Vitamin D may stop Aging and keep us young. It’s the first Study that shows vitamin D supplements can stop the aging pathways and turn back time.
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin and hormone. It’s considered a hormone because it’s made in the body and acts on targeted cells like the gut, kidney and liver. It’s actually similar in structure (especially Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol) to steroid hormones like estrogen and testosterone. Vitamin D is important for good bone health, calcium and mineral metabolism, and keeps the immune system in check ready to fight infections and based on the new study may play an important role in healthy aging.
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is made in the body and found in animal-based foods, and Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is found in plant-based foods and can be converted to active Vitamin D in the body. Both are available as over-the counter supplements and at high doses by prescription.
Vitamin D is made by the body through a series of complex pathways involving the skin, kidney and liver into its active forms. It’s also found in certain foods and over the counter dietary supplements. Called the “Sunshine vitamin,” as the rays of the sun or ultraviolet B (UVB) light especially in the warm summer months turns a special cholesterol (7-dehydrocholesterol) in the skin to active Vitamin D3 in the body.
So, the more time we spend soaking up the sun’s rays by lying on the beach or walking outdoors the more Vitamin D is made in our skin. It gets tricky, because when we use sunscreen, it may block some of the effect of sun’s ultraviolet B rays but usually not to the extent that causes a Vitamin D deficiency. So, continue to apply your sunscreen. It’s great protection from certain skin cancers and should not significantly impact your Vitamin D3 levels.
Vitamin D3 is also found in our diets with the highest amount in wild-caught salmon and other fatty fish including mackerel, tuna and herring. It’s also in canned tuna. Other foods rich in vitamin D or fortified with Vitamin D includes milk, some yogurts, orange juice and breakfast cereals. Egg yolks, beef liver, cod liver oil, and certain mushrooms are another good source of Vitamin D. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin D in adults is 600 to 800 IU (International Units) daily.
Vitamin D3 is found in animal-based foods and dietary supplements. It’s made by the skin with sun exposure and is thought to be more effective at maintaining Vitamin D levels in the body than Vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 is plant based and found in fortified foods and is also available as a supplement. This is the type that’s in mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.
Supplements are listed in either micrograms (mcg) or IU with 1 mcg equal to 40 IU so important to check labels. Unless instructed by your doctor it’s best to avoid more than 4,000 IU daily. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin meaning it can build up in fat tissues unlike water soluble vitamins that at high levels can be “peed,” out. However, in general 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily is regarded as safe in adults.
Vitamin D plays a critical role in regulating calcium balance in the body and lack of Vitamin D leads to calcium absorption problems in the gut causing muscle cramps and spasms and even fatal heart rhythms. Severe lack of Vitamin D may cause rickets in children and osteomalacia or soft bones in adults.
Both Vitamin D and calcium can protect us from osteoporosis or “brittle,” bones as we age. Vitamin D also acts as a hormone and essential nutrient reducing inflammation and can even control blood sugar levels in the body. It’s also important in cell growth and may be important in delaying cell death and aging.
How do we measure Vitamin D?
Vitamin D3 is converted in the liver to 25-Vitamin D, and this is hormone that we measure on blood tests. It’s measured by a routine blood test called 25-Vitamin D (or 25-hydroxyvitamin D). It’s not part of a routine annual exam blood work so you need to ask your doctor to include it. This “active,” form of Vitamin D is what scientist feel is the most reliable measure of Vitamin D levels in the body and in fact is one of the most popular blood tests ordered by doctors in the U.S.
However, results can be misleading especially at lower levels and sometimes may not reflect true body Vitamin D levels. This is especially true if chronic inflammatory conditions exist, following surgery, or in people who are obese or overweight. Low levels of Vitamin D can be caused by medications like seizure medications, cholesterol lowering (such as cholestyramine) agents, and with oral steroids just to list a few.
That said, 35 to 40 % of people in the U.S. may be Vitamin D deficient with the highest risk in people with bone disease, inflammatory bowel disease, older age, following menopause, and those who live in climates with less sunlight like Alaska and Antartica, and during winter months. A deficiency in 25-Vitamin D is generally considered to be less than 20 nmol/L with adequate stores at 30 to 50 nmol/L.
If you do take Vitamin D supplements best to take with food for optimal absorption. You may consider increasing the dose during winter months with some experts recommending up to 2,000 IU in the winter and 1,000 IU in the summer but avoid more than 4,000 IU as may build up in the body causing toxicity or other problems like high calcium or kidney stones in certain people. However, in the VITAL trial people taking Vitamin D3 at 2,000 IU daily did not report more kidney stones or higher levels of calcium.
How does Vitamin D Stop Aging?
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that a subgroup of people in the VITAL trial who took 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily kept their genes healthier and blocked the process of cell death and aging. It seems that Vitamin D3 fuels the powerhouse of genes (DNA) by keeping something called “telomeres,” or protective shields intact, “slowing the pathways to aging.” DNA strands fray and shorten as part of the natural process of aging and Vitamin D3 works like mortar holding the strands together longer.
In the study they examined the chromosomes or genes of 1,000 people including women 55 years and older and men 50 years and older by measuring the length of the DNA or gene’s special cap called a “telomere,” at baseline, year 2 and year 4. They then compared the length of telomeres to people who did not take Vitamin D3 and found people taking Vitamin D3 had significantly reduced shortening of telomers over a period of 4-years.
This translated into nearly 3 years of increase gene life compared to those who did not take Vitamin D3 suggesting Vitamin D supplements taken every day may be a promising strategy to combat the biological or cellular process of aging keeping our cells youthful and healthy longer.
The Journal of Frailty and Aging also suggest a link between Vitamin D and aging reporting people with a Vitamin D deficiency or low Vitamin D-25 levels had shorter telomere length compared to those with normal Vitamin D levels. They went on to say that Vitamin D and other micronutrients including B12 may play an important role in healthy chromosomes or DNA, less inflammation, and preventing aging at the cellular level.
The original VITAL study followed 25,000 healthy men and women over a 5-year period to see if those who took 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 supplements or omega-3 on a daily basis had fewer cancers, strokes or heart disease. In general, the study did not show fewer heart attacks, strokes or cancers but did show in a subset of people who took Vitamin D3 aged less at least on a cellular level than those who did not take Vitamin D3. The effect was seen only with Vitamin D3 not omega-3 oils.
The VITAL study also showed despite Vitamin D3 not decreasing the numbers of cancers it may still play a protective role in keeping cancer in check as there was a trend towards fewer aggressive cancers spreading in the body at the time of diagnosis especially in people with normal body weight. Other studies show a relationship between fewer cases of invasive gut cancers like colon cancers in people who maintain normal levels of Vitamin D with higher levels of Vitamin D linked to longer cancer survival.
What are Telomers and how do they impact Aging?
Telomeres were first discovered by biologist Elizabeth Blackburn and won her a Noble Prize in Medicine in 2009. Telomeres she says are like “caps on the end of shoelaces,” protecting our genes or DNA from breaking down. The caps are critical to the lifespan of each cell and may be the missing link to unravelling the mystery of aging and understanding why we live to a certain age or lifespan.
She goes on to say telomers wear out as we age and shorten. This ultimately results in cellular death and aging. “Aging is so many different things and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but it’s not all of it.” She also linked stress especially early childhood trauma, and chronic illnesses to pre-mature aging and shorter telomere length: “the more chronic stress the shorter one’s telomere.”
The Lancet also reports an association between shorter telomere length measured in people over the age of 60 and higher rate of death from heart disease and infection. This supports the idea that telomere shortening may contribute to death and survival in many age-related diseases.
Another study says physical activity with regular aerobic exercise of moderate to rigorous intensity may preserve telomere length however the optimal amount of exercise needs to be better defined. This supports the idea that reducing sedentary lifestyles may have a positive effect on healthy aging.
GeroScience published a report linking shortening telomers to the risk of facial aging-the longer the telomere length the lower the likelihood of facial aging.
Any final advice on Vitamin D and Aging?
Vitamin D has fascinated doctors and scientists as is one of the few vitamins that act like a hormone. There have been numerous studies reporting wide range benefits of Vitamin D levels from healthy bones to cancer prevention to battling inflammation in the body.
The optimal amount of Vitamin D is still unclear however Vitamin D deficiencies is widespread and may be found in up to 35 to 40 % of American adults. There is debate whether or not this reflects a “true,” Vitamin D deficiency or is lowered as a result of chronic disease or inflammation in the body. Nonetheless, low Vitamin D levels may cause more falls, fractures or broken bones, diabetes just to list a few and now may be linked with the process of aging.
The recent Study suggests that by taking 2,000 IU daily of Vitamin D3 may preserve the healthy process of cellular rejuvenation translating into an additional 3 years of biological life. Imagine taking a vitamin supplement every day that makes your cells healthier and live longer. This plus taking other micronutrients like Vitamin B12 and starting a healthy exercise program may be the ticket to good health by strengthening our genes.
In our never-ending quest to “turn back time,” or from the famous lyrics of Bob Dylan to stay “Forever Young,” Vitamin D may the key to unlocking the secrets to Pandora’s Box along with exercise, a healthy diet, and stress reduction to stay youthful and healthy as we age.
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