3 Years ‘Younger’ In 8 Weeks?!
Researchers say the study is ‘unique in its use of a safe, non-pharmaceutical dietary and lifestyle program, and the extent of the age reduction’
A recent study into a “non-pharmaceutical dietary and lifestyle program” found that a measurable, “statistically significant” impact in the span of just eight weeks. These researchers were looking at aging on a cellular level.
The randomized controlled clinical trial involved 43 healthy men between the ages of 50 and 72.
But that bears repeating: the study involved only 43 people, all of whom were men and all of whom already healthy. It’s still an interesting finding and the researchers readily admit in the resulting paper that “larger-scale and longer duration clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings, as well as investigation in other human populations.”
Participants were put through a program that involved diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation guidance, and supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients.
From an article at StudyFinds:
Over eight weeks, researchers monitored the results of a treatment program focusing on diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation guidance, and supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients. The randomized controlled clinical trial involved 43 healthy men between the ages of 50 and 72. Results show committing to these lifestyle changes produced “statistically significant” reductions in the biological aging of cells.
…
Study leader Kara Fitzgerald says in a media release: “These early results appear to be consistent with, and greatly extend, the very few existing studies that have so far examined the potential for biological age reversal. And it is unique in its use of a safe, non-pharmaceutical dietary and lifestyle program, control group, and the extent of the age reduction. We are currently enrolling participants for a larger study which we expect will corroborate these findings.”
In other words, participants ate better, practiced good sleep hygiene, and implemented relaxation practices, and saw measurable results. That’s nothing super-surprising, but the degree to which researchers were able to measure the age-reversal through a change in lifestyle habits is what made this study significant. Three years’ worth of cellular “age reversal” in a matter of eight weeks is pretty amazing.
Broader study needed
This wasn’t a large study and wasn’t diverse, as mentioned above. Because this specific study involved only healthy men, it suggests that people who’ve lived a healthy lifestyle can quickly add some years to their (already longer than average) life expectancy by fine-tuning their diet, sleep, and relaxation practices.
I’m looking forward to a larger study. It would be nice to see what effect, if any, such a program would have on people who have led a variety of unhealthy lifestyles. You know, like most of America.
The study appears in the journal Aging.
Related: ‘Scientists Calculated How Much Longer You Can Live With a Healthy Lifestyle’… –Time.com
Photo by Sergiu Vălenaș on Unsplash
