Ironically, and sadly, Irene Cara did not.
I guess you’d have had to have seen the movie to know why.
Well that article was more about impaired response to aerobic exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness, mitochondrial adaptations, and whole body insulin sensitivity, (not mitochondrial protein synthesis or telomere length) but indeed Metformin also blunts muscle response to exercise in terms of both strength and hypertrophy.
To be sure, most people are not availing themselves of that best and well documented set of longevity and healthspan interventions, and for those who do not Metformin may be an alternative that brings other benefits than glucose control alone. Agreed that the definitive answer is years away.
I take one 500mg extended release Metformin caplet twice per day and have for over a decade.
I had exactly zero GI reaction to starting them.
The caplets are the same size as the standard multivitamin + mineral supplement I take, and they’re much smaller than the glucosamine/chondroitin supplement I also take twice daily which really is a “horse pill”.
When I take my Metformin I generally eat a second similar sized capsule of something else in the same bite/swallow. Not so the glucosamine; that thing is eaten solo and with deliberate attention paid since it’s big enough to get jammed in my throat.
I’m not disputing your experience. I am suggesting it may not be as universal as your post made me think you think it is.
Just to get a sense of the numbers that get significant gastrointestinal distress - 53 total in that first linked study, 27 in the Metformin group:
8 out of 27 compared to 3 out of 26 in placebo. A significant minority and significantly more than placebo, but most tolerate it fine.
That said diarrhea officially happens more than half.
Thank you for the correction of my joke you are an exceptional human and I hope to learn more from you. 
Yes. If you are doing exercise with the potential to build muscle, such as weightlifting using over 50% of your maximal capability, it is helpful to eat 30-50 grams of sugar (preferably just glucose or maltodextrin) just before or during the workout to raise insulin levels and build more muscle. I try to save my sugar cravings for these times. Standard Gatorade bottles contains 35 grams.or so, but there are tastier things.
It should be noted being big in itself and very high levels of strength training are not correlated with longevity.
Since metformin is usually taken twice daily, if taking a small dose for potential anti-aging benefit one might want to take it well before exercising or on days off. However, this is not an approved use and cannot be recommended at this time without more research. And not everyone should be taking metformin, which requires healthy fairly kidneys and testing to confirm this…
I don’t want to hijack this thread, but do you have any studies that support the contention that raising insulin at the time of workout builds more muscle? My understanding is that the period of weight training and immediately afterwards is mostly the body dealing with muscle breakdown from the activity and that the synthesis, the growth, occurs over multiple hours later. If correct then an insulin spike that minute will be at best irrelevant, and possibly counterproductive - as it will trigger counterregulatory responses and have less insulin around when that synthesis actually needs it. Plus maltodextin is a hyperprocessed product, associated with negative gut microbiome impacts. That said I get that the sugar high may translate into better and more intense performance …
As we have discussed in your weight training thread, modest amounts of strength training, such as an hour a week, especially added to aerobic exercise as a base, is of major benefit, but much beyond that benefits reduce and even become negative, likely at the levels associated with significantly “big in itself”, and “very high levels of strength”.
But pertinent to the use of metformin as a possible means to increase longevity and healthspan - the cellular changes of adapting to the progressive demands of that modest amount of strength training (and aerobic conditioning) that are likely the basis of their great efficacy in promoting both longevity and healthspan, may be blunted by metformin.
Not sure how much good that would do? Again, the work of cellular responses, the adaptations, to exercise happen not just the following few hours but the next 24 to 36 hours. Meanwhile the pharmacokinetics of metformin is complex - with distribution into various tissue stores:
Not sure when would be best to dose to avoid it overlapping significantly with the period of time when the greatest cellular adaptations are occurring.
Seriously, those looking for the most effective fountain of youth are best looking at exercise (aerobic and strength training both) and a healthy pattern of nutrition that eschews hyperprocessed foods and includes lots of plants, legumes inclusive. If one drinks from that fountain then metformin may interfere with the magic. If one is not drinking from there then it is possible that metformin may gain some of the benefit for you.
I don’t think enough is known about metformin to recommend it for longevity.
As for periworkout nutrition, recommending both glucose and protein, some evidence is here, with a second link in plainer language.
Ah. Not the place to go into the timing and type of protein morass (leave it that I read good reviews come to different conclusions from each other), but I will note that the few sentences in that review about glucose with protein are given citations to articles about milk?
It’s not an academic journal, but John Berardi is an expert with a PhD in sports nutrition, has consulted with thousands of athletes and trainers and written decent textbooks. He is a power lifter. Here’s his detailed take from his company.
I knew my bad habits would bear fruit some day!
" * if you’re exercising for general health and fitness;
- if your goals are more modest; and/or
- you don’t have unique physiological needs…
…then you probably don’t need any particular workout nutrition strategies."
All I need to know.
He’s honest about it. And he was the guy who popularized the idea of nutrient timing. But it is an advanced strategy.
And interestingly his take is
True, but this is dependent on eating a balanced meal 1-2 hours before exercise, which may not be possible depending on when ones work or preferred exercise time. Also, one might prioritize recovery. And goals may include trying to maximize muscle. But it is true there are alternatives to sports drinks and glucose supplementation. However, if you are going to take some glucose anyway, time it for when it can be used to build muscle and not get stored as fat. Anyway, as stated:
But what about sports drinks? They don’t offer much benefit for events less than two hours long. Especially if you ate a good pre-exercise meal.
There are some exceptions, though.
- If you’re exercising in the heat and sweating a lot, sports drinks may be useful since they have electrolytes that help speed hydration and recovery.
- Also, if you’re going to be competing or training again in less than eight hours, sports drinks may jumpstart recovery before the next session.
- If you’re trying to gain maximum muscle, then including a protein and carbohydrate drink or some EAAs during training could provide a small advantage.
- Finally, at the highest end of sport or competition, while it may not help, it certainly won’t hurt to sip on a sports drink during competition to ensure maximal hydration and energy supply.
Exercise lasting more than two hours
For training that is longer than two hours, sports drinks can be a huge help. Every hour you’ll want to consume:
- 15 grams protein
- 30-45 grams carbs
Anyway, metformin’s potential impact on diseases of aging overall is definitely interesting and worth following. It may end being of some benefit to some and it may be of negative impact to some others. The story will be many more years in the telling.
Meanwhile, again, healthy nutritional patterns and exercise work.
I agree.
As an aside, CNN had this article suggesting milk, juice, soda and tea are all more hydrating than sports drinks and water.
There is a non-extended release version of metformin that is notorious for causing nasty GI problems, so other people have had different experiences with it. I’m not sure why doctors even still prescribe it.
because it’s cheap and very effective and most patients stop having the gi side effects after a bit. the long acting formula is often not covered by a lot of insurance plans, sadly.