Multivitamins May Help You Live Longer

Shortening of DNA ends linked to rate of aging

So how can multivitamins help you live longer? Well, in order to answer this question we need to get into a little bit of genetics. Vitamins don't only protect us against deficiency related diseases, but also prevent the ends of our DNA from shortening, says a study by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Aging & Neuroepidemiology Group).

DNA strands make up chromosomes at the end of which are telomeres, areas of repeat DNA sequences that serve the purpose of protecting the chromosomes from damage. In essence, telomeres prevent chromosomes and their DNA from duplicating all the way to their ends during cell division, which would otherwise lead to the loss of the ends of chromosomes and the information contained in it. As biologist and researcher of telomeres, Elizabeth Blackburn, explains, a telomere is like the plastic tip on the end of shoelaces that prevents the laces from unraveling at the ends.

Why is this important? Well, throughout our lives, our cells are continuously dividing and news ones are created. In order to keep the same genetic information (this never changes in our lifetime), our chromosomes along with their DNA get duplicated in each cell. Now, with every cell division, telomeres get progressively shorter, which researchers believe determines aging. Inevitably, our telomeres will shorten with age, but it is the rate at which they shorten that seems to be linked to how fast we age. In other words, the slower the shortening of telomeres, the slower we age.

So now for the really good news: A study conducted this year shows that taking multivitamins daily may help us live longer by slowing down the rate of telomere shortening. Telomeres are very vulnerable to oxidative stress caused by free radicals and this makes shortening much faster. This would explain why most people with higher levels of oxidative stress are more prone to chronic disease and generally have shorter life spans. Researchers believe that vitamins, especially the ones with antioxidant properties like vitamins C and E, can slow down telomere shortening by counteracting oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

I certainly won't be forgetting to take my daily multivitamins!

Reference:

Chen, H. & all. "Multivitamin use and telomere length in women." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. February, 2009.