Reduction of biological age following an 8-week methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program: A case series

Abstract

Here we report on a case series of six women who completed a methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program designed to impact DNA methylation and measures of biological aging. This is a follow-up report to a paper that was published in Aging in April 2021 entitled: Potential reversal of epigenetic age using a diet and lifestyle intervention: A pilot randomized clinical trial (linked here: https://www.aging-us.com/article/202913/text), using an intervention that was largely the same as the aforementioned pilot trial but in a different study population. The intervention consisted of an 8-week program that included diet, sleep, exercise and relaxation guidance, supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients and nutritional coaching. DNA methylation and biological age analysis (Horvath DNAmAge clock (2013), normalized using the SeSAMe pipeline [a]) was conducted on blood samples at baseline and at the end of the 8-week period. Five of the six participants exhibited a biological age reduction of between 1.22 and 11.01 years from their baseline biological age. There was a statistically significant (p=.039) difference in the participants’ mean biological age before (55.83 years) and after (51.23 years) the 8-week diet and lifestyle intervention, with an average decrease of 4.60 years. The average chronological age at the start of the program was 57.9 years and all but one participant had a biological age younger than their chronological age at the start of the program, suggesting that biological age changes were unrelated to disease improvement and instead might be attributed to underlying aging mechanisms.

Biomarkers of Aging and Relevant Evaluation Techniques: A Comprehensive Review

“…Recently, epigenetic clocks have been used in the randomized clinical trials to validate the effects of an interventions [47]. A series of subsequent clinical studies further emphasized the importance of studying potential changes in DNAm levels during aging [48,49]. In general, epigenetic age prediction is easier and more effective.…”