Many studies show that metformin targets these age-related cell changes. The result: Not only does it help control type 2 diabetes, but over time, people with diabetes taking the drug had lower death rates, better health, and longer lives compared with both diabetic and non-diabetics not taking metformin.
Metformin also has anti-inflammatory effects, which may contribute to its ability to slow aging. Since chronic inflammation is one hallmark of aging and age-related diseases, reducing inflammation can improve health and life span.
Yaay! I’m gonna live forever! Just like Irene Cara. Oh, wait. Damn.
Meh. Ozempic has that uber-catchy theme song.
Imma’ hold out for that one.
Longevity is overrated anyway
Stranger
Or die trying!
Well, I’ve been on Metformin for nearly 3 decades, so it’s probably why I’m still around. Yay. Works good for me, too. I must have written a few thousand prescriptions for my patients for it too.
The problem with these claims, and there are several other drugs and chemicals with reported similar benefits in animals - done by respected people - is that longevity studies in people take decades and cost a fortune if done properly. It’s certainly fascinating. I hope some of them are found to be very effective.
Well you’ve already learned how to fly.
Meanwhile there is intervention that is proven to have significant impact on both longevity and healthspan, on diseases of aging in general:
Consuming a healthy diet (multiple options out there but most know the general patterns); and
Exercise including aerobic and modest amounts of strength training.
We KNOW that even modest doses of the above have significant impacts, and that they are in typical doses of very low risk.
When I last read up on Metformin and its potential impact on diseases of aging, it seemed to me that it was unlikely to be additive to benefits accrued by those habits and was unlikely to be superior to benefits accrued by those habits.
Sugar is pretty destructive, so it should come as no surprise the metformin would slow aging. Now, if we only had something to mitigate the damage caused by that highly corrosive O2 stuff.
Sure. Eating and exercising wisely has known widespread benefits. The idea that aging can be addressed in itself is interesting, even through modalities such as drugs or a better understanding of nutrition and physiology. Enough compelling research has been done to be worth doing more, despite historical claims often amounting to quackery.
Just to be clear, in case this isn’t just whooshing, the putative impact is suggested to be by mechanisms other than glucose regulation.
So far, so good.
The body is wonderfully adaptive to a wide variety of evolutionary and environmental conditions. To be clear, sugars are very useful at certain times and in reasonable quantities. Fruit remains a very healthful food in quantities one would realistically consume. I enjoyed reading The Case Against Sugar without quite accepting quite all of its arguments. Table sugar (sucrose) and most corn syrups contain roughly equal mixes of fructose and glucose (within 5%), and large quantities of fructose may be hard on liver metabolism. (A lot more table sugar and corn syrup than fruit is consumed by many people). Some have difficulty digesting lactose. The trope “all sugars are bad” is as silly as “all fats are bad” or, to a lesser degree, “all protein is wonderful”.
Metformin messes your stomach up for a good while when you start to take it, and they are huge horse pills. I take 4 of em a day. Ya just gotta be strong and have a will to survive to take it in the first place
You should also get a doctor to verify you should be taking it. Not everyone should.
Although it’s been decades since I saw Fame, I never quite understood what all the fuss was about. Though people say it aged fairly well…
Compelling research has been done on the anti-aging impacts of so-called Blue Zone diets and of exercise, especially aerobic, and also strength training in modest doses.
The point though is the possibility that Metformin may give some benefit but also interfere with obtaining benefits …
The thing about building muscle is you want insulin levels to be high when doing it. Save your glucose and maltodextrin for around the workout period!
I’ll need that explained to me. Something about eating sugar before exercise?