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We all know our chronological age. But inside our nuclei, a different kind of clock is ticking. This is our biological age, a measure of how much our cells have actually weathered over time. It’s one of the reasons why some people look much younger than their age.
But sometimes, your cells are older than your birth certificate suggests. This gap is known as accelerated aging. Scientists have long hunted for a reset button for this clock that runs faster, or at least a way to tap the brakes.
New research from the COSMOS trial, published in Nature Medicine, suggests that a common, low-cost tool might be doing exactly that. By analyzing the chemical tags on our DNA, researchers found that a daily multivitamin-multimineral (MVM) supplement modestly slowed the pace of biological aging in older adults.
Reading the Epigenetic Clock
Think of your DNA as a massive library of instructions. DNA ethylation acts like a set of bookmarks, telling the cell which “books” to read and which to keep closed.
As we age, these bookmarks shift in predictable patterns. Scientists use these patterns to create epigenetic clocks that can predict everything from how long we might live to our risk of chronic disease.
The COSMOS study followed 958 participants, roughly age 70, for two years. They tested two potential interventions: a daily multivitamin (Centrum Silver) and cocoa extract. While the cocoa extract didn’t seem to move the needle on these specific clocks, the multivitamin did.
The results weren’t a fountain of youth, but they were statistically significant. Over the two-year period, those taking the multivitamin saw a slowing of biological aging equivalent to about four months compared to the placebo group.
The effect was most visible in second-generation clocks, specifically PCGrimAge and PCPhenoAge.
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Early versions of these tests were only designed to guess a person’s birth year. They were accurate at predicting chronological age, but they didn’t tell us much about a person’s actual health.
The second-generation clocks used here are different because they are built using health data rather than just calendar years. PCPhenoAge was created by looking at nine specific substances in the blood — like glucose and markers of inflammation — that show how well your organs are functioning. PCGrimAge is even more advanced; it was designed to predict time to all-cause mortality. It tracks molecular signs of lung function, heart health, and even the history of stress on the body, such as smoking. When these clocks “slow down,” it means there is improvement in the biological markers tied to your risk of dying or getting sick.
“It was exciting to see the benefits of a multivitamin linked with markers of biological aging,” said senior author Howard Sesso of Mass General Brigham.
“This study opens the door to learning more about accessible, safe interventions that contribute to healthier, higher-quality aging.”
Main Target: The Rapid Agers
One of the most striking findings was who benefited the most. The multivitamin had a much stronger protective effect on people who started the trial with accelerated epigenetic aging — meaning their cells already looked older than their chronological years.
For these individuals, the multivitamin supplement significantly reduced the rate at which their PCGrimAge increased. It’s as if the supplement acts as a safety net for those whose biological systems are under the most stress.
This suggests that nutritional gaps might be a primary driver of why some people age faster than others. By filling those holes, a simple pill might help stabilize the body’s internal integrity.
Why Cocoa Didn’t Click
You might be wondering about the cocoa. Flavanols found in cocoa are famous for their heart-health benefits, and previous COSMOS data showed they reduced cardiovascular deaths by 27%.
However, in this specific study, cocoa extract didn’t change the five epigenetic clocks tested. This doesn’t mean cocoa is useless. It might just mean its benefits operate on different biological pathways that these specific DNA clocks don’t track.
The researchers noted that many cardiovascular-related DNA sites aren’t actually covered by the major clocks. This highlights a growing realization in geroscience: no single clock measures every aspect of how we fall apart.
While the four-month delay in aging is encouraging, the researchers are careful not to overpromise. A few months on a molecular clock is a great signal, but does it mean fewer hospital visits or an actual longer lifespan?
“We plan to do follow-up research to determine if the slowing of biological aging — observed through these five epigenetic clocks, and additional or new ones — persists after the trial ends,” said co-author Yanbin Dong.
The team is now looking at whether these molecular changes explain why multivitamins also seem to help with memory loss and cancer risk. “A lot of people take a multivitamin without necessarily knowing any benefits from taking it, so the more we can learn about its potential health benefits, the better,” Sesso added.
