Can A Vegan Diet Slow Aging?

Can a vegan diet slow aging? ⏳
Dr. Christopher Gardner’s latest research offers some thought-provoking findings.
In a widely publicized twin study featured in the Netflix series “You Are What You Eat,” one identical twin followed a vegan diet, while the other stuck to an omnivorous one.
Dr. Gardner and his team measured everything from cholesterol to telomeres-the protective caps on the ends of your DNA that are linked to aging.
After just eight weeks, the vegan twins had longer telomeres than the omnivorous twins, a difference that was statistically significant. These results suggest a possible impact of the diet on the aging process. Even Dr. Gardner found the results surprising!
Watch the full Exam Room podcast episode for more fascinating insights from Dr. Gardner’s research.
#Vegan #PlantBased #WholeFoodPlantBased #WFPB #PCRM #ExamRoomPodcast
References:
Dwaraka, V.B., Aronica, L., Carreras-Gallo, N. et al. Unveiling the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging: insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS). BMC Med 22, 301 (2024).

[@LoanLadyLisa1]

I have longer telomeres than my siblings. This is awesome 🤩!

[@Unmasking_Viandalisme]

I have shorter hair than my sister.. so this is worrying. WF omni. for my win.

[@d.rabbitwhite]

But then stress reverses everything good, damnit

[@PeggyKey]

Love this Dr.❤

[@Kayekate3]

Yay🎉

[@CodyJoel]

❤

[@skippy6462]

It makes logical sense. Plants all the way.

[@Unmasking_Viandalisme]

I've been doing some "crazy stuff" & WF omni. far better suits my physiology.. each to their own..

[@erikshin-cj8sh]

Before buying in to what this researcher is saying, I suggest that you do your own research on the source itself. His findings may be real but I have found a lot of information online that seem suspicious: 1) Dr. Christopher Gardner is an advocate for a plant-based diet. If you look at his work, everything is connected to promoting the plant- based diet, such as animal rights and welfare (don't eat meat) and global warming and climate change (raising livestock for food is not good for the environment). 2) If you watch his documentary, You Are What You Eat, which was based on this research, it seems more like propaganda for the vegan diet. No opposing experts were invited to debate the results. The scientific methodology was very flawed, for example the results are from what is considered a very small sample (only 22 sets of twins). It only took into account diet and not other lifestyle factors that can impact the results like smoking, drug use (both prescription and recreational), occupation (for stress levels), etc. These are only a few flaws to his methodology. As a highly experienced scientist and researcher, he should have recognized at least a few of the major flaws in his methodology. 3) He received funding for his published paper from Beyond Meat, a plant-based burger company. 4) The Vogt Foundation funded this research. This foundation funds organizations that protect animals and promote plant-based products. This comment is getting too long, but I urge you to do your due diligence because there is more online information that makes this situation with Dr. Gardner's research suspicious. I'm not opposed to eating plants because I do eat them, too. And, Dr. Gardner's results may be right. But, the circumstances around how this research was done, funded, and presented, makes it hard to believe that it was completely unbiased, with no hidden agenda behind it.

[@kathleen6288]

I’m no expert, for sure, but from all that I have learned about a vegan diet…it’s a win, win, win. For the animals, the environment & for me. It’s nice to hear things like this Dr is saying too, it’s icing on the cake. I cannot think of one downside to being vegan. It’s all good!!

[@ki5ngau]

Did you look at the source of the materials that you read? The writers were all funded by the meat, egg and dairy industries. Where as his writings were based on the data and statistics from his researches. I did not see any broccoli nor bean farmers paid his researches.

[@erikshin-cj8sh]

@@kathleen6288 I have been looking for the perfect diet for years. I wish there were one. So far, there is no such thing. All diets have positives and negatives. I want to live a healthy life, that is why I make sure that there is no hidden agenda behind claims made by experts of all kinds of diets. Just doing online searches like "downsides of a vegan diet" or "is vegan diet the healthiest" will give you results of potential benefits and risks of the vegan diet. Here are just some risks of a vegan diet: 1) Nutritional deficiencies in protein, calcium, vitamin B12 and more. Yes, you may get protein from plants but you have to combine things like grain and legumes in order to get complete protein. Some plants like quinoa are said to have complete protein but you have to eat a lot of it to get the right levels of the essential amino acids. Calcium in plants may be high, but unfortunately there are other things in plants that make them not as easy to absorb and process (poor bioavailability) by our bodies. Although vitamin B12 may be in some plants, the quantities are so small, that these plants are not even listed as sources of vitamin B12. Depending on one's definition of vegan, nutritional yeast and some fermented foods are sources of vitamin B12. However, yeast and the bacteria in fermented foods are neither plant or animal, and so are avoided by vegans who are strictly plant-based. 2) The choices of foods from plants are somewhat limited to those with certain auto-immune diseases and allergies. 3) All plants have some form of antinutrient like oxalates (which can make some people susceptible to kidney stones) and lectins which disrupt certain processes in the body. It's just logical that the more plants you eat, the more antinutrients your body has to deal with. There are more information you can find online if you want to learn more. We may all be human but we have different genetic makeups and dietary requirements. Some do better with a completely plant-based diet, some do better with a completely animal-based diet, and there are those who do better somewhere in between. I try to do my best by eating foods that my body seems to tolerate best, and also provides me with the nutrients I need (regardless of being plant or animal). As for animal welfare and the environment, I try to keep an open mind and consider all sides. From your comment, I know you already have a certain mindset on these subjects. I also once had my own mindset on these subjects, but as I allowed myself to see the different sides, I realized that each side has their good points and bad points, and these subjects are more complicated than what people on each side profess. I'm glad you found the diet that works for you. As for me, it's still a work in progress.

[@erikshin-cj8sh]

@@ki5ngau Yes, I looked at all the sources. I am skeptical of all dietary claims since I myself am looking for one that fits me best. However, he cannot refute that he received funds from Beyond Meat and The Vogt Foundation. Yes, some of the sources were backed by the opposition (I am skeptical of them too), but there are other sources that show no particular bias nor affiliation, just concerns for the circumstances surrounding his research. In my comment, I said that his findings may be right. I wanted him to be right because I want my search for the perfect diet to end. I want to live the best life with the best health that I can. However, I was just not completely sold on it because of his built-in bias being a plant-based advocate, and receiving funding from a plant-based company and a plant-based foundation. Even if he didn't receive any funding, or was totally unbiased, his research, by scientific standards was very flawed, rendering it unreliable and open to conjecture and debate. I went through this in my original comment, only mentioning just a few flaws in his method. To a person seriously doing his own personal research for the sake of finding the diet that best suits him, this is a big disappointment. I wanted so much to believe his results, but his sloppiness in scientific research practices alone made it hard to buy what he was selling. This is the what's wrong with almost all diet-related research. Researchers are satisfied with making claims using procedures that someone with a scientific background, or even one who just took science lab courses in college could poke holes into. Remember, I said his results could be right (and I wanted them to be right), but the circumstances around his research make it hard to find his claims reliable, and unbiased.

[@erikshin-cj8sh]

@@kathleen6288 I replied to your comment. It doesn't show up on my screen, but it shows up in my KZbin Interactions. I don't know if you received it or if it is being censored by the channel or KZbin. I don't feel that there was anything inappropriate in my reply. I'll make this shorter, hoping you are able to receive it. As I was saying in my comment, do your own research. I do, because I've been searching for years for a diet that would keep me healthy for as long as I can. So, far I've found that there is no such thing as a diet that is win, win, win. All diets have their positives and negatives. Just do an online search (like Google) something like "is vegan diet the healthiest?" . You will find articles on both the upsides and downsides of veganism. We all are human, but we also all differ in genetic makeup. Some are better as vegans, some are better, as carnivores, and some are better somewhere in between. I'm glad you found your perfect diet. As for me, it's still a work in progress. Reading your comment, I feel that you have already have a certain mindset when it comes to animals and the environment. I also used to have a particular mindset until I allowed myself to look into all sides of these subjects. All sides have good points and bad points. I found that animal welfare and the environment is a lot more complex than what the people on each side profess. Just like in the case of diet, keep an open mind and do your own research to weed out propaganda from actual data and facts. I wish you well.