Multivitamins are helpful for people on restrictive or low-calorie diets, picky eaters, older adults and people with difficulty absorbing certain nutrients.iStockphoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Multivitamins are one of the most popular supplements taken by Canadians, according to recent market research.
They’re used to help prevent nutrient deficiencies, maintain general health and support immune, bone and metabolic health.
Now, new study findings published in Nature Medicine suggest there’s another reason to take a daily multivitamin.
Doing so may slow the rate at which your cells age, an indicator of overall health, chronic disease risk and physical functioning.
Here’s what to know about the research and why it’s too soon to broadly recommend a multivitamin to delay biological aging.
What does biological age mean?
Biological age is an estimate of how fast or slow your cells, tissues and organ systems are aging, rather than simply how many years you have lived (chronological age).
It’s influenced by genetics, health status, diet, physical activity, sleep habits, smoking and alcohol use, and stress.
Different tests are used to estimate biological age.
One method involves using epigenetic clocks – tools that read small molecular tags on DNA, called epigenetic markers, that change in predictable ways with age. These changes alter how cells function, repair themselves and respond to stress.
If a person’s epigenetic markers on their DNA show patterns usually seen in older people, epigenetic clocks estimate their biological age as higher.
Epigenetic clocks are considered among the most precise biomarkers of biological aging.
The latest study
The new research is part of the large-scale Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, a randomized controlled trial conducted in 21,442 U.S. adults to investigate the effects of daily multivitamin or cocoa extract supplements on the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other health outcomes.
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For the current ancillary study, published March 9, the researchers analyzed blood samples from 958 healthy COSMOS participants, average age 70, to assess the two-year effect of multivitamin and cocoa extra supplements on biological aging.
Participants were assigned to one of four groups: a daily multivitamin or placebo, a daily cocoa extract or placebo, a daily multivitamin and cocoa extract, or two placebo pills.
The multivitamin was formulated to meet the nutrition needs of adults over 50; it contained a wide range of vitamins and minerals, as well as lutein, to support heart, brain, eye and overall health.
Biological age was estimated at study enrolment, at year one and at year two using five different epigenetic clocks, all strongly linked to chronic disease risk and mortality.
Daily multivitamin use slowed cellular aging
After accounting for age, sex and participants’ baseline biological age, the researchers found that, compared to placebo, daily multivitamin supplementation modestly delayed biological aging measured by two of the five epigenetic clocks.
This slowdown was equivalent to about four months less of biological aging over two years.
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The benefit of multivitamins was more pronounced in participants who were biologically older than their chronological age at the start of the trial.
These findings were generally consistent regardless of age, sex, body mass index, diet quality, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes and use of cholesterol-lowering medications.
There was no evidence that daily cocoa extract supplementation delayed biological aging.
The researchers don’t know how multivitamins might slow biological aging.
In an analysis of a subset of COSMOS participants, the researchers found that lower levels of carotenoids and vitamin E in the bloodstream were associated with accelerated biological aging at baseline.
It’s possible that by improving nutritional status, a daily multivitamin can benefit biological aging.
What the findings can – and can’t – tell us
The results showed that taking a daily multivitamin for two years had a small, but statistically significant, protective effect on slowing biological aging in older adults.
While intriguing, the findings are preliminary.
What’s more, it’s unknown if a small, short-term decrease in biological age translates into living a longer life in good health.
There are, though, hints that it might.
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Small sub-analyses that occurred after the trial found that participants in the multivitamin group with slowed biological aging also had reductions in inflammation and improvements in memory.
Even so, further research is needed to determine if the new trial findings have relevance for healthy aging outcomes.
Beyond potential longevity benefits
In the meantime, there are other reasons why you might take a daily multivitamin.
Doing so provides some assurance that you’re meeting your daily requirements for most vitamins and minerals.
While it’s ideal to meet daily vitamin and mineral requirements from a healthy, balanced diet, that’s just not practical or possible for everyone.
Multivitamins are helpful for individuals who follow a restrictive or low-calorie diet, picky eaters, haphazard eaters, older adults and people who have difficulty absorbing certain nutrients.
As well, a multivitamin ensures an adequate intake before and during pregnancy of folic acid, a B vitamin needed to help prevent serious neural tube defects.
If you’re unsure you would benefit from a multivitamin, consult your health-care provider.
In Canada, multivitamin and mineral supplements are regulated as natural health products.
Look for a NPN (natural product number) on the package when buying vitamin and mineral supplements.
This means Health Canada has reviewed the product and approved its ingredients, doses, manufacturing quality and health claims before it can be legally sold.
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan.
