8 Anti-Aging Supplements You Don’t Want To Take

Did you know that most anti-aging supplements do not work? 

Despite their big and lofty promises, most anti-aging pills don’t slow down aging. Examples are most vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and herbs. 

Luckily, there are science-based supplements that can slow down aging, extend lifespan and have a lot of science behind them to support this. You can learn more about those here.

That most anti-aging supplements don’t work is already bad in itself. But it can get even worse: some of them can actually be unhealthy, accelerate aging and shorten lifespan!

We dug into the research to uncover 8 of the “anti-aging” supplements you don’t want to take.

1. Most Antioxidant Supplements

It’s still a widespread, popular belief that antioxidants slow down aging. Unfortunately, most antioxidants do not slow down aging. 

Numerous large studies have shown that people who take antioxidants do not live longer, and in some cases even have shorter lifespans (R,R,R). 

This makes sense, because when one takes antioxidants via a food supplement, the cells won’t make their own antioxidant proteins, which are in fact many times more effective than orally taken antioxidants. 

Food supplement-based, external antioxidants lower the guard and antioxidant defense and repair mechanisms of cells. 

Other studies show that taking antioxidants after exercise blunts the beneficial effects of exercise (R). 

In some cases, antioxidants can even increase the risk of cancer, and help cancer cells to spread around the body (to metastasize) (R,R,R,R,R). 

This also makes sense because cancer cells focus mainly on dividing and multiplying, and don’t have good antioxidant defenses. Therefore, taking extra antioxidants can actually help cancer cells to protect themselves against free radicals!

2. Alpha-lipoic Acid

Alpha lipoic acid is often touted as an anti-aging substance. Various studies show beneficial effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), mainly in rodents but also in humans. For example, ALA could perhaps reduce the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (R) and improve metabolic disease like diabetes (R). 

But what about lifespan? 

Studies show that alpha-lipoic acid can actually reduce lifespan (R). Which makes sense. Alpha-lipoic acid can perhaps reduce some damage that is happening during, for example, Alzheimer’s disease (like oxidative stress), but as an antioxidant it lowers the cell’s own defense mechanisms, which might actually accelerate aging.

3. Beta Carotene

Beta carotene is a carotenoid. Carotenoids are the healthy substances that give carrots, pumpkins and other fruits and vegetables their typical orange color. Carotenoids have been associated with various health benefits. But do they actually increase lifespan? 

Not really. Large doses of beta carotene that you often find in supplements have been associated with reduced lifespan, increased mortality and a greater risk of getting cancer, and dying of cancer (R,R,R). 

One potential reason could be that if you take large doses of beta carotene, you actually hinder the absorption of other carotenoids (because the proteins in the gut that take up carotenoids get oversaturated with only beta carotene).

4. Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a much touted anti-aging substance. However, it’s an antioxidant, and as we have seen, most antioxidant supplements do not extend lifespan.

Vitamin E, given in various (well-conducted) studies, does not extend lifespan. In humans, high intake of vitamin E was actually associated with an increased risk of dying (R,R,R,R) and cancer (R). Some reasons for this is that vitamin E, as an antioxidant, lowers the cells own antioxidant defenses and enzymes, accelerating aging. 

Another reason is that there are different kinds of vitamin E, such as alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, alpha-tocotrienol etc. Most supplements only contain one form of vitamin E, namely alpha-tocopherol. Taking lots of this kind of vitamin E can hinder the absorption of other vitamin E’s (because they use the same transporter in the gut).

Also, the vitamin E in most supplements is synthetic vitamin E, and some scientists believe that synthetic vitamin E has different effects in the body than the natural vitamin E found in foods like hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, salmon, avocado and others. 

We therefore recommend taking vitamin E by daily consuming hazelnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds, which are some of the most vitamin E rich foods available.

5. Co-enzyme Q10

Despite the innumerable companies selling co-enzyme Q10 as an anti-aging supplement, co-enzyme Q10 is also not a good anti-aging substance. 

Yes, there are studies that show in very high doses it can perhaps somewhat reduce the progression of Parkinson’s disease or heart failure. But given co-enzyme Q10 is an antioxidant it can actually reduce lifespan (learn more here). 

Various studies in animals show that co-enzyme Q10 does not extend lifespan and can actually shorten lifespan (R,R). In fact, studies show that mice or other organisms that have less or dysfunctional co-enzyme Q10 actually live longer (R,R,R).

There are of course also some studies showing that co-enzyme Q10 can extend lifespan, but often these studies have not been well conducted, or they use organisms that are not ideal representation of normal aging, like using co-enzyme Q10 deficient mice – then of course giving co-enzyme Q10 will help.

Lastly, the interventions testing program (ITP) tested a similar compound, MitoQ (a better absorbable nutrient based on coQ10), and didn’t find a life extension effect (R).

6. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC)

Some studies show that N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) can extend lifespan, mostly in simple organisms (R,R,R), but also in mice – however in mice the results are open to interpretation (R).  

Other studies show that NAC actually shortens lifespan (R).

N-acetyl cysteine is a strong antioxidant. As we explained before, many antioxidants do not extend lifespan, and can sometimes even shorten lifespan.

Studies also show that NAC can increase the spread (metastasis) of cancer (R,R). 

Which makes sense: cancer cells are fast dividing cells that don’t regulate their metabolism well, so they produce lots of free radicals.

Antioxidants like N-acetyl-cysteine mop up these oxidants, something which is very helpful for free-radical ridden cancer cells.

So to err on the side of caution, we currently do not advise taking N-acetyl-cysteine.

7. Growth Hormone or Substances That Increase Growth Hormone

Growth hormone for anti-aging? If an MD or health guru advises this to extend lifespan, be very weary. 

In the last twenty years, a large body of studies has shown that growth hormone actually accelerates aging. 

This makes sense: the more “growth”, the harder cells have to work, and the faster they age. Growth hormone increases the risk of many aging-related diseases, like diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s (R,R,R). In the short-term, growth hormone can make you feel better, but in the long term it accelerates aging.

Dozens of studies show that reducing the growth hormone (and other growth pathways, like insulin like growth factor, and insulin, and mTOR) increases lifespan.

Too much growth hormone can also accelerate hair loss.

8. Testosterone or Testosterone Boosters

Most male hormones shorten lifespan. If you give male animals extra testosterone, they age and die faster (R). 

Testosterone can make men feel better, and perhaps they can lose a bit of belly fat in the short term, but in the long term testosterone accelerates aging. 

Which also makes sense: in nature we see innumerable examples of how sex and lifespan are intricately correlated: the more (male) sex hormones, the shorter the lifespan (R,R).

This does not mean that having less sex will increase your lifespan, it means that animals that have lots of male sex hormones circulating, age and die faster. 

This also explains why people who get castrated when the testis have been removed, so they don’t make sex hormones like testosterone) live on average 14 to 19 years longer (R,R,R,R). 

We see the same thing in many other species: castrating male organisms extends their lifespan (R,R,R). 

These insights also explain why giving female hormones to male animals can actually extend lifespan (R).

We cover the topic of testosterone replacement therapy further here.

Conclusion

Most anti-aging supplements don’t work, and some of them could actually shorten your lifespan. 

It’s astonishing that in the light of so much scientific evidence to the contrary, many antioxidant, testosterone and growth hormone supplements are still being touted as anti-aging supplements.  

Luckily, there are anti-aging substances that do have lots of science behind them, and that can actually extend lifespan, like alpha-ketoglutarate, fisetin, microdosed lithium, glucosamine, and others. 

These anti-aging substances often extend lifespan in very different ways than antioxidants. For example, they have epigenetic effects, or slow down the accumulation of proteins, or improve DNA stability, which are all important reasons why we age.

We created NOVOS because we were perturbed that there were so few science-based anti-aging supplements and so much misinformation about anti-aging and longevity.

NOVOS Core is the first science-based anti-aging supplement to address 12 reasons why we age. 

Patent-pending and designed with the help of top scientists in the longevity field, NOVOS Core is a unique nutraceutical, aimed to slow down aging based on the best and latest scientific insights. 

Learn more about the anti-aging supplement NOVOS Core