Going Vegan for Just 8 Weeks May Roll Back Your Biological Age

A mere eight weeks of a vegan diet could turn back our biological clocks, new research has suggested.

Each of us have two different ages: our chronological age and our biological age. Chronological age describes how long you have been alive and, until we invent time travel technology, it is not reversible.

Biological age, meanwhile, describes the gradual decline in efficiency and functionality of our body’s cells. And, unlike chronological age, it can be reversed.

To date, there is not a single gold standard for quantifying this biological aging, but one method that has shown promise involves monitoring molecular tags on the surface of our DNA.

These tags, known as DNA methylation, can be affected by a range of environmental factors, including exercise, stress and our diet.

In a new study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, researchers from Stanford University and biological analytics company TruDiagnostic recruited 21 pairs of adult identical twins to investigate how eight weeks on a vegan diet affected these DNA methylation patterns.

Over the course of the study, one twin from each pair consumed an entirely plant-based diet while the other stuck to a healthy omnivorous meal plan. And by the end of the study, the twins who stuck to the vegan diet saw a significant reduction in markers of overall biological aging, as well as specific age-related markers in the heart, liver, hormone, inflammatory and metabolic systems.

“Distinct responses were observed, with the vegan cohort exhibiting significant decreases in overall epigenetic age acceleration, aligning with anti-aging effects of plant-based diets,” the authors wrote in their study.

The nature of the study means that we cannot be sure what aspects of the vegan diets proved beneficial to the subjects epigenetic clocks, although more targeted research could reveal this in the future.

That said, the team do have some dietary advice for those looking to age more healthily.

“From out current understanding of the nutrients that support our epigenome, a plant-centered omnivorous diet that incorporates beneficial plant chemicals alongside crucial nutrients like B12 and choline from animal sources offers the best potential for promoting a healthy, longer life,” paper author and Stanford epigeneticist Lucia Aronica told Newsweek.

According to Aronica, some past studies have also suggested that protein intake—particularly from animal sources—is beneficial for older adults.

However, she added, “many diets can enhance our epigenetic health, provided the focus on whole foods, variety, and are personalized to our individual needs.”

It is also unclear whether the anti-aging effect of the vegan diets endured after the participants returned to their customary eating habits.

“This is absolutely something that needs to be tested,” paper author and bioinformatician Varun Dwaraka of TruDiagnostic told Newsweek.

“It is likely that their biological age may increase if they were consuming a diet closer to what was normal, as the epigenetic programing could revert back to its original state.”

It is worth noting that these findings were based on a very small sample size. What’s more, because of the differences in calorie content between the plant-based and omnivorous diets, those on the former lost an average of 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) more than their counterparts. Thus, the differences in biological age at the end of the study may also be attributable to these variations in weight loss.

Furthermore, noted Professor Tom Sanders—a nutrition and dietetics researcher with King’s College London, England, who was not involved in the present study—the benefits in terms of aging from vegan diets must be considered alongside the risk of micronutrient deficiencies, which can take years to exert harmful effects.

He explained: “For example, unless a vegan diet is supplemented with vitamin B12, they develop vitamin B12 deficiency that causes chronic and often insidious damage to the nervous system.

“Long-term observational studies of vegans also find adverse effects on bone density that is probably caused by very low calcium and marginally adequate protein intakes.

“Although, observational studies indicate that vegan diets may have favorable effects on health in middle-age (such as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes), this is not the case in older vegans who seem more likely to suffer from muscle loss, low bone density and neurological disorders which have a significant impact on the quality of life.

“Indeed, life-expectancy does not differ in vegans compared with those who select mixed diets.”

Follow-up studies, the researchers noted, may shine further light on these complex interplays.

They wrote: “Future research utilizing a long-term, well-controlled study design will further highlight the complex relationships between diet, epigenetics, and health outcomes such as weight loss, while emphasizing the importance of proper nutrient supplementation in vegan diets.”

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