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03.06.2025

Combination of vitamin D3 and NAC rejuvenates immune system of over-65s

If you're no longer a teenager and wish your immune system could fight off pathogens as effectively as it did when acne was your primary health problem, think vitamin D. And if you've grown tired of vitamin D - unjustifiably so - combine it with N-acetylcysteine [NAC].

Study
Molecular scientists from the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran experimented with 4 groups of 22 people over 65 each. The subjects were healthy, but all had low levels of vitamin D in their blood. The vitamin D level was lower than 30 nanograms per milliliter.

For 8 weeks, the subjects in one group took a daily supplement with 1000 IU of vitamin D3. A second group took the same dose of vitamin D3 plus 600 milligrams of NAC. A third group took a daily supplement with 5000 IU of vitamin D3 - and a fourth group supplemented daily with 5000 IU of vitamin D3 plus 600 milligrams of NAC.

Before and immediately after the supplementation, the researchers extracted immune cells from the blood [peripheral blood mononuclear cells or PBMCs]. They measured the activity of the enzyme senescence-associated beta-galactosidase [SA-beta-gal].

As cells age further, they contain more senescence-associated beta-galactosidase. It is a marker for ageing.

Results
Vitamin D supplementation reduced the activity of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase in the immune cells. This effect was stronger at the 5000 IU dose than at the 1000 IU dose. At the 1000 IU dose, this decrease was 21 percent, at the 5000 IU dose 34 percent.

Co-supplementation with NAC enhanced this effect of vitamin D, regardless of the dosage. Combined with NAC, the activity of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase in the 1000 and 5000 IU groups decreased by 52 and 60 percent, respectively.

Click on the figure and table below for a larger version.

The reported decrease is significant. In animal and especially in vitro studies, researchers find effects of this order of magnitude. You would not expect effects of this magnitude in human trials.

Conclusion
The Iranians did not investigate whether supplementation with vitamin D and NAC leads to the test subjects becoming sick less often. But you would not be surprised if, due to the rejuvenation of their immune cells, these test subjects would clear abnormal cell types more quickly and would suffer less from infections or inflammatory reactions.

Source:
Front Immunol. 2025 May 12:16:1570441.

More:
Supplement with 2000 IU vitamin D3 slows down aging 01.06.2025
Combination of exercise with high vitamin D levels slows down aging 29.05.2024
High vitamin D levels help keep heart patients alive 01.11.2021
Fit centenarians have high vitamin D levels 21.11.2016
Meta-study: a high vitamin D level helps you live longer 24.01.2015

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