Morinaga Milk study finds probiotic yogurt, healthy diets & exercise slow biological aging

A new study reveals that Morinaga Milk’s Bifidobacterium longum BB536, healthier diets, and exercise contributed to an estimated 2.2% slower page of biological aging in overweight men. Participants in the randomized controlled trial consumed BB536 in 100 g of plain yogurt every day for three months. 

The company notes that BB536 resides in the human intestinal tract and was originally discovered in an infant. Morinaga Milk highlights that it is highly tolerant of acid and oxygen — conditions to which bifidobacteria residing in humans are generally sensitive — allowing it to survive and reach the large intestine.

“This magnitude of change is considered comparable to the roughly 2–3% slowing reported in a US study in which participants maintained about 25% caloric restriction for two years,” highlights the company.

“Notably, this result showed no correlation with the before-and-after changes in body mass index (BMI), which is thought to be readily influenced by dietary guidance, or with the number of exercise sessions. It is possible that the combined, multifaceted effects of consuming plain yogurt containing BB536, together with modifying one’s diet and exercise habits, contributed to the slowing of the pace of aging.”

Slowed aging for overweight men

The exploratory, randomized, open-label, parallel-group controlled trial published in Aging involved 48 overweight men aged 50 to 74 years, with a BMI of 25 kg per m2 or higher. Participants in the intervention group consumed one serving of Morinaga Milk Industry’s yogurt with 2 x 109 CFU of BB536 while participants in the control group were instructed to maintain their usual lifestyle habits.

The participants also received dietary guidance as individualized counseling based on daily food records, advising them to curb overeating, snacking, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Exercise guidance advised participants to walk or conduct a stepper exercise for about 30 minutes a day, on at least three days a week.

BB536 resides in the human intestinal tract and was originally discovered in an infant.The researchers used DunedinPACE as a biomarker of the current pace of aging calculated from DNA methylation information in the blood. The intervention group showed a significant decrease compared with the control group. This suggests that the intervention may have slowed the pace of aging by about 2.2%.

In exploratory correlation analyses of the relationship between changes in the pace of aging and changes in BMI, researchers found no clear correlation between the two factors. Likewise, no correlation was found with changes in exercise frequency.

Study limitations

The authors acknowledge several limitations of their paper. Since the intervention combined dietary counseling, exercise, and BB536-containing yogurt, it cannot attribute the observed epigenetic changes to any single component or their interaction.

In addition, participants consisted exclusively of overweight Japanese men aged 50–74 years, restricting generalizability to women, younger individuals, or other ethnic groups. The researchers say that future studies should therefore explicitly include female participants to confirm broad applicability.

The relatively small sample size and short intervention duration also limit statistical power.

“Furthermore, the durability of the observed short-term changes awaits confirmation in future studies, which will be important for clarifying the long-term impact of such interventions,” add the study authors.

Participant blinding was not feasible in the study, and the researchers say participants’ awareness of group assignment may have led to additional health behavior changes in the intervention group that weren’t measured.

Since the intervention combined dietary counseling, exercise, and BB536-containing yogurt, it cannot attribute the observed epigenetic changes to any single component.Finally, although the data suggest several hypotheses, certain influences — such as the role of Bifidobacterium-derived metabolites in regulating inflammation and epigenetic aging — remain speculative and cannot be evaluated.

The authors suggest that complementing DNA-methylation measures with RNA-based ones would also benefit future research, as these may be more responsive to rapid biological changes in short-term trials. 

“Large-scale, long-duration randomized trials will then be required to assess the durability of epigenetic changes, active components, and their clinical relevance,” they note.

Gut health and longevity

Recently, ADM released its Healthy Aging Report 2026, revealing how brands can combine functional gut health ingredients with accessible formats to create products that are “best positioned to meet growing healthy aging demands.” In this space, the company highlighted the benefits of postbiotics for menopause, emotional well-being, and metabolism.

Also in this field, Lallemand Health Solutions and research teams from Université Laval, Canada, launched a collaborative project to help develop a new generation of biotics for healthy aging. The teams aim to support cardiometabolic and neurocognitive health throughout aging with scientifically validated nutritional solutions.

Nutrition Insight previously explored biological pathways that are currently the most actionable for healthy aging, based on the strongest human evidence, with suppliers Akay Bioactives, Balchem Human Nutrition and Health, Gnosis by Lesaffre, Sirio Europe, Valio, and Lactalis Ingredients.