Vegan Vs. Aging: If Science is Magic, Nutrition Is A Time-Machine

Photo: Tristan Colangelo, Unsplash

Vegan Changes In Diet May Have Surprising Biochemistry Benefits:

In many different ways, one thing we can all do better is nutrition.

Whether it’s excluding stuff like processed-foods, seed oils, or including other stuff.

For God’s sake, The Father Of Medicine said it himself ~2000 years ago.

That may sound simple to start, but we’ve also been part of a war raging for decades.

That war is of course: Which is the best diet? -For healthspan, for lifespan, for mental clarity, etc. etc. etc.

Even though the very-enticing Mediterranean Diet seems to be the current champ, a recent micro-study came out that shows some very interesting results for those who might want to live longer…

The Short Answer:

We can all improve our lives by picking the right diet, but which one to choose?
This is especially important because we’re finding out some vitamins & supplements might be dangerous in pill form.
Stanford & TruDiagnostic researchers looked at 22 pairs of twins for 8 weeks to discover any benefits to going Vegan.
Subjects were evaluated at the beginning, 1 month and 2nd month intervals.
Vegans had slowed their rate of aging compared to omnivores as measured by 3 special “clocks”.
These reductions included overall age, and that of heart, liver, and metabolic systems.
They also lost more weight, had better cholesterol, and also better blood-sugar.
Qualifications of the results include Vegans being given fewer calories for 1 month.
Most of the anti-aging benefits also occurred in the first month.
The consensus is that Vegans did at least 3 good things.
They lost weight, lowered saturated-fat intake, and increased fiber in their diet.
They may also have gotten more helpful things in food like antioxidants and anti-aging compounds.
But Vegan diets are hard to follow and can result in some deficiencies if you don’t correct them.
Perhaps there is a way to take most of those benefits and make an improved omnivore diet?
Getting as much saturated fat out of your diet is probably the first stop on that tour.

Read on to find out the details…

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Even “Smart Guy” Doctors Today Revere The Power Of Nutrition:

If you’re like most people who are at least 38, then you’re actually taking your health seriously.

And if you’re anything like Dr. David Sinclair, nerd-in-chief of chasing the fountain of youth, you might want to live a longer and healthier life.

You might even agree that aging is just another disease to be cured.

Right now, supplements look a little scary, especially since tests on simple stuff like vitamin e show pills can be too concentrated for our bodies to handle.

So then it’s no surprise every smart doctor I’ve talked to in recent years says, “You pick it up in the diet instead.”

Tiny But Brilliant. A Frickin’ TWINS Study Shows Clear Benefits:

And that’s where our study itself picks-up.

Stanford and TruDiagnostic researchers decided to check back in on the very sexy Vegan diet to see what secrets it might reveal.

They started with a very small study, but one that’s very smart because they used Twins! as a comparison source! -Brilliant!

So a total of 44 people were tested over the course of two months, one half on a vegan diet and the other on an omnivore diet, like our friend Yogi the bear.

They were all given the first month of meals pre-made, and after that prepared their own.

But to make sure things were measurable and trackable, they all had access to a coach and kept food-journals of everything they ate & drank.

Vegans Seem To Have It Better On Multiple Aging Factors:

At the end of the study, they had their weight and blood-work done for the third and final time.

Here’s what the researchers found.

Vegans showed at least the following benefits:

1) Lower rates of cellular and genetic aging (called Epigenetics) on 3 different tests
2) Slower aging of the heart, liver and metabolism systems
3) Greater weight-loss
4) Lower bad cholesterol
5) Better blood-sugar control + systems

Every Study Has Its Flaws. This One Did Too:

Here are a few notes and qualifications to flesh that out.

To be fair, Vegans were given fewer calories in the first month.

This may have been due to low calorie-density; who knows.

Most of the anti-aging benefits took place in the first month.

All subjects made their own meals for the second half of the study.

TruDiagnostic was able to establish that the Vegans aged slower based on three different “clocks” that check parts of cells and also certain actions that happen to DNA (called methylation).

There may be no way to tell if the reduction in Aging was due only to the weight-loss component, but it might not be.

Here Are A Few Great Things The Vegans Did With Their Diet:

As far as what makes this all work, especially the anti-aging component, there are a few things to consider.

Vegans did at least a few really good things:
1) They lost weight
2) They ate less saturated fat
3) They added more fiber to their diet

But there are some other ideas out there.

Vegans may have improved their gut microbiome.
They may have consumed more healthy compounds in their food.
These can include antioxidants and other things.
They may have consumed more of an anti-aging compound called NMN.
NMN is found in Broccoli, Cabbage, Edamame, Avocados and other vegetables.
The reduction in saturated fat could have improved the anti-oxidants in their bodies.

Let’s Be Honest, Tofu Farts Are Not The Hardest Part Of This Plan:

Just as there were qualifications to this study, there are certainly some for a Vegan diet.

That diet makes it hard to get protein, vitamin B12, and some other nutrients.

So anyone who wants to try it should check in with a doctor or an RD.

For some people, the restrictions are too much and they do add at least some milk & egg products.

-Especially because whey protein powder does make it easy to get a lot more protein.

It may be a difficult program to follow long-term.

Borrowing From The Vegan Playbook Makes Omnivores Healthier, Too:

That being said, there may be ways to add the right fruits & vegetables to an omnivore diet to get a lot of the benefits.

They’ve also been associated with lower rates of depression and higher amounts of motivation and exploration.

Borrowing a page from the Vegan book and lowering your saturated fat intake by getting only lean, non-marbled cuts of meat and avoiding processed meats and ground meat is also a great idea.

Ground meats are usually the color of the protein with mixed-in bits of white.

And that white part is saturated fat. So if you eliminate those types of meats, you could be on your way to reducing cellular-aging.

Because when saturated fat is burned by your body, it throws off the opposite of anti-oxidants. And those go around and wreck biological structures, and possibly parts of cells & DNA!

(the same thing goes for Sugar, btw!)

You Could Even Slow Aging By Trying This Plan For Short Periods!:

So these are impressive results with some of the best (but not perfect) aging measures we currently have.

And the study authors theorize that anybody could follow this plan for two months and give their age a little bit of a reset.

As we’ve shown above, if you just borrow a few pages from the vegan playbook and also clean up your protein and food-sources,

You just might be able to reap many of the rewards without all the restrictions.

To Strike A Balance, You Have To Take Saturated Fat Seriously:

But you have to take the aging-accelerator nature of Saturated Fat very seriously.

If you want the results, telling yourself you’ll lower it someday but you want a marbled-steak today, is just not going to cut it.

So maybe the “Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian” approach is the closest in theme?

That way, you can also pick up all the good fiber from the extra vegetables, instead of just the “Unsaturated Fat Omnivore”-approach.

At least now you have some more info on bad things the Vegans probably reduced, the good things they included, and why they seem to age slower (so far).

So then you can make your own more-informed choices going forward and possibly get 80% of the benefit, while having a little more fun than going full, “TOFU EVERYTHING”!