer than telomeres in people that do not take multi-vitamins.
“To our knowledge, this was the first epidemiologic study of multivitamin use and telomere length,” wrote Dr Chen and his co-workers. “Regular multivitamin users tend to follow a healthy lifestyle and have a higher intake of micronutrients, which sometimes makes it difficult to interpret epidemiologic observations on multivitamin use.
Multivitamin use
According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) State-of-the-Science Panel, half of the American population routinely use dietary supplements, with their annual spend estimated at over $20 billion.
Recent results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that 35 per cent of the US adult population regularly consumes one or more types of multivitamin product (Am. J. Epidemiol., 2004, Vol. 160, Pages 339-349).
Study Results
Dr Chen and his co-workers analyzed multivitamin use and nutrient intakes, as well as telomere length of 586 women aged between 35 and 74 in the Sister Study. A 146-item food-frequency questionnaire was used to determine multivitamin use and nutrient intakes.
“In the analysis of micronutrients, higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods were each associated with longer telomeres, even after adjustment for multivitamin use. Furthermore, intakes of both nutrients were associated with telomere length among women who did not take multivitamins,” wrote the researchers.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Multivitamin use and telomere length in women” June 2009, Volume 89, Number 6, Pages 1857-1863, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26986
Authors: Q. Xu, C.G. Parks, L.A. DeRoo, R.M. Cawthon, D.P. Sandler, H. Chen
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