Can a vitamin combo prolong your life?
Vitamins are nutrients that when synthesized or assimilated in the right quantities support our health and well-being. A new review suggests that a set of known and newly categorized vitamins can help prolong a person's lifespan, and promote health well into old age.
The review, recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by Dr. Bruce Ames, Senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in Oakland, CA.
This work analyzes the results of numerous studies conducted in Dr. Ames's CHORI laboratory, as well as those carried out by researchers from other institutions.
In the published paper, Dr. Ames identifies a set of vitamins, which he calls "longevity vitamins." He contextualizes the importance of these nutrients by suggesting that people can classify the proteins (or enzymes) that they need to stay healthy as either "survival proteins" or "longevity proteins."
While all these nutrients are essential for well-being, they play different roles. The scientist explains that "survival proteins" support our basic processes for survival and reproduction, whereas "longevity proteins" play an additional role in protecting against further damage to the human body.
When nutrients are deficient, Dr. Ames says, the body tends to favor the production of "survival proteins," which can lead to a decrease in "longevity proteins," and thus to a heightened risk of disease.
"Longevity vitamins," according to the researchers, are the nutrients which support the function of "longevity proteins," and allow the human body to remain healthy, and live for an extended period.
