What if the key to healthy aging isn’t NMN, resveratrol, or creatine but instead an essential fatty acid found in dairy products?
According to new research from Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH, a veterinary epidemiologist, that very well may be the case.
After being recruited by the United States Navy to lead a clinical research program to improve the health of Navy dolphins, Venn-Watson made a groundbreaking discovery. Two decades of research led to the finding that the healthiest aging dolphins had one thing in common: they had higher levels of C15:0 in their blood.
C15:0 is a dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid, and it’s the first new essential fatty acid to be discovered in over 90 years — since omega-3 and omega-6. Essential fatty acids are nutrients that our bodies need to maintain our baseline health, but our bodies don’t make enough on their own. We therefore have to get these essential fatty acids from our diet, and the primary source of C15:0 is whole dairy fat.
Venn-Watson’s new book, The Longevity Nutrient: The Unexpected Fat That Holds the Key to Healthy Aging, explores the science behind this newfound nutrient, explaining how it may just be the key to increasing lifespan and improving health as we age.
WellnessPulse spoke to Venn-Watson about her research and what it might mean for the ongoing search for the holy grail of aging.
Q: How did you discover that dolphins who aged faster had lower levels of an essential fatty acid called C15:0 in their blood compared to their youthful counterparts?
A: We used an advanced technology called metabolomics, which allowed us to measure and compare thousands of small molecules present in the dolphins’ archived blood samples (as well as in their all-fish diets) to find which molecules predicted the healthiest aging dolphins. In these studies, C15:0 was the top nutrient that predicted the healthiest dolphins.
Q: What are the longevity impacts of C15:0, and why is it something people should learn about?
A: As shared in the book, long-lived mammals (like humans and dolphins) appear to have evolutionarily adapted the ability to use C15:0 to enable our longevity. C15:0 helps to explain why humans and dolphins live longer than mice. Specifically, C15:0 physically strengthens our cells against age-related breakdown. The results, as evidenced by numerous studies, are slower aging and protection against chronic age-associated conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease. By doing so, C15:0 helps us live not only longer but healthier, longer.
C15:0 is so important to our longevity, that without it, studies support that we age faster. As many as 1 in 3 people have nutritional C15:0 deficiency, called Cellular Fragility Syndrome, which accelerates aging and the onset of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease.
We believe this is why these conditions are on the rise, especially among younger people. The good news is that nutritional C15:0 deficiency, similar to Vitamin C deficiency and scurvy and Vitamin D deficiency and rickets, is fixable.
How can people increase their levels of C15:0?
A: The amount of dairy fat we eat directly determines our C15:0 levels, and cows fed grass have twice as much C15:0 in their milkfat compared to cows that eat corn. As such, choosing whole-fat dairy products from grass-fed cows, goats, or sheep — especially cheese — can increase one’s healthy C15:0 levels.
There do appear to be important limitations of dairy fat, however, since only 1% of dairy fat is C15:0 and over 40% of dairy fat contains pro-inflammatory “bad” fats. Supplementation with pure C15:0 can help get around this limitation.
Additionally, exercise can help release stored C15:0 from our tissues and raise circulating C15:0 levels. Eating fiber can also help microbes in our gut make some amount of C15:0, too.
What can dolphins teach us about healthy aging?
A: Wonderfully, helping to continually improve the health of older dolphins has taught us a lot about healthy aging. Just like us, about 1 in 3 older dolphins developed chronic inflammation, higher cholesterol, fatty liver disease and even tissue changes in the brain consistent with Alzheimer’s disease.
Because dolphins’ lives are much less complicated than humans, including no smoking, alcohol drinking, sugary diets, or ultra-processed foods, we were able to easily identify C15:0 as a lead enabler of healthy aging in dolphins. These same associations between higher C15:0 levels and healthier aging have been present in humans, too, they just got lost in the noise.
Aside from C15:0, I do also love that our fellow long-lived, large-brained dolphins also exercise, routinely eat fish, and are incredibly social. All great tips for healthy aging in humans, too.
What else do people need to know about longevity and healthy aging?
A: While longevity has long been thought of as a science fiction topic accessible to few, real discoveries are being made by scientists around the world to truly help people live healthier, longer. Urgently, we are in a world where our youth are aging faster than they should, evidenced by the alarming rise in type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, fatty liver disease, and certain types of cancer among people in their 30s and younger.
It is hoped that this book provides a new hope to help reverse these trends, restore health, and help to democratize longevity and healthy aging for all.
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