Experts discuss what it means to age well and the indispensable role of nutrition

“Aging is not a solved problem, aging will happen. The question is whether we age well or age rapidly,” observed Charles Brenner, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa, one of 10 experts speaking at CRN's popular one-day meeting focused on scientific developments related to supplements and nutritional ingredients.

But, how is healthy aging defined?

Peter D. Adams, Ph.D., of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, explored this question in the opening presentation, emphasizing that healthy aging means slow biological aging.

Healthy aging = slow biological aging

Dr. Adams noted frailty, systemic inflammation, telomere shortening, and cell senescence as common measures of biological age and discussed the science supporting ways to slow down this deterioration, including calorie restriction and variations, dietary modulation during pregnancy, exercise, drugs, metabolic supplements and senolytics, which selectively induce death of senescent, or already dying, cells.

Raymond Yung, M.D., of the University of Michigan, in his presentation on biomarkers of healthy aging and opportunities for future research explained, “There is no consensus as to which biomarkers should be used as surrogate measures for healthy aging," with further discussion among the speakers on the value of functional measures as opposed to genetic measures. It was noted that factors such as walking speed, grip strength and balance can provide a measure of aging that is more meaningful to people than measures of things like molecular or DNA methylation as optimal healthy aging biomarkers.

CRN's Day of Science builds on some of the work that CRN-I, the international arm of the association has been undertaking in recent years.

Click through for details on recent symposia, along with proceedings published in the European Journal of Nutrition:

Nutrition interventions for healthy ageing across the lifespan

Healthy Aging, the Natural Consequences of Good Nutrition

CRN-I will hold its next annual symposium later this month on Nov. 28, in Düsseldorf, Germany, in conjunction with the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses meeting.

Learn more: Roundtable on measuring health promotion: Translating science into policy

Phytonutrients, vitamin K, and nicotinamide riboside

Other Day of Science speakers emphasized the importance of specific nutrition interventions to support the healthy functioning of various systems throughout all life stages. Simin Meydani, D.V.M., Ph.D ., shared data from her research on the role of phytonutrient consumption on biomarkers of longevity that is beginning to establish objective science supporting the value of plant-based nutrition. She described her research in which large quantities of powdered fruits and vegetables consumed impacted markers of healthy aging significantly in animal studies.

Katarzyna Maresz, Ph.D., president, International Science and Health Foundation, discussed how supplementation with vitamin K2, shown to simultaneously protect cardiovascular health while supporting bone health, could address some of the most widespread public health issues. She noted t he World Health Organization (WHO) reports that millions of people are vulnerable to poor bone metabolism, making both women and men susceptible to life-threatening fractures. In addition, heart disease remains the number one global cause of death, with 17.3 million deaths each year. Maintaining the best possible cardiovascular and bone health are two of the most critical areas allowing individuals to age in a healthy way, Dr. Maresz observed, noting that laying the foundation for healthy aging begins in childhood.

Charles Brenner, Ph.D ., shared updates on research into how nicotinamide riboside (NR), a vital precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) can address conditions of metabolic stress throughout all life stages. Drawing from his extensive work on NAD+ metabolism, he discussed the activity of oral NR in animal models on disease including fatty liver disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

“Healthy aging depends on maintaining phenotypic flexibility through the lifespan...and the use of artificial intelligence will be essential to the progress of precision nutrition.”

—José M. Ordovás, Ph.D., Tufts University

Nutrition research tools offer new opportunities for dietary supplement companies to support health promotion

CRN Senior Scientific Advisory Council (SSAC) vice-chair Susan Mitmesser, Ph.D., of Pharmavite, moderated the second session of the day, in which discussion turned towards emerging technologies in nutrition science—including mobile diet tracking, artificial intelligence and advanced medical devices. Michael McBurney, Ph.D., of the University of Guelph focused on how industry might be able to harness data to better understand consumers’ individual needs, and encapsulated a common theme of the session two presentations, noting, “We are not all the same. We need to personalize nutrition.” Speakers Brie Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D., R.D., of the University of South Carolina and José M. Ordovás, Ph.D., of Tufts University, elaborated on this trend towards personalized nutrition in promoting healthy aging, examining existing and future mobile applications to diet tracking as the cornerstone to weight loss intervention and discussing the role of genetics in phenotypic flexibility.

The Botanical Safety Consortium: Modernizing the safety evaluation of dietary supplements

Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC) Steering Committee member Joe Dever, Ph.D., DABT, of Amway Corporation shared with session attendees how the BSC is modernizing the safety evaluation of dietary supplements by integrating existing botanical safety with the latest toxicological tools. With “no end in sight for the global growth of botanical products,” Dr. Dever outlined some of the BSC’s long-term plans for developing a new framework for botanical safety assessment, including Amway's model placing sets of cells on a plate adjacent to each other to mimic how botanicals migrate from cell to cell in the body.

Learn more:

The Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC): The Development of a 21st Century Framework for Assessing the Safety of Botanical Dietary Supplements

CRN's 'Day of Science' engages tomorrow's nutrition influencers

Investing in the future of science-based nutrition policymaking, each year CRN awards a small group of select graduate students from Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy with an educational grant to attend CRN's Day of Science. Hear what this year's student attendees, Kate Harrington, Carley Bowering, and Emily Kjell, had to say about this year's event.