#1

Can anyone list supplements that probably useless or unproven yet?

Lots of prevalent substance are currenting selling well on the market, C15:0, Butyrate Acid, L- Ergothioneine… but do they really helpful for extending lifespan?

Anyway, supplement is not medicine, I won’t consider it as a fraud if it has a little bit positive effect.

#2

Here’s a good place to start.

#3

Difficult to differentiate supplements from medicines as neither is a naturally found substance.

NAD, Resveritrol, C15, are all questionable.

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#4

What do people think of companies that sell products that have little evidence that they are beneficial?

#5

The biggest issue is the lack of any regulation on claims made by these companies, such as the absurd claims, that are contrary to their own data or any sensible reasoning with Fatty 15. The resveratrol stuff made Sinclair a lot of money and still with his podcast, had everyone buying it and believing it.

My most common thing to do with new longevity patients is to de-escalate the things they are taking rather than add to it.

I would like a requirement that no health claims be made on substances that don’t have clear agreed upon evidence to support this.

When I put someone on Rapamycin, I’ve not told a single person it will make them live longer or better - even though I think this is almost certainly the case. Just don’t have the evidence in humans yet to support the statement. I can tell them that every species tested got a life extension that was significant and there is no reason to think humans are different.

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#6

In the UK and EU there are rules on claims for supplements

#7

Yes, I lived in Germany for 7 years and found that I could not get many of the supplements that are used by many in this forum. As I understood it, the supplements had to prove their benefits.

No one is going to finance randomized human studies on common supplements because the cost-benefit doesn’t make sense to the manufacturers.

I will get a little political now. My wife commented on how easily Europeans were willing to give up common freedoms we enjoy in the U.S.

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#8

German and Dutch television ads always promote useless supplements though.

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#9

It’s funny about “political”, because people are so inconsistent. I agree that we should have the freedom to take in whatever we wish - as long as you don’t harm others, it’s your body. But the same people will object to “my body, my choice” and are very big on banning drugs and making them illegal. Either or. Also, it’s true that there’s no commercial incentive to fund trials of supplements… so you should support more government funding for universities, because those can run studies without thinking of commercial marketing, but then the same people go “oh no, government spending!”.

I take a very libertarian approach of hands off to this. You should have absolute control over your own body (as long as you don’t harm others). I don’t believe any drug should be illegal or medication should be prescription only. No gatekeepers. Unfortunately while it’s a nice ideal, there are real world problems. People are very prone to misinformation and can easily hurt themselves. Many can’t handle addictive drugs. So such freedom comes with societal cost. It puts a huge premium on personal responsibility, and it’s just a biological fact that many people are simply not neurologically capable of handling it. Yet they are part of society and you can’t ignore that. What to do? That’s the tension between personal freedom and societal good. Some people need protections against being easily manipulated and harmed. The Europeans go too far with the protections that infringe on the freedoms of those who are willing and able to take personal responsibility. I do believe we need some regulations and standards like a better FDA, but those who are willing to sign a paper that they take full responsibility - maybe even should be required to pass an exam like a driver license of basic medical knowledge, should have access to any and all drugs, interventions etc. But it’s a balancing act. YMMV.

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#10

This is generally a good comment, but I am not sure it distinguishes between the UK and EU and different countries have different rules.