Resveratrol
Resveratrol activates sirtuins (the longevity genes), lowers blood pressure, improves endothelial function, exhibits strong anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, protects against neurodegeneration, and helps manage blood glucose in type 2 diabetes.
What To Do: 250 to 500 milligrams trans-resveratrol daily.
GlyNAC (Glycine + N-Acetylcysteine)
GlyNAC increases glutathione, the master antioxidant, dramatically in older adults. A 2021 study showed it corrected mitochondrial dysfunction in older participants, improving energy production and cellular function. It also improves brain health and may potentially reverse cognitive decline. GlyNAC supplementation in mice increased lifespan.
What To Do: 600 to 1,200 milligrams GlyNAC daily (1 to 1 ratio of glycine to NAC).
Green Tea Extract (EGCG)
EGCG supplementation over 18 months increased median lifespan by approximately 25% in mice, accompanied by a 47% lowered risk of death. It has anti-atherosclerosis, anti-cardiac hypertrophy, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It promotes neuronal differentiation, strengthens systemic immunity, and may inhibit cancer cell growth.
What To Do: 200 to 400 milligrams EGCG daily. Don’t exceed 800mg from all sources.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA)
ALA is both an antioxidant and a mitochondrial cofactor, fat-soluble AND water-soluble. It serves as an enzymatic cofactor for two critical Krebs cycle enzymes, regenerates other antioxidants (vitamins C, E, glutathione, CoQ10), and works synergistically with L-carnitine to enhance mitochondrial health.
What To Do: 300 to 600 milligrams R-alpha-lipoic acid daily.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)
The transport shuttle that carries fatty acids into mitochondria for beta-oxidation. Without it, your mitochondria can’t burn fat for fuel. ALCAR crosses the blood-brain barrier, provides neuroprotection, and supports acetylcholine synthesis. Levels decline with age.
What To Do: 500 to 1,500 milligrams ALCAR daily.
PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline Quinone)
The only supplement proven to stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis, the creation of entirely new mitochondria, is PGC-1α. Most supplements help existing mitochondria. PQQ helps you make more. Note that exercise, especially HIIT (high-intensity intermittent training), also stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis.
What To Do: 10 to 20 milligrams daily, combined with CoQ10 for synergistic effects.
Urolithin A
Stimulates mitophagy, the selective recycling of damaged mitochondria. Studies show daily supplementation improves muscle function and ATP output, indicating enhanced mitophagy and better mitochondrial respiration.
What To Do: 500 to 1,000 milligrams daily.
D-Ribose
The literal backbone of ATP molecules. When mitochondria are stressed, D-ribose provides raw material for rebuilding the depleted ATP pool. Supplementation at 15g daily improved energy, sleep quality, mental clarity, and pain in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue patients.
What To Do: 5 to 15 grams daily in divided doses.
CONCLUSION: THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Here’s what the data actually tells us: There are at least 20 nutrients with clinical evidence supporting their ability to slow, halt, or reverse specific biomarkers of biological aging. Some of this evidence comes from randomized controlled trials published in the world’s most prestigious journals, Nature Medicine, Science, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and JACC.
And yet, if you walk into your doctor’s office tomorrow and ask about any of this, you’ll likely get one of three responses:
- “We need more studies.” (Translation: I haven’t read any of the studies that already exist.)
- “Supplements are unregulated.” (Translation: I only trust things that come with a pharmaceutical rep and a free lunch.)
- “Just eat a balanced diet.” (Translation: I have absolutely no idea what’s in the modern food supply.)
The conventional medical establishment’s position on nutritional supplementation for longevity is not based on an absence of evidence. It’s based on an absence of awareness. And in many cases, an absence of financial incentive.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying nutrients replace medical care. I’m saying they’re a critical, evidence-based, foundational layer of health optimization that conventional medicine has catastrophically failed to integrate.
Your body is the most complex, most valuable machine you will ever own. It runs on chemistry. That chemistry requires specific molecular inputs. When those inputs decline as they demonstrably do with age, the machine breaks down.
You can wait for the breakdown and then manage the wreckage with drugs.
Or you can supply the inputs, maintain the machinery, and keep the engine running at peak capacity for decades longer than anyone thought possible.
One approach generates $4.3 trillion in healthcare revenue annually.
The other one costs about $200 a month in supplements.
I’ll let you figure out which one your doctor was trained to recommend.