While I’m certainly a big fan of vitamin D’s previously mentioned functions, we should all be shouting its role in healthy aging from the rooftops!
Sustaining healthy levels of vitamin D can help you live a long and healthy life by regulating antioxidant activity, combating oxidative stress, balancing mitochondrial function, and literally protecting your DNA.
In a 2019 meta-analysis from Pharmacological Research, vitamin D supplementation, specifically, was found to help increase total antioxidant activity5 (including serum levels of master antioxidant glutathione) and promote oxidative balance throughout the body.*
A 2019 Biology review also shows that vitamin D signaling pathways literally protect proteins, fatty acids, and DNA6. The latter is critical for longevity, as the length of telomeres (the “caps” on the ends of DNA strands) is directly related to cellular aging.
Vitamin D supplements have also been found to play a role in increasing telomerase enzyme activity7 (which maintains telomere length and protects cells’ ability to replicate).* What’s more, a positive association between vitamin D sufficiency and telomere length was found in a 2017 study from the Archives of Medical Science.
Simply put, getting enough vitamin D is vital for optimizing longevity potential.
