What should I take for longevity?

Howdy to Deliberate Internet – my newsletter combining nuanced perspectives on Remote Work, Technology, Psychology, and other latest obsessions.

Parental leave is a great time to refocus yourself: in the precious moments between diaper changes, feeding, and managing your family, you get to do a little bit of what matters. What matters (at least when I have more time on my hands) is family, health, swimming in mountain lakes, and a little bit of hacking.

The five most important supplements for Longevity

For a few years now, I have had an evergreen TODO to “figure out the supplement situation.” This is my (incomplete) research so far, which you should not trust because I am not a doctor. I’m publishing this as a reminder to myself and a jumping-off point for further research for you.

And for the love of god, eat more veggies and fish.

Magnesium

It seems that I stumble onto Magnesium in any resource I put my hands on. It’s essential for everything, and it’s almost impossible to take too much (it increases absorption of Calcium, which depletes Magnesium in turn).

• Essential for copying safe copying of DNA, protecting against cancer-causing mutations,
• Despite Magnesium’s critical role in over 300 enzyme processes and its importance in muscle functions, energy production, and electrolyte balance, half the country doesn’t even meet the RDA – Rhonda Patrick
• Magnesium malate can help in keeping inflammation levels low and mitigating muscle soreness post-workout. – Andrew Huberman
• Magnesium helps with inflammation1 but gets depleted. You need more Magnesium in inflammatory environments.
• Helps with sleep (particularly Theorate)
• Improves blood vessel function
• Improves Insulin resistance
• Lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol

Magnesium is not well absorbed on its own, so supplements are in bioavailable (easier to absorb) forms/compounds. Some of the better forms are Glycinate, Malate, Chloride, and Theorate. Citrate is the most popular and okay.

According to USA RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), you should take around 400 mg of elemental magnesium per day, but some people recommend 5-10mg per pound of body weight. (11-22 mg per kg)

Because Magnesium is in these bioavailable forms, in order to get 1000 mg of elemental Magnesium, you would have to get 6600 mg of Magnesium Malate, but of course, you should take multiple forms.

Vitamin D3

• Essential for synthesizing serotonin, crucial for immunity
• Important for Calcium absorption in bones
• Important for heart function and regulating heart pressure
• It helps prevent type 1 and 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

According to “The Big Vitamin D Mistake” study, adults should be taking 10,000 IU instead of the recommended 4000 IU.

The official RDAs are outdated because:

In contrast to the context of the recommendations of the 1960s of 4000 to 5000 IU/d to avoid rickets, our diet today is poor in wild fish (×10 richer in vitamin D), wild eggs, and fresh milk. Children are playing and people are working indoors all day long, and powerful sunprotective cosmetics are used to prevent melanoma. Even sunny countries such as Greece present a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, as the angle of the sun rays from autumn to spring do not result in sufficient vitamin D production with usual sun exposure

Omega-3 fatty acids: ALA, EPA & DHA

• Essential for brain development, particularly in pregnancy
• Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL)
• Lowers inflammation
• Helps with insulin resistance
• Protects against heavy metal poisoning
• Removes free radicals from the body

ALA is available in plant sources (ex flaxseed) but EPA and DHA are only available from marine sources like Krill and Cod liver. Take 1000-2000 mg two to three times per day.

The body converts ALA to DHA/EPA, but the mechanism is inefficient and dependent on genetic variance.

Aged Garlic Extract

• Helps with weight loss
• Lowers bad cholesterol
• Helps with immunity
• Protects against cancer
• Helps regulate blood sugar levels

Take 600 mg two to three times a day.

Creatine

Important for building muscle and cognitive function. It helps preserve muscle mass, and helps meet your protein requirements. Additionally, it helps your overall performance, giving you more energy during the day leading to multiple secondary effects.

Creatine has been proven through numerous studies to enhance muscle performance.

Andrew Huberman

Take 5 grams per day for individuals around 180 pounds (80 kg), 10 to 15 grams for those heavier, and 1 to 5 grams for lighter individuals.

I’m basing these recommendations on “Huberman Lab” podcast, “Found My Fitness” podcast, “Four Hour Body & Tools of Titans”, and “Your blood never lies”.

Footnotes

1. Inflammation is the cell’s “emergency state” in which cells get into overdrive when met with bad conditions (pollutants, free radicals, radiation, damage, all sorts of stuff). If they stay in that state too long, you get chronic inflammation which damages them. Most of these supplements help with getting the emergency done with faster. ??

Electrolites AKA DIY LMNT

If you’ve been listening to podcast ads, you have probably heard about LMNT electrolytes. Electrolytes are important for muscle and cell communication, especially when exercising.

LMNT is a brand that sells ready-to-use packets. Since I live in Poland, I cannot try them, but it turns out they published their formula on the blog:

? teaspoon salt provides about 1 gram sodium 400 mg potassium chloride provides about 200 mg potassium ? teaspoon of magnesium malate provides about 60 mg magnesium

I bought the bulk ingredients and mixed a few portions in my home lab:

Parental Leave hacking

Apart from my health quest, I am using this time to rewrite my hodge-podge personal infrastructure hacks into a productized version everybody can use.

I created a WordPress plugin that syncs your WordPress private notes with Evernote. It works both ways, including attachments. If you’re interested in reviewing/testing, here is the pull request.

Thanks for reading! What should I take for longevity was first published on Deliberate Internet Substack. If you want to get these Insights faster, subscribe here.