The Impact of a Phytochemical Supplement on "Metabolic Aging" in Older Overweight Adults Relative to Young Lean Adults

Aging is a complex and inevitable biological process that is associated with numerous chronic health conditions and the development and progression of diseases. It is manifested partly by a progressive decline in fitness and an increase in death. The key to healthy aging is a healthy lifestyle, including eating a variety of healthy foods and frequently participating in physical activities. Supplements made from widely consumed plant products have the potential for promoting healthy aging. However, more human data is required to substantiate this potential. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine examining whether older adults taking a fruit/vegetable supplement for 6 weeks will have biochemical values of stool, blood, and urine similar to those of younger adults. The fruit/vegetable supplement contains a variety of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that have been known to be beneficial to human health and many Americans may consume inadequate amounts in their daily diet. In order for us to understand how these nutrients may benefit health, we are interested in determining whether they can modify biochemical values of blood that occur in the body after taking the supplement for 6 weeks. We aim to have 40 older subjects and 20 younger subjects complete the trial. The enrolled subjects will consume prepackaged study meals for approximately 8 weeks and provide blood samples. The study meals will comprise foods most Americans eat every day. The older subjects, but not younger subjects, will take the assigned supplement. The younger subjects will consume the study meals for 2 weeks and provide one blood sample during the study.