Researchers at Japan’s Osaka University have published a new study examining the relationship between germ cells, aging and sex, and found that vitamin D extends the lifespan of fish, a result that is likely to apply to other vertebrates, including humans.
Dr. Tohru Ishitani, a researcher studying the Nothobranchius furzeri (also known as the coattail), said Newsweek in an email, the study found, “Vitamin D treatment increased lifespan in both sexes of the turquoise flounder N. furzeri.” The study, published in Scientific advances On 12 June, he concluded that “life expectancy has increased by 7% for women and 21% for men”.
Read more: What is a Health Savings Account?
He explained: “Excessive treatment with vitamin D did not extend the life of the gerbils, so it was important to treat with the appropriate amount.” Dr. Ishitani noted that although “excessive increases in vitamin D have also been reported to have a negative effect on lifespan in mice,” the vitamin “has been used as a supplement for a long time and, if the amount is correct, has little adverse effect on health.”
KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images
Killifish have exceptionally short lifespans measured in weeks, making them a useful metric for a study analyzing aging. The researchers took germ cells from both women and men to compare biological responses.
In female gerbils, “removal of germ cells shortened lifespan, decreased estrogen, and increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling,” the study reported. In contrast, removing the germ cells in men improved their health with increased vitamin D signaling, resulting in longer lifespans.
Read more: Find the right tax-advantaged health savings account
Dr. Michael Holick, a vitamin D research specialist at Boston University’s Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory, explained the vitamin D process Newsweek in a phone interview: “When you make vitamin D in your skin through sun exposure or when you ingest it, it goes to the liver and is converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, but then it goes to the kidneys where it is activated to 125-dihydroxy vitamin D—that’s active a form of vitamin D that causes signaling by interacting with the vitamin D receptor, which then goes into the nucleus to unlock genetic information.” Vitamin D “is inactive by itself, it has to be activated first in the liver and then in the kidney,” he explained.
He noted that the recent study’s findings are not surprising because the beneficial effects and link to increased longevity of vitamin D are “well documented.” He noted a previous study in worms (C. elegans) showed that they lived longer when given vitamin D, “because it improved the protein status of the animal.” In addition, he pointed out that the latest Endocrine Society recommendations on vitamin D state: “In the general population aged 75 years and older, we suggest empiric vitamin D supplementation because of the potential to reduce mortality risk.”
Dr. Holick added, “There is very good documentation that the higher your vitamin D status, the lower your risk of mortality. And I believe that’s true for all ages.” He emphasized that vitamin D can improve neurocognitive function, reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes, and reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders.
Purdue University professor Majid Kazemian said in a similar vein Newsweek in an email Thursday: “Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many diseases, and as a steroid hormone, vitamin D affects many cellular processes, including anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects.”
He also pointed to the conclusions of other studies.
“Several studies in mice and other animal models have demonstrated aging-related symptoms and premature aging due to vitamin D deficiency or inactivation of its receptor or activating enzyme.”
Vitamin D can be both produced and absorbed. According to Dr. Holick, “We know that if you make vitamin D in your skin from sunlight, it lasts two to three times longer in your body than if you take it orally. But if you take vitamin D every day, that’s fine.” it’s not a problem, but we believe that sunlight not only creates vitamin D in your skin, but has many other potentially important effects.” He recommends “sensible sun exposure.”
Newsweek on Thursday, she reached out to several other medical researchers for comment via email.
OJO Images/Getty Images
Update 6/14/24, 10:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include a comment from Professor Majid Kazemian.
Unusual knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in search of common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in search of common ground.