(NewsNation) — A mere two months of veganism can reduce your biological age, a new study found.
The research, which analyzed the levels of DNA methylation between 21 pairs of twins on different diets for eight weeks, was published in BMC Medicine and based off of Stanford’s Twin Nutrition Study.
In each twin pair, one was instructed to eat an omnivorous diet (between 170 and 225 grams of meat, one egg, and 1.5 servings of dairy each day) while the other ate a vegan diet. On average, participants were 40 years old with a BMI of 26 kilos per meters squared.
Researchers checked in on the pairs at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Final results found that the vegan twin had a younger estimated biological age, or epigenetic aging clock. Those on the omnivorous diet showed no change.
Aside from aging, the study also found that vegan participants lost roughly four pounds more than their omnivorous participants, likely due to the calorie differences in the provided meals during the first half of the study.
That weight loss could be contributing to the drop in biological age, according to researchers.
Other benefits of the vegan diet included lower ages in the heart, hormone and liver, as well as the inflammatory and metabolic systems.