Supplements for performance and health span

#36

In my last post I talked about habits and how low effort low frequency habits are easiest to adopt. This is probably why the option of a pill that can achieve a goal generates much more interest than the alternative option to do lots of things regularly and consistency to achieve the same goal.

The reality is there aren’t many pills that can do that but there are supplements that can support every day function as we age and others that can boost health span. In this post I will set out what they are and why you should take them.

Intro to Micronutrients

Humans need a variety of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to maintain health, but they cannot produce most of these essential nutrients themselves. These must be obtained through diet, as the body either cannot synthesise them at all or cannot produce them in sufficient quantities.

Here are some of the key micronutrients that humans cannot produce and must get from external sources:

1. Vitamins

• Vitamin A: Essential for vision, immune function, and reproduction. It must be obtained from food sources like carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens.

• Vitamin C: Needed for collagen synthesis, immune function, and as an antioxidant. Found in fruits like oranges, strawberries, and bell peppers.

• Vitamin D: Though sunlight exposure helps the body produce some vitamin D, most people need to get it from food or supplements to maintain sufficient levels. It's critical for bone health and immune function.

• Vitamin E: An antioxidant that protects cells from damage. Found in nuts, seeds, and green leafy vegetables.

• Vitamin K: Important for blood clotting and bone health. It comes from green leafy vegetables, fish, meat, and dairy.

• B Vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12): Each B vitamin has a unique role, including energy metabolism, red blood cell production, and DNA synthesis. They are found in a variety of foods, especially animal products, whole grains, and leafy greens.

2. Minerals

• Calcium: Essential for bone health, nerve transmission, and muscle function. Primarily found in dairy, leafy greens, and fortified foods.

• Iron: Necessary for oxygen transport in the blood. It is abundant in red meat, poultry, beans, and spinach.

• Magnesium: Involved in over 300 enzyme reactions, including energy production and muscle contraction. Found in nuts, seeds, whole grains, and leafy vegetables.

• Potassium: Helps regulate fluid balance, nerve signals, and muscle contractions. Rich sources include bananas, potatoes, and leafy greens.

• Zinc: Supports immune function, wound healing, and DNA synthesis. Found in meats, shellfish, legumes, and seeds.

• Iodine: Necessary for thyroid function and metabolism. Mostly obtained from iodized salt, seafood, and dairy.

• Selenium: Important for immune function and antioxidant protection. Found in Brazil nuts, seafood, and organ meats.

3. Other Essential Nutrients

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids (e.g., DHA and EPA): Though the body can convert a small amount from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), this process is inefficient, so direct sources from fish or algae are generally required.

• Choline: Important for brain health and liver function, and only produced in small amounts by the body. It’s found in eggs, meat, and fish.

These essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids must come from diet because the human body lacks the enzymes and pathways to synthesize them in amounts sufficient for health.

The diet problem

I have qualifications in nutrition and what I learnt getting those qualifications is that is possible via a balanced diet to get the micronutrients you need to function every day.

The ideal is to do that but we live in the real world where maintaining a balanced diet is disrupted by work, social events and travel. Nutrients from food are affected by the quality of food production, the time it has been on the shelf and how it is prepared. This means food alone even with a balanced diet may not give you all the nutrients you need.

This is why supplements are an important component of maintaining your health and daily performance.

Foundation supplements

To cover these daily requirements a good base of supplements are:

1. A quality multivitamin.

2. If you live in a place that doesn’t get sunlight in winter or don’t spend much time outside each day, additional vitamin D is needed.

3. A morning electrolyte drink including magnesium, sodium, potassium and zinc.

4. If you are female or older when your ability to absorb iron reduces, an iron supplement may also be required.

This should complement a balanced diet rather than be instead off.

Preventative supplements

As we age we are affected by tissue and cell degradation plus inflammation that damage tissues in the body and impair what we can do.

In this group there are four goals

1. Maintain joint health

   There are 360 essential joints in the body. 90% of these have cartilage in them that erodes over time with use.

2. Minimise inflammation

   Inflammation can be caused by physical stress to muscles and joints but more importantly through stress of the immune system. High inflammation markers in your blood are a strong indicator that you have health risks.

   The gut microbiome, the community of trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes in the digestive tract, plays a critical role in regulating inflammation throughout the body. Its influence stems from its ability to interact with the immune system, modulate gut permeability, and produce bioactive compounds. It’s thought that 70% of your immune system is housed in the gut.

3. Maintain muscle mass

   Muscle is affected by muscle wasting called sarcopenia as we age. Without muscle mass we can’t move or function effectively. Lack of movement leads to joint heath issues and a reduction in cardiovascular function.

4. Maintain heart health

   The biggest killer is cardiovascular disease, especially the build up of plaque in arteries leading to heart attacks or strokes. Reducing the rate of build up is important which should be via exercise and diet with supplements (and for high risk cases medication) providing additional support.

This is the area where there are lots of opinions and different options so I will just focus on the supplements that have the most evidence and support.

• Glucosamine - maintain joint heath

• Collagen - maintain joint health

• Turmeric - the Curcumin compound in turmeric reduces inflammation

• Omega-3 - reduces inflammation and maintains heart health

• Probiotic - restores the health gut microbiome and improves the immune systems ability to combat inflammation

• Creatine - boosts muscle strength and brain function

In addition you still have to do the right things

• Increase Dietary Fibre: Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.

• Consume Fermented Foods: Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso provide beneficial probiotics.

• Avoid Processed Foods

• Manage Stress

• Exercise Regularly

Longevity supplements

Longevity supplements are substances or compounds that aim to promote health span (the period of life spent in good health) and potentially extend lifespan by targeting the biological processes of aging. These supplements work through mechanisms like reducing inflammation, enhancing cellular repair, improving mitochondrial function, and combating oxidative stress.

In addition to the foundational and preventative ones already mentioned the most commonly referenced and researched are:

• Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and Nicotinamide Riboside (NR). This is a precursor to NAD⁺, a molecule essential for energy production, DNA repair, and cellular health. NAD⁺ levels decline with age, contributing to aging-related cellular dysfunction. Taking this can lead to improved mitochondrial function, enhanced DNA repair, and better energy metabolism.

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) which is a powerful antioxidant that supports mitochondrial energy production. Protects cells from oxidative stress and improves energy levels, especially in aging tissues.

• Magnesium Glycinate: Known for its calming properties, excellent for sleep. Quality of sleep is one of the most important health span optimising factors. Taking 200 mg to 400 mg of elemental magnesium daily, taken about 30–60 minutes before bedtime can optimise sleep.

There are many more in the bio-hacking world but I’m not qualified to write about them so I’m not going to mention them here. You can do your own research on them.

So what does that mean for a daily habit?

If you do the foundation and preventative supplements each morning to boost your health you will have to take:

1. 7 tablets

2. A probiotic drink

3. 750ml of water with an electrolyte supplement and 5mg of creatine powder

That’s much easier than going for a run, having an ice bath, walking 10,000 steps or meditating for an hour. It’s also got a direct relationship to improving how your body functions so will have noticeable positive results.

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There isn’t one pill that will improve your immediate health and your health span but there are seven to ten.

I have a daily supplement regime which covers everything mentioned except probiotics and NMN.

My daily habit goes like this. Open a cupboard take out supplements and electrolyte tablet while filling a drinks bottle with water. Put tablet in water. Put pills in cup.

Put water, protein powder and creatine powder in a mixer bottle and mix.

Take pills washed down with protein powder. Then drink electrolyte water.

Total time to prepare and consume 3 minutes as soon as I get out of bed.

That’s got to be the easiest habit to adopt that I have covered so far in this Substack.

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