Want to Live Longer? Here’s What’s Working (and What Totally Isn’t)

We’re all chasing it, that elusive elixir of life. Anti-aging creams, superfood smoothies, IV drips, and supplements with names that sound like secret codes. But the truth? Most of what’s on the market is hype dressed up in health claims.

Luckily, real scientists are skipping the snake oil and heading straight to the lab. And what they’re finding in mice… might just rewrite everything we thought we knew about longevity.

First, Let’s Be Blunt: Some Things Just Don’t Work

Let’s rip the bandage off.

A few so-called miracle molecules have gone through the gold standard of longevity testing, the Interventions Testing Program (ITP), and flopped hard.

Take resveratrol, the darling of wine-lovers everywhere. Despite the media frenzy and the $600 million company it launched, it didn’t actually extend lifespan in mice. The original study? Mice were poisoned with a bizarre, high-fat coconut oil diet. The resveratrol only helped delay early death from liver congestion, not aging. Oops.

Then there’s nicotinamide riboside, aka “NR.” Popular? Yes. Backed by solid evidence? Not so much. It didn’t extend lifespan in mice. Not even a little.

So if you’re popping NR capsules thinking you’re beating the clock, well, maybe reconsider.

So What Is Working?

Thankfully, it’s not all doom and bunk science. The ITP has found eight compounds that actually extend mouse lifespan, not just by a sliver, but meaningfully.

Here are a few of the top contenders:

1. Rapamycin: Originally an immunosuppressant, this drug extends lifespan across organs, the heart, the liver, the brain, and the kidneys. 
2. Acarbose: A diabetes drug that delays aging processes, especially in males.
3. 17-α-estradiol: An estrogen compound that benefits males without feminizing effects.
4. Canagliflozin: Helps male mice live longer, though it’s still under the microscope for exact mechanisms.

And get this: curing all cancer or all heart disease in humans only extends lifespan by about 6%. Some of these drugs? 

They’re doing 10%–30%. That’s not marginal. That’s massive.

The Real Game-Changer? It’s Not What You Think

None of the successful drugs target just one disease. Instead, they slow down aging across multiple systems. Think of it like turning the faucet down on every aging sprinkler in the body, from the brain to the bones.

So while the wellness world slaps “anti-aging” on everything from face creams to IV vitamin drips, scientists are out here doing the hard, slow work. And they’re finding that longevity doesn’t come in a smoothie or a scented serum, it comes from rigorous research, mouse cages, and unlikely molecules with names that don’t roll off the tongue.

Want to live longer? Skip the hype. Watch the science. And maybe keep an eye on that rapamycin.