A large, randomized, placebo-controlled trial found that four years of vitamin D3 slowed telomere shortening by about 140 base pairs. The data come from the VITAL study of older U.S. adults taking 2,000 IU/day. The effect was modest and borderline significant (p=0.039), and telomere length is a surrogate marker, not proof of a longer life. Omega-3s, meanwhile, did nothing for telomeres in this trial. Here is what the numbers show, what the limits are, and how to use the finding sensibly.
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