July 29, 2024

expert reaction to a study suggesting that a short-term vegan diet may be associated with reduction in biological age

A study published in BMC Medicine looks at short term vegan diets and biological ageing. 

Prof Helen Roche, Full Professor of Nutrigenomics, Director Of Academic Centre – Conway Institute, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin (UCD), said:

“This is an interesting study which showed that a vegan diet altered the epigenome signature which is associated with aging.

Nevertheless, it is important to appreciate that aging as such was not altered, indeed an 8-week intervention will never affect hard outcomes or biomarkers of ageing.

To this end, the study is interesting in that it shows potential to affect DNA methylation related to ageing outcomes.

Further research is required to determine the full nature of dietary patterns, including vegan versus omnivore, on healthy ageing.”

‘Unveiling the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging: insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS)’ by Varun B. Dwaraka et al. was published in BMC Medicine at 01:00 Irish time on Monday 29^th July 2024.

DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03513-w

Declared interests

Prof Helen Roche: none