Previous research has linked a common vitamin to a slowdown in aging — and now a new Harvard study appears to confirm those findings.
The study, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that taking a daily vitamin D pill prevented telomeres from shortening, a hallmark of aging.
Telomeres, which are often compared to the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces, act as “protective ends” on chromosome strands, according to a Harvard press release.
As people age, telomeres get shorter, which can increase the likelihood of poor health and mortality, prior studies have shown.
Research has also suggested that higher levels of vitamin D in the blood is linked to longer telomeres.
In this latest randomized trial, approximately 1,000 people aged 50 and older were divided into two groups — one group took 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D pills each day, and the other group took placebo pills.
After a four-year period, the people taking vitamin D showed less than half of the telomere shortening than the placebo group.
