Dr. Brad Stanfield’s Nine Supplements to Slow Aging

Dr. Brad Stanfield recommends the following nine supplements to extend healthspan, the period of your life where you are healthy and disease free:

• Creatine: 5 g per day
• Protein powder: 1.62 g/kg (0.74 g per pound) of body weight daily for younger adults or 2 g/kg (0.9 g per pound) of body weight daily for older adults
• Trimethylglycine (TMG): 500 mg to 1 g daily
• Multivitamin: 1 tablet daily
• Omega-3: 1 to 2 capsules daily
• Psyllium husk: 5 to 10 g daily
• Collagen peptides: 10 to 15 g daily
• Hyaluronic acid: 200 mg daily
• Melatonin: 300 µg daily

Dr. Brad Stanfield is a primary care physician hailing from Auckland, New Zealand who has garnered over 200,000 followers on YouTube for his video segments related to longevity-promoting strategies. As such, Dr. Stanfield has identified nine evidence-based supplements that people can take to possibly slow their age-related mental and physical decline: creatine, multivitamins, protein powder, TMG, omega-3, psyllium husk, collagen peptides, hyaluronic acid, and melatonin. In one of his YouTube segments, he reviews each of them.

Creatine May Improve Cognitive Performance

Creatine is one of the most studied supplements available, according to Stanfield, and is most known for its potential muscle-enhancing capabilities. However, Stanfield recommends taking creatine not for its promotion of muscle building and recovery but rather for its possible benefits to cognition.

What most people do not know is that creatine supplements not only increase muscle creatine stores but also enhance brain creatine stores, important during times of stress. During such stressful times, such as periods of sleep disruption and even during aging itself, Stanfield says levels of brain creatine decrease. Based on this idea, an analysis of human trials found that creatine supplementation improved memory performance in healthy adults, possibly by increasing brain creatine levels. Overall, a really intriguing mechanism exists whereby creatine supplements may improve cognitive performance, so Stanfield supplements with 5 g of creatine daily.

Notably, Stanfield says that creatine supplements have falsely been associated with a number of adverse effects such as hair loss and an increased risk of kidney disease. Along those lines, clinical trials have not linked creatine with hair loss, an elevated risk of kidney disease, or muscle cramping. Furthermore, creatine increases lean muscle mass — not fat mass. For these reasons, creatine supplementation appears safe and may confer muscular and cognitive benefits.

Protein Powder May Minimize Muscle Loss in Older Age

Higher muscle strength is associated with lower all-cause death rates. For this reason, Stanfield says we should aim to maximize strength and muscle size during youth, maintain strength during middle age, and minimize muscle weakness and muscle loss during older age. Along those lines, Stanfield recommends increasing protein intake to 1.62 g per kg (0.74 g per pound) of body weight per day for younger adults, while older adults whose digestive tracts do not absorb protein as well should ingest 2 g per kg (0.9 g per pound) of body weight per day. To put that into perspective, a younger adult weighing 80 kg (~176 pounds) should consume about 129.6 g of protein (~0.29 pounds) per day, while an older person weighing 80 kg should eat 160 g of protein (~0.35 pounds) per day.

Eating foods with these amounts of protein can be difficult. In that sense, to reach these high levels of protein intake, taking protein powder is a feasible solution. According to Stanfield, someone interested in increasing protein intake should avoid using powders with high amounts of sugar and salt.

Furthermore, while some mouse studies have shown that mice consuming lowered amounts of protein live longer, Stanfield disagrees that these studies have application to humans. The mice in these studies lived in a controlled laboratory and did not require the strength that people need to maintain their independence with age. Moreover, since observational studies have associated higher protein intake with a lowered all-cause death rate, using protein powder to meet the recommended daily dosages may constitute a way to increase protein consumption.

TMG With Exercise May Improve Muscle Performance and Could Prevent Dementia

TMG helps to accelerate the recycling of ATP (adenosine triphosphate)  — a potent energy source required for cellular function  — and may help to enhance muscle protein synthesis. However, an analysis of seven clinical trials (meta-analysis), found that TMG improved muscle strength and power in only two of the trials. Importantly, though, in these two trials, TMG supplementation was combined with exercise. In contrast, TMG was taken without exercise in the other five trials. For this reason, Stanfield argues that TMG only works to improve strength when combined with exercise.

Furthermore, studies show that lowering blood homocysteine, a type of protein building block (amino acid), seems to be the most promising intervention to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Along those lines, TMG lowers blood homocysteine levels, according to Stanfield. For this reason especially, Stanfield takes 500 mg to 1 g daily of TMG.

Taking Daily Multivitamin Supplements to Improve Cognition

According to Stanfield, approximately 31% of the US population is at risk of at least one vitamin deficiency. People often struggle with attaining their recommended intake levels of various micronutrients, including vitamin B3, vitamin D3, vitamin K2, zinc, and magnesium. Vitamin deficiencies may contribute to suboptimal cognition.

Along those lines, in a human trial with over 2,000 participants, daily multivitamin intake over a three-year period improved various parameters of cognitive function compared to those who didn’t take multivitamin supplements. To maintain a healthy brain and for optimal cognitive function, one may consider taking a daily multivitamin, especially one containing B3, D3, and K2 vitamins along with zinc and magnesium.

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation May Enhance Cardiovascular Health

Interest in omega-3 fatty acid supplements initially gained popularity for their potential to improve cognition. However, a human trial with 748 participants did not show an association between omega-3 supplementation and cognitive benefits. Another trial in patients with Alzheimer’s disease also did not show an association between taking omega-3 supplements and slowed cognitive decline. These findings call into question omega-3’s purported cognition-enhancing capabilities.

Instead, Stanfield takes one to two omega-3 capsules daily, because a massive study showed a 28% reduction in risk of having a heart attack with omega-3 supplementation. Moreover, a Mayo Clinic meta-analysis of omega-3 human studies also showed an association between lowered heart attack risk and omega-3 supplementation. These findings suggest that omega-3 supplementation may reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications like heart attacks.

Psyllium Husk May Improve Gut Bacterial Composition and Reduce Cholesterol

Psyllium husk is a fiber source that is critical for the maintenance of beneficial gut bacteria, and higher fiber intake has been associated with lowered levels of harmful cholesterol — LDL. Psyllium husk has a similar texture as protein powder and can be easily mixed with fruit smoothies or shakes. Psyllium husk also helps one stay fuller for longer, which may lead to eating less and losing weight if one uses sufficient amounts. To optimize fiber intake, possibly enhance gut bacterial composition, and potentially lower cholesterol, one may consider supplementing with 5 to 10 g of psyllium husk daily.

Evidence Suggests Collagen Peptides Improve Skin Hydration and Elasticity

Collagen peptides are short chains of protein building blocks (amino acids), and a clinical trial in burn patients showed that collagen peptides significantly enhanced skin wound healing. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of 26 studies associated collagen peptide supplementation with improved skin hydration and elasticity. The data from these studies suggest that taking collagen peptides may provide a means to improve skin health as we age. As such, Dr. Stanfield takes between 10 and 15 g of collagen peptides daily.

Hyaluronic Acid Supplementation Is Associated with Reduced Skin Wrinkling

Multiple randomized control trials in humans suggest that hyaluronic acid significantly reduces skin wrinkling — by up to ~18%. One safety concern for hyaluronic acid supplementation is cancer risk. However, when hyaluronic acid is given to mice with cancer, there is no effect on the cancer. For these reasons, Stanfield takes 200 mg of hyaluronic acid daily.

Low-Dose Melatonin May Improve Sleep Quality and Confer Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

As we age, there is up to a 10-fold decrease in the amount of melatonin the body produces, making it more difficult to fall asleep. As such, taking low doses of melatonin may help older people to fall asleep and also improve their sleep quality.

The timing and dosage of melatonin supplementation are important. One should take low-dose melatonin one to two hours before going to bed. Otherwise, melatonin has no effect, according to Stanfield. Since melatonin, especially when taken in excessive amounts, can disrupt our sleep-wake cycle, Stanfield references Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman’s warning against taking too much melatonin. Along those lines, he says the maximum dose one should consider is 300 µg daily.

Since melatonin has potential anti-inflammatory effects and because melatonin levels drastically decline with age, the possibility exists that lowered melatonin contributes to age-related inflammation. For this reason, older adults may try to restore their melatonin levels to help counteract age-related inflammation, which may also enhance the number of disease-free years we live (healthspan). Importantly, not much is known about long-term melatonin supplementation’s effects on the body, so consulting with a physician before taking melatonin is a good idea.

Adding NAD+ Precursors to These Supplements May Extend Healthspan

Dr. Stanfield’s video segment reviewing these nine evidence-backed supplements may provide a way to improve physical function, cardiovascular health, cognition, and skin health. Using these nine supplements could also help to extend one’s healthspan.

Vitamin B3, often included in multivitamins, is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) precursor that can increase cellular NAD+ levels. Human studies suggest that NAD+ precursors may protect against metabolic disease and inflammation. Along those lines, adding other NAD+ precursors like nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) or nicotinamide riboside (NR) to these supplements may further increase NAD+ in aged adults to potentially increase healthspan.

Dr. Brad Stanfield’s supplement recommendations are well researched. Moreover, these supplements are easy to find and can be ordered online. In addition to other healthy lifestyle practices like eating a balanced diet, regularly exercising, and getting plenty of sleep, using these supplements could provide an easy way of prioritizing your health.