Media release

From: Springer Nature

Omega-3 may slow biological ageing in humans

Consuming one gram of omega-3 per day may slow down the rate of biological ageing in humans, according to an analysis of data from a clinical trial involving over 700 older adults over a three-year period. The findings are published in Nature Aging.

Previous clinical trial research has shown that restricting caloric intake may slow ageing in humans. Other research conducted in animal studies or small pilot trials on slowing biological ageing, such as by consuming vitamin D or omega-3, has also shown promising effects. However, whether these interventions work in humans remains unclear.

Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, Steve Horvath and colleagues used molecular biology tools known as epigenetic clocks to calculate how rates of ageing were affected during a clinical trial involving 777 participants aged 70 and older from Switzerland. During the clinical trial, testing eight different groups or treatments, participants consumed 2,000 International units (IU) of vitamin D per day, and/or took 1 gram of omega-3 per day and/or participated in a 30-minute home exercise program 3 times a week across a 3-year span. In an analysis of blood samples, Bischoff-Ferrari and colleagues found that omega-3 consumption moderately slowed biological ageing across several of the epigenetic clocks by up to 4 months. This finding was not dependent on the sex, age or body mass index of the participant. Combining omega-3, vitamin D, and exercise was found to work even better, as shown by one of the tests. Additionally, the authors also found that these three interventions together had the biggest impact on lowering cancer risk and preventing frailty over three years. Each intervention works through different but related mechanisms, and when combined, they reinforce each other, creating a stronger overall effect, the authors suggest.

The authors note that a key limitation of this work is that there is not a standardized measure of biological ageing, and that they opted for the most-validated tests available. Likewise, they acknowledge that their sample of Swiss participants does not represent the average global population of adults aged 70 years and older.