Vegan for a month makes you younger

From texarkanagazette.com

Q: I'm thinking of trying a vegan diet for a few weeks. Will I be able to tell in that timeframe if it's making me healthier or feel better? -- Karla P., Knoxville, Tennessee

A: Yes, you will feel positive benefits -- and it will make your ActualAge younger -- pretty quickly. But you need to make sure you're getting important nutrients. A vegan diet is often short on creatine (an amino acid), vitamins B12 and D3, carnosine (an antioxidant), the omega-3 DHA, and one form of iron. So your No. 1 job is to make sure you're getting these important muscle, brain, and immune-system-boosting nutrients. Soy and oat milk can supply D3 and B12, as can fortified cereals and supplements. DHA fatty acid can come from algal oil supplements and whole grains, leafy greens and nuts supply a range of essential fatty acids. And non-heme iron is in good supply in legumes and beans, nuts and seeds. Ask your doctor about taking a multivitamin/mineral (smart move) and a creatine and carnosine supplement.

Once you've adopted your healthy vegan diet -- without highly processed or sugar-added foods and with a good supply of protein and fibre from legumes, whole grains and nuts -- you'll discover that it conveys many benefits pretty quickly.

A study published in MedComm compared the effect of a month-long vegan diet versus a meat-rich diet. It showed that folks on the vegan diet quickly saw epigenetic changes that lowered body-wide inflammation and made their ActualAge younger! This may explain why multiple studies show a vegan diet minimizes the risk of elevated LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and Type 2 diabetes.

You may also lose some weight. A study in JAMA Network Open found that when overweight folks started eating a low-fat vegan diet, they took in fewer calories for every bite. Ounce for ounce, compared to their formerly meat-rich diet, they reduced the amount of calories by 30%. For great vegan recipes, check out the "What to Eat When Cookbook."

Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Check out his latest, "The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow," and find out more at 4YOUngevity.com.

https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2026/sep/12/vegan-for-a-month-makes-you-younger-evaluate-your/

US adults who ate more plants and less meat showed slower biological aging without going vegan

From health.yahoo.com

You don't need to go vegan to see meaningful health benefits from eating more plants.

A new study found that U.S. adults who ate more plant foods and less meat showed signs of slower biological aging, suggesting that even moderate dietary shifts could make a difference over time.

Here's what to know

The authors wrote in the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Aging, that eating more plant foods, especially healthy ones, "may be a strategy to slow aging."

The researchers used two large U.S. government datasets to test whether the diets people actually follow aligned with differences in DNA methylation, a marker commonly used to estimate biological age.

After screening the datasets, the analysis covered 2,810 people from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and 2,056 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, with average ages of 57 and 63.

To compare eating patterns, the team used four plant-forward diet indexes that favored plant foods and penalized animal products. Among the aging measures they examined, the strongest association appeared with GrimAge2, which estimates age and is linked to disease and mortality risk.

In the study, the researchers concluded that "Overall, plant-based diets, pro-vegetarian diets, and healthy plant-based diets were associated with slower GrimAge2, possibly reflecting the role of these dietary patterns on healthy aging."

Photo Credit: iStock

More background

The results were not the same across all kinds of plant-based foods.

Patterns built around refined grains, potatoes, fruit juice, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages were not tied to slower aging in the same way. In the survey data, sugar-sweetened drinks were individually associated with faster aging.

Whole grains showed the steadiest favourable association, corresponding with slower GrimAge2 in both datasets. In the survey sample, fruits and vegetables were also linked to benefits, while in the community cohort, animal fat pointed in the opposite direction.

Rather than testing a tightly managed diet for a short period, the study captured how people ate in everyday life.

What can be done?

A total diet overhaul may not be necessary to make healthier changes. Shifting meals toward whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other minimally processed plant foods could matter more than simply cutting out animal products while still relying on soda, chips, and sweets.

The cost of obtaining healthy foods is often a concern, but a randomized crossover study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reported that a low-fat vegan diet lowered daily food costs by 19% compared with a standard American diet, according to Earth.com. That comes to about $1.80 in savings a day, or about $650 over a year.

Where can I learn more?

These findings line up with other research suggesting that eating more plants and less meat can support long-term health, even without going fully vegan. The articles below explore that idea from a few angles, including life expectancy, mortality, lower-meat eating patterns, and newer plant-based products.

• Replacing a common animal-based food with plant protein could increase life expectancy.

• Following the planetary health diet was tied to substantial health advantages and lower mortality.

• Consumers can eat meat and dairy and still cut diet-related pollution substantially.

Read together, these articles suggest that small, repeatable food swaps can add up over time. They also reinforce the value of looking at overall eating patterns, not just one ingredient or food group.

https://health.yahoo.com/wellness/nutrition/healthy-eating/articles/us-adults-ate-more-plants-205900563.html 

A Short-Term Vegan Diet May Slow Biological Aging

From technologynetworks.com

By Katie Brighton

A month-long vegan diet altered epigenetic patterns associated with aging, cancer, metabolism, and inflammation

People often tout a vegan diet for its health benefits, and research is now shedding light on how avoiding animal products may produce positive biological effects.

 

A new study has found that switching to a vegan diet for just one month can reshape epigenetic patterns associated with inflammation, cell growth, and metabolism, while also slowing biological aging.

Credit: Vanessa Loring/ Pexels

Understanding how diet affects our epigenome 

The diet we follow has a large impact on our health. Dietary strategies are considered one potential intervention for slowing the rate of the molecular changes associated with aging. 

Veganism has been rising in popularity over recent years, with vegan diets being associated with anti-inflammatory effects, improved glycaemic control, and a lower risk of cardiometabolic disease. 

However, the molecular pathways that link a vegan diet to its health benefits are not well understood. 

Environmental factors, like nutrition, can alter the epigenome, which in turn regulates gene expression. As such, epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation, acts as a molecular bridge between diet and cellular states. 

The epigenome 

The epigenome refers to the chemical modifications that are layered on top of the genome that determine which genes are expressed without changing the underlying DNA sequence. 

To explore how a vegan diet influences health, researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) conducted a randomized clinical trial in which participants followed a standardized diet for one week, then consumed either a vegan or a meat-rich diet for four weeks. 

As weight loss is commonly associated with vegan diets, participants were instructed to maintain their total caloric intake to enable the researchers to isolate the effects of diet composition. 

Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns from the participants were analysed before and after the dietary intervention, with 800,000 methylation sites examined. 

DNA methylation 

Methylation marks on DNA change the spatial conformation of DNA, compacting it to prevent transcription factor binding at promoter regions and therefore suppressing gene expression. 

 The researchers found that after the intervention, 97 sites showed methylation differences between participants on a vegan diet and those on a meat-rich diet. While this suggests that diet has a measurable impact on DNA methylation, the authors noted that substantial epigenetic differences between individuals make it difficult to definitively attribute these changes exclusively to diet. 

They therefore focused on how DNA methylation changed between baseline and trial completion in each group, particularly at methylation sites associated with gene promoter regions. 

The change in diet altered these methylation sites in both diet groups, but the number of sites that lost methylation was higher in the meat-eating group, indicating diet-induced gene activation. 

“Our genes are not our destiny,” said Dr. Jerome Mertens, associate professor of neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine and co-senior author of the study. “The remarkable finding isn’t simply that one diet outperformed another. It’s that the epigenome responded measurably in just four weeks, showing that our biology is far more dynamic—and responsive to everyday choices—than we often assume.” 

Participants on the vegan diet exhibited greater methylation (gene silencing) at promoter regions associated with cancer, cell stress, and muscle cell proliferation pathways. Genes with anticancer properties were also found to be epigenetically activated in people who had consumed a vegan diet. 

The researchers pinpointed specific signalling pathways that were affected by diet, including Hippo and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which were repressed in those on vegan diet, and AMPK and insulin signalling, which were activated in the vegan diet cohort. 

Signalling pathways

Hippo: The Hippo pathway influences cell proliferation and differentiation, tissue regeneration, organ growth and embryogenesis. Dysregulation of the Hippo pathway can contribute to cancer, cardiac diseases, and immune dysfunction.

mTOR: mTOR signalling is a central regulator of cell metabolism, growth, proliferation, and survival. It is commonly dysregulated in cancer.

AMPK: Signalling via the AMPK pathway plays critical roles in regulating growth and metabolism. AMPK can be dysregulated in many chronic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

Insulin: Insulin signalling activates a complex network of further signalling cascades, which affect multiple physiological process, including glucose uptake and synthesis, gene expression, protein and DNA synthesis, and apoptosis.

These findings illustrate potential mechanisms underlying the health effects of vegan diets, which is supported by prior research that indicates that plant-based diets are associated with reduced cancer risk. 

A vegan diet alters biological aging 

Epigenetic aging clocks are algorithms that use DNA methylation data to estimate a "biological age" of cells. These clocks compare biological age and chronological age to provide a measure of health. 

Two clocks designed to estimate age-related health outcomes, PhenoAge and GrimAge, revealed that a vegan diet appeared to slow the pace of biological aging, estimating differences between biological and chronological age of 1.7 years and 0.53 years, respectively.

It is worth noting that the small cohort size of 48 participants prevented statistically significant between-group comparisons of PhenoAge and GrimAge acceleration. 

However, analysis with the Blood&Skin clock, which was optimized to predict chronological age, indicated that the vegan diet intervention may have accelerated aging. 

“These findings reinforce the idea that not all measures of biological aging capture the same biology,” said Mertens. “The clocks associated with disease risk and overall health consistently pointed in the same direction, suggesting the dietary changes were influencing pathways tied to health rather than simply the passage of time.” 

Diet also changed the distribution of immune cells 

Changes in immune cell distribution can indicate physiological changes relevant to inflammation and aging, so the authors used the epigenetic data to study how the immune system changed in response to diet.  

DNA methylation is cell-type-specific, so epigenetic data from blood samples can be used to infer the proportions of different immune cells present. 

The researchers found that the vegan diet appeared to shift the immune system towards a less inflammatory state. Levels of CD4+ T cells, which regulate immune responses, were significantly higher in people who ate a vegan diet, and levels of pro-inflammatory neutrophils were lower compared to the meat-eating group. 

"Inflammaging" refers to the hypothesis that chronic inflammation accelerates biological aging. The finding that vegan diets might reduce inflammation by increasing CD4+ T cell levels suggests that dietary interventions could slow this process and potentially delay age-related diseases. 

The authors stress that as the study had a small sample size and short duration, larger participant cohorts and longer dietary intervention periods are needed to fully understand the impact of the observed epigenetic changes and the influence of diet on biological aging and health. 

“Our study adds to growing evidence that nutrition can shape biology at the molecular level,” said Dr. Max Storz, a clinician and researcher from the University of Freiburg Medical Center and co-senior author of the study.

“The next step is to understand whether these epigenetic changes persist over time and whether they translate into meaningful improvements in long-term health. That will require larger clinical studies, but these findings provide an important foundation.” 

Reference: Karbacher L, Mertens J, Kowarschik S, et al. A vegan diet epigenetically modulates inflammatory pathways and biological aging: Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of a one-month isocaloric vegan versus meat-rich dietary intervention. MedComm. 2026;7(8):e70899. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70899  

Original story: University of California San Diego 

This article is a rework of a press release issued by the institute named above. Material has been edited for length and content.

https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/a-short-term-vegan-diet-may-slow-biological-aging-415979

What Happens To Your DNA After Just One Month Of Eating Vegan

From studyfinds.com

Vegan Diet May Shift Biological Aging Signals, Study Finds

In A Nutshell

• A one-month vegan diet was linked to a statistically significant 1.7-year drop on one biological aging clock, though the direct comparison to the meat-rich group didn’t reach significance.
• Genome-wide DNA changes tied to cancer-related pathways and inflammation looked promising but didn’t survive statistical correction, so they remain preliminary.
• Predicted immune cell shifts, including lower neutrophils and higher CD4+ T cells in the vegan group, closely tracked real blood test results and were statistically significant.
• With only 24 people per diet group and just one month of tracking, researchers call the results a starting point that needs a larger, longer follow-up study.

A month of skipping meat and dairy might do more than change what’s on the menu. It may leave a lasting impression on the body’s DNA. A new study in the journal MedComm found that after four weeks on a vegan diet, healthy adults showed measurable shifts in the switches that control how genes behave, changes that lined up with slower biological aging on one widely used aging test. Other patterns, including hints of protective activity in cancer-related genes, were intriguing but too preliminary to call solid.

Most nutrition studies stick to the basics: blood pressure, blood sugar, the number on the scale. This one dug deeper, into a process called DNA methylation, where tiny chemical tags attach to DNA and act like light switches for genes, turning them up or down without rewriting the genetic code itself. Researchers scanned more than 800,000 of these switches and found that going vegan flipped a distinct set of them, in a pattern that looked different from what happened in people eating a meat-heavy diet over the same month.

Forty-Eight Adults Swapped Diets for One Month

Researchers recruited 48 healthy adults, none already eating plant-based, and started everyone on the same standardized diet for a week to create a level playing field. From there, 24 were randomly assigned to a strict vegan diet and 24 to a meat-rich diet, each for one month, with calories held steady between 1,800 and 2,000 a day so weight loss wouldn’t muddy the results. Blood was drawn at the start and end, and researchers combed through the DNA for signs of change.

They found plenty of differences in which genes were switched on or off between the two groups. But with over 800,000 spots checked at once, some differences are bound to show up by chance, and once researchers accounted for that, most of these gene-switch findings didn’t hold up as rock-solid proof. They’re best read as promising leads rather than settled science.

A month of eating vegan was linked to a real drop on one biological aging clock, plus early signs in cancer-related genes. (© Mustafa – stock.adobe.com)

Cancer-Linked Genes Showed Signs of Quieting Down

One eye-catching pattern involved genes tied to cell growth. In the vegan group, some genetic switches that, when stuck “on,” are linked to cancer got dialled down. It’s a tempting headline, but this signal didn’t clear the statistical bar, so it shouldn’t be read as proof the diet lowers cancer risk. Researchers see it as worth a closer look, not something to count on.

Other patterns fit together more sensibly. Genes tied to processing fat quieted down in the vegan group, tracking with how low-fat plant-based eating tends to be, while genes connected to longevity, cell repair, and stress management ramped up. Immune cells shifted too, and this part is easier to trust because the estimates closely tracked real blood test results from an earlier trial with the same participants. Neutrophils, a white blood cell that rises with inflammation, were significantly lower in the vegan group than the meat-rich group by month’s end. CD4+ T cells, a different type of white blood cell that helps the immune system stay balanced instead of overreacting, were significantly higher.

One Aging Clock Found a Significant 1.7-Year Drop

This is where the study gets its biggest headline. Scientists have built tools called biological age clocks that estimate how old a body seems at the cellular level, based on its DNA. Someone whose biological age outpaces their birthday faces higher disease risk down the road, part of why these clocks are such a hot area of research.

Researchers ran the DNA through ten different clocks, focusing on two built to flag health risk rather than track the calendar. The results here were more convincing. On one, called PhenoAge, the vegan group’s estimated biological age dropped by about 1.7 years, a shift researchers determined was statistically real, while the meat-rich group’s estimated age crept upward. A second clock, GrimAge, showed a similar half-year dip in the vegan group alone, though that result was a shade too small to call statistically certain.

Then comes the plot twist. A third clock, built to track chronological age rather than health, showed the opposite pattern, with the vegan group’s predicted age ticking up slightly. Researchers explain that different clocks catch different things, some tuned to flag health risk, others to mirror the calendar, and the mismatch likely comes down to which signal each tool picks up.

A Small Sample Size Limits How Far the Results Reach

With only 24 people per group, this study was never the final word. Small samples make it hard to separate a real effect from noise, especially when scanning hundreds of thousands of genetic sites at once. The vegan diet used here also wasn’t designed as a picture of ideal eating; participants could eat processed vegan snacks, including granola bars, just to hit calorie targets, so a cleaner, whole-foods version might produce different results. A longer follow-up is already in the works.

Even with those caveats, this study offers something the field has struggled to pin down: an early look at how plant-based eating might reshape the body at the molecular level in as little as a month. One aging clock backed that idea with real statistical weight. The rest, from cancer-related genes to inflammation markers, point in a hopeful direction without proving anything yet, which is why researchers are already planning the next, longer study.

Disclaimer: This article is based on findings from a small, secondary analysis of a one-month clinical trial. The results are preliminary and should not be interpreted as medical advice or evidence that a vegan diet treats, prevents, or reduces the risk of any disease. Anyone considering a significant diet change should speak with a doctor or registered dietitian.

https://studyfinds.com/dna-month-eating-vegan/

Going vegan can burn more fat than Ozempic, study suggests - diet helps you lose a stone in four months

From dailymail.com

Going vegan could help you lose excess weight far quicker than Ozempic, scientists have suggested.

Researchers discovered that people who ditched foods like meat and fish for a low-fat plant-based diet shifted 5.9kg – or 13lb – of their body weight after just four months.

In comparison, trials show that those injecting semaglutide, the active ingredient in the blockbuster jabs Ozempic and Wegovy, lose an average of 6.9kg, just over a stone, in nine months. 

Some studies on the weight loss injections, which are now used by some three million Britons, show an even more gradual slimming effect, with patients losing an average of just 10lb over seven months.

The new research, by US scientists, found that eating plant-based foods cuts daily calories by around a quarter – roughly 500 – resulting in significant weight loss. 

The study followed 224 overweight adults, most of whom were women, with an average age of 54.

They were split into two groups; half the patients adopted the plant-based diets while others maintained their original eating habits.

Those following the vegan diet could eat as much fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes like chickpeas and beans as they liked, but were told to avoid meat, fish, dairy products and eggs. 

After 16 weeks their average vegetable intake rose by around 150g – roughly half a head of broccoli- and fruit intake increased by around 80g, the equivalent of a medium apple.

The consumption of legumes, such as beans, almost tripled, while their intake of plant-based meat alternatives more than doubled.

After finding that the routine brought weight loss of almost a stone, the researchers wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open that the intervention 'may be an effective treatment for overweight adults'. 

Researchers found that people who ditched foods like meat and fish for a low-fat plant-based diet shifted 5.9kg – or 13lb – of their body weight after just 16 weeks

In a secondary analysis, the team found that the reason meat-heavy diets are fattening is because they are much more energy-dense. In other words, they contain more calories. 

They discovered that the vegan participants had been eating roughly the same weight of food as they had before, when their diets included meats.

However, they were consuming close to 500 fewer daily calories than those continuing to eat meats, dairy, fish and eggs.

In real terms, they had gone from eating 1,834 calories per day to 1,343 calories per day – a decrease of more than a quarter.

The team - from a group of universities including the University of Utah - added: 'Plant-based foods are high in water and fibre and low in fat, increasing food volume without a proportional increase in energy content. 

'This promotes satiety (feeling of fullness) and reduces energy intake without deliberate caloric restriction.'

As well as losing weight, the study found that those on the vegan diet had more stable blood sugar, less fat in the liver and muscles, and burned more calories digesting food. 

The researchers wrote: 'These findings suggest that dietary composition – specifically, an emphasis on plant foods – can meaningfully influence energy intake regulation. 

'This mechanism helps explain the significant weight loss and metabolic improvements observed in response to a low-fat vegan diet...'

The scientists did acknowledge the study's limitations, including that the study relied on patients self-reporting the foods that they were consuming.

They also said the participants volunteered for the study and may not represent the wider population. 

Around 3.5 million people in the UK are believed to follow a plant-based diet.

Experts have said that the eating plan has a number of health benefits, and separate studies have shown that vegans are less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes and cancer than meat eaters.

However, some say that veganism can also trigger a number of harmful vitamin deficiencies.

Chief amongst these is a lack of vitamin B12 – a nutrient crucial for healthy blood vessels and brain function that is not found in plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables and grains.

Instead, vitamin B12 is primarily found in meat, fish, milk and eggs. The NHS advises that vegans take a daily vitamin B12 supplement.

'This is a vitamin that is fundamental to the function of the human body, and it is almost entirely absent from a vegan diet,' Dr Julian Owen, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital, previously told the Daily Mail.

'If supplements are not taken, after six months of going vegan, people can start to experience neurological symptoms such as anxiety, depression and even psychosis – symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency.'

https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-16033851/vegan-weight-loss-ozempic-fast.html