Study finds a vegan diet ‘makes you younger in just eight weeks’

Eating a vegan diet for just two months may reduce a person’s biological age and help them to lose weight, a study suggests.

The research involved 21 pairs of identical twins aged 39. One twin ate a vegan diet for eight weeks, while the other sibling ate an omnivorous diet.

Researchers at Stanford University, California, found that there were decreases in the biological ages of the heart, hormone, liver and inflammatory and metabolic systems in those who ate only plant-based foods. These changes were not seen in participants whose diet included meat, eggs and dairy.

Those on the vegan diet also lost two kilograms more on average than those who were not, the study, published in journal BMC Medicine, found.

However, Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, cautioned that the research did not consider the fact that vitamin and mineral deficiencies often take years to appear.

He said: “Although studies indicate that vegan diets may have favourable effects on health in middle age (such as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes), this is not the case in older vegans who seem more likely to suffer from muscle loss, low bone density and neurological disorders which have a significant impact on the quality of life.”

Dr Duane Mellor, of the British Dietetic Association, said the diets were not entirely matched in terms of calories.

He added: “It is possible that a reduction in energy intake could potentially have altered how the participants’ DNA was changed.”