Certain vitamins and minerals may help boost longevitBiochemist Bruce Ames from the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a list of 41 vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids that he says may help with healthy aging. These substances help keep the body running smoothly. If supplies run low, the body may have to pull resources from tasks like repairing DNA damage that keep cells younger and healthier, but keeping supplies up could prevent this, according to Ames.

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This research is “thoughtful and provocative,” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, said in an October 17, 2018 Inverse article. “It does not claim that there are proven benefits of this package of minerals and vitamins, but it does provide a strong body of evidence that benefits on longevity are possible and even likely for many of these.”

Read the Inverse article: Cocktail of 41 Supplements Ensures Long Life, Says 89-Year-Old Scientist

Highlights

• Provides an overview of promises and safety concerns of NMN as an anti-aging product.

• Shows that NMN’s beneficial effects supported by in vivo studies.

• Reveals that there is a lack of NMN’s clinical safety and efficacy studies

• Suggests that proper clinical investigations are urgently needed on the effectiveness and safety of NMN supplementation.

Based on a 60-year history of use as an anti-diabetic drug for the treatment of T2DM, metformin is accepted as a comparatively safe drug. Metformin is no longer protected by patents and thus is comparatively inexpensive. Collectively, these attributes together with an extensive literature supportive of benefits in the settings of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and, arguably, cancer and dementia could justify its wider use as a prophylactic to offset the effects of aging and enhance healthspan and lifespan. In this review we have also highlighted and critiqued some of the key clinical and laboratory-based studies that provide data supportive of the hypothesis that metformin, independent of its anti-hyperglycemic actions, has benefits that in principle can slow cellular aging and enhance healthspan and lifespan. Metformin, via its direct protective effects on vascular function, may slow the aging process via improved blood flow and provide protection against age-related cognitive decline. 

It is proposed that proteins/enzymes be classified into two classes according to their essentiality for immediate survival/reproduction and their function in long-term health: that is, survival proteins versus longevity proteins. As proposed by the triage theory, a modest deficiency of one of the nutrients/cofactors triggers a built-in rationing mechanism that favors the proteins needed for immediate survival and reproduction (survival proteins) while sacrificing those needed to protect against future damage (longevity proteins). Impairment of the function of longevity proteins results in an insidious acceleration of the risk of diseases associated with aging. I also propose that nutrients required for the function of longevity proteins constitute a class of vitamins that are here named “longevity vitamins.” I suggest that many such nutrients play a dual role for both survival and longevity. The evidence for classifying taurine as a conditional vitamin, and the following 10 compounds as putative longevity vitamins, is reviewed: the fungal antioxidant ergothioneine; the bacterial metabolites pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and queuine; and the plant antioxidant carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, α- and β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and the marine carotenoid astaxanthin. Because nutrient deficiencies are highly prevalent in the United States (and elsewhere), appropriate supplementation and/or an improved diet could reduce much of the consequent risk of chronic disease and premature aging.

Study of older adults is 'first direct evidence' of protection against rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, other conditions.

In a new study, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found the people who took vitamin D, or vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, had a significantly lower rate of autoimmune diseases — such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease, and psoriasis — than people who took a placebo

Nootropics or smart drugs are well-known compounds or supplements that enhance the cognitive performance. They work by increasing the mental function such as memory, creativity, motivation, and attention. Recent researches were focused on establishing a new potential nootropic derived from synthetic and natural products. The influence of nootropic in the brain has been studied widely. The nootropic affects the brain performances through number of mechanisms or pathways, for example, dopaminergic pathway.