Supplements and Long Life: how dietary supplements can contribute to healthy aging
Longevity is not about chasing an extremely advanced age. It is about staying healthy, energetic, and independent for as long as possible, physically and mentally. Scientists call this healthspan: the years in which body and brain function optimally, without chronic complaints, fatigue, or loss of vitality. This concept of healthspan is central to modern aging research (1).
Modern aging science shows that growing older is not a random or entirely inevitable process. It is driven by specific biological mechanisms in the body, such as energy production, inflammatory balance, and repair capacity. The key insight is that these mechanisms can be influenced (2).
Lifestyle always forms the foundation. Exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress management are indispensable. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that high-quality dietary supplements can play a role in supporting healthy aging, particularly because as we age the body becomes less efficient at producing, absorbing, and utilizing essential substances. This makes targeted supplementation relevant as an addition to diet and lifestyle (3).
The Hallmarks of Aging: why we age
To understand how supplements can contribute to longevity, it is essential to understand why we age. Science describes this using the framework of the hallmarks of aging: fundamental biological processes that collectively lead to functional decline and loss of homeostasis.
In the most recent update of this model, the following core mechanisms are distinguished, among others (1,5):
• Genomic instability
• Telomere shortening
• Epigenetic changes
• Loss of proteostasis
• Impaired nutrient sensing
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
• Cellular senescence
• Stem cell exhaustion
• Impaired intercellular communication
• Chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging)
• Dysbiosis (microbiome imbalance)
• Impaired autophagy (cellular recycling)
These hallmarks provide insight into which biological processes can be influenced. They are not arbitrary, but mechanistically linked to aging and age-related conditions (4).
Longevity supplements are designed to support precisely these mechanisms, not by suppressing symptoms, but by helping the body function better at a fundamental cellular level.
Why supplements become increasingly important as we get older
From around the age of thirty, subtle but structural changes occur in the body:
• cellular energy production gradually declines
• oxidative damage accumulates more quickly
• recovery processes become less efficient
• deficiencies arise, even with a healthy and varied diet
As we age, many biological systems lose flexibility and resilience. Micronutrients, cofactors, and bioactive substances that are sufficiently available through diet at a younger age are utilized less efficiently. This is a result of changing physiology and not a sign of failure.
Lifestyle interventions remain essential, but supplements can play an additional role in reducing deficiencies and supporting crucial cellular processes (3).
👉 Supplements purposefully fill these gaps by providing building blocks, cofactors, and protective compounds exactly where the body increasingly needs them, as a complement to diet, not as a replacement.
How longevity supplements work
Although each supplement has its own mechanism of action, most longevity supplements support one or more of the following pillars:
• 🔋 Energy at the cellular level: support of mitochondria and ATP production
• 🔥 Inflammation balance: limiting chronic low-grade inflammation
• 🛡️ Protection against oxidative damage: protection of cells, membranes, and DNA
• 🧬 Repair and maintenance: support of cellular repair and structural integrity
An effective longevity strategy combines multiple supplements that target different hallmarks and functionally reinforce each other (3).
👉 In-depth per supplement
Below you will find an overview of what we consider the most important longevity supplements. These ingredients are widely studied within the scientific field of healthy aging. Each ingredient is clickable to a background or product page in which the biochemical properties, role within the body, and scientific context are explained in more detail.
NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide)
Calcium-α-ketoglutarate (Ca-AKG)
The information is intended for general knowledge sharing and does not replace a varied diet or healthy lifestyle.
In conclusion
Longevity is not hype and not a promise of eternal youth. It is a conscious, strategic choice to support the body as well as possible as it ages. With the right lifestyle and high-quality supplements, you can create the biological conditions to stay vital, sharp, and independent for longer. And that is exactly where longevity begins according to EnduraVita.
Sources:
1. López-Otín C. et al. Hallmarks of Aging: An expanding universe. Cell, 2023.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)01377-0
2. López-Otín C. et al. The Hallmarks of Aging. Cell, 2013.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836174/
3. Martel J. et al. Nutraceuticals and healthy aging: mechanisms and clinical perspectives. Nutrients / MDPI, 2025.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
4. Franceschi C. et al. Non-genomic hallmarks of aging. Cells / MDPI, 2023.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/2/231
5. Overview: The 12 Hallmarks of Aging.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmarks_of_aging
