silk woweriesfake images
can take some supplements regularly magically increase your life expectancy? It’s complicated.
or as kim yawitzRD further sums it up: “The five most important behaviors for long-term health and longevity (according to a large 2013 study) never smoke cigarettes, maintain a healthy weight, limit alcohol consumption, exercise regularly, and get at least seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Yawitz adds that if you’re not doing these five things long-term, “then taking longevity supplements is like putting premium gas in a beat-up car with three flat tires and a bad clutch.”
In fact, as Yawitz emphasizes, no single supplement will help you live longer. Still, “there is some evidence that certain supplements might help support healthy aging, assuming you eat fairly well, exercise and take good care of yourself.”
So how can supplements potentially help promote longevity?
“Some supplements are thought to prevent or even reverse associated biochemical changes with aging, such as cell damage, decreased cellular energy, and DNA mutations,” says Yawitz. “Others point to systemic inflammation, a main contributor to life-shortening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.”
While supplements are not a cure-all, when combined with the five aforementioned behaviors, the research on them certainly looks promising.
When looking for supplements, there are some important guidelines to keep in mind, especially since “there’s not a lot of oversight in the supplement industry, so it can be hard to know for sure whether health claims on product labels are legitimate.” Yawitz says. That’s why she recommends that people look for supplements that have a third-party tested symbol (such as NSF or Informed Choice) on the label. “This means the manufacturer paid for an independent lab to test the product for purity and ensure the nutrient data on the label is accurate,” she says.
Another important note: “Checking with your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement can help prevent harmful drug interactions, especially if you take prescription or over-the-counter medications,” says Yawitz.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at six supplements that experts say can help maintain longevity when combined with a healthy lifestyle.
