Can vitamin D reverse aging?

Q: I have seen several online articles saying that vitamin D can reverse aging. Is it true?

If you are deficient in vitamin D, vitamin D could be able to slow down certain aging processes. But if you already have enough levels, there is no solid evidence that additional vitamin D will reverse or slow down aging.

For example, you need vitamin D for the production of collagen and elastin. If you have insufficient levels, you will probably see more skin aging.

One of the characteristics of aging is the length of the telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of your chromosomes. Each time a cell divides, the telomer is shortening.

As we get older, telomeres become shorter and we see more errors and changes in DNA. If you can keep long telomeres, you are less likely to see DNA damage and aging results.

There are certain things that can accelerate the shortening of telomeres, such as sleep deprivation, stress, pollution, consumption of a transformed diet and not exercise. Then there are habits such as resistance training and other exercises that can slow the shortening of telomeres over time.

In a study published in July, the researchers tested white blood cells of more than 900 people registered with a larger clinical trial on supplementation in vitamin D and omega-3. Half of the participants took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day.

The group that has taken the supplements lost 140 lower DNA base pairs, which reduces the risk of errors and mutations that can cause cellular dysfunction. People who took vitamin D supplements also had longer telomeres. This is why some people hypothesize that vitamin D can slow down aging.

The shortening of telomeres is only one of the 12 mechanisms proposed of aging. All potential mechanisms have strengths and weaknesses, and scientists do not agree on what motivates aging.