Vitamin D,
produced naturally by the skin in response to sunlight,
may help to slow the ageing process, according to
scientists.
And the "sunshine
vitamin" may also help protect against age-related
diseases, such as heart disease.
Researchers from King's College London studied
2,160 women aged between 18 and 79, looking at their
telomeres - a biological marker of ageing found in DNA.
As people
get older their telomeres get shorter and they become
more susceptible to certain illnesses.
But the
study found women with high levels of vitamin D
had comparatively longer telomeres - a sign of being
biologically younger and healthier.
The study
suggests vitamin D may help to slow down the
ageing process of DNA, and therefore the ageing process
as a whole.
Lead
researcher Dr Brent Richards said: "These results
are exciting because they demonstrate for the first time
that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age
more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D,
this could help to explain how vitamin D has a
protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such
as heart disease and cancer." He said further
studies are required to confirm the findings.
Professor
Tim Spector, head of KCL's twin research unit, and a
co-author of the report, added: "Although it might
sound absurd, it's possible that the same sunshine which
may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a
healthy effect on the ageing process in general."
