Here is the thing: aging is a natural disease, but a disease nevertheless. This has become the motto of my site. I wish it wasn’t though. I wish aging was formally recognized as a disease, because pharma companies would join forces and deliver medication that could cure it or at least postpone it.
But it ain’t happening. For better or for worse, aging is considered normal and so pharma companies will produce drugs for age-related diseases in the meantime. Anti-aging medicine is not recognized as a medical specialty. Yet.
There is a shortcut though. The Life Extension Foundation for example manufactures dietary supplements catered to anti-aging purposes. I don’t have anything to disclaim here: they’re not paying me for anything. I’ve just been following them for about an year and I am impressed with the future-thinking research projects they fund and the scientific quality of the trials they do for their dietary supplements.
This is rare. Dietary supplements – according to American and European law – must be safe. Drugs must be safe AND effective before being entering the market. It is this difference that makes me perceive dietary supplements as not that effective as chemical drugs.
Which doesn’t stop me from using them. Here is a short list of what I use and why:
- vitamin D3 – because I am small-framed, female and don’t like the sun, so my risk of osteoporosis is higher than the average
- B vitamin pills – I take them as a precaution because I rarely eat meat
- spirulin – although containing all essential amino acids, replacing all your protein needs with spirulin is too expensive. I add spirulin only when I’m not eating seaweed from sushi, because too much seaweed may cause hyperthyroidism thanks to all the iodine it contains.
Do you use any anti-aging dietary supplements?
Anca Ioviţă is the author of Eat Less Live Longer: Your Practical Guide to Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition available on Amazon and several other places. If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to sign up to receive updates on her second book regarding a comparative biography of aging from the simplest to the most complex organisms known.
I use from time to time ZMA. I do not take D3 but I eat sardines at least one time/week and I do love the sun, so I hope it helps.
I was wondering if the fact that I am small-framed is a risk of osteoporosis?
What is ZMA referring to?
Yes, thin women are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis after mid-life. Oily fish and daily sunshine are good sources of D3 though.
ZMA stands for Zinc and Magnesium. I use the mix from Now Foods which has also some B6. Could you please detail the risk of osteoporosis for thin women. Thanks
At one point in life, the bone mass will become frailer and frailer. New bone will be less often built. Old bone will be more often cleared. The whole balance will be damaged. Now if you already start with a small frame or a small bone mass, the age-related catabolic effects will be visible much faster. It’s the same with having minimal muscle mass – sarcopenia will be visible much earlier.