A SURPRISING link has been found between long life and naturally low levels of vitamin D.
The link was discovered after a study of data on 380 families with members in their nineties. Previous research revealed people lacking the vitamin are more at risk from a host of life-ending conditions and an early death.
But in the new work, Dutch scientists examined families with at least two elderly siblings – either a brother aged at least 89, or sister aged 91 and over.
The research suggested low vitamin D may be linked to a genetic resistance to ageing.