Longevity supplements

Supplements move the needle when they close a real gap, and that is a real opportunity, because gaps are common: about 40% of people in Europe have a vitamin D level below 50 nmol/l.^[20] A small Tier 1 group of vitamin D, omega-3, magnesium and creatine closes the most common shortfalls for roughly €30 to 55 a month in DACH (as of October 2026). It works best as fine-tuning on a foundation of exercise, food, sleep and stress management, which still does more for how you age than anything you swallow and which no supplement can replace (the longevity diet guide is a good place to start). What the group delivers is concrete, such as a corrected deficiency, a higher Omega-3 Index or more muscle strength with training. A longer life is not on that list, because no supplement has been shown to make healthy people live longer. In the large VITAL trial, vitamin D did not lower cancer or heart events in generally healthy adults.^[21]

The basics pay off most where there is a concrete gap to close, such as a tested deficiency in vitamin D or B12. Groups at higher risk, such as older adults and vegans, have a good case too, and so does a blood marker you are working on with your doctor. You get the most out of them on top of a decent diet and regular exercise rather than as a stand-in for either, and your baseline numbers show which gap to fill. Huge doses with no evidence behind them and the next "miracle" compound in your feed add little.

Choosing well matters because supplements count legally as foods, not medicines. In Germany they are notified to the food authority rather than approved like a drug.^[50] Only novel-food ingredients such as NR or NMN need an EU safety assessment and authorisation before sale.^[15][40] For everything else, no authority checks before sale whether a capsule works, so quality varies a lot and the marketing often runs ahead of the science. Brands that have the actual capsule contents tested by an independent lab are the ones to favour. Before you start anything new, talk to your doctor or pharmacist, especially if you take medication or have a health condition.

EU legal status in brief (as of October 2026). NMN has no EU authorisation: it is an unauthorised novel food and may not be sold as a food supplement in the EU.^[54] EFSA did publish a positive safety opinion on one NMN product in May 2026, which the NAD+ section covers in detail. NR, as nicotinamide riboside chloride, is authorised in supplements up to 300 mg a day for adults.^[40] Melatonin is contested in Germany. The medicines agency BfArM and the food agency BVL have long held that products with 0.5 mg a day or more are medicines that need approval, while courts have ruled differently.^[50] The prolonged-release melatonin drug Circadin (2 mg) is prescription-only.

EU food-claims law. The findings in this guide describe what studies measured. They are not authorised EU health claims, so most of them may not appear on a label or in an advert. Under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, a supplement sold in the EU may only carry claims listed on the EU Register of nutrition and health claims. For most substances here, no such claim exists.

DACH starter stack (Tier 1). Within those rules, the table shows the four basics as they are sold in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with default doses that stay inside the official limits.

Prices are approximate, as of October 2026. Kidney disease, blood thinners, heart rhythm problems, pregnancy and cancer all change this picture, so check who should not self-start before you buy.

Where to buy in DACH. The Tier 1 basics sit on drugstore (Drogerie) shelves at dm and Rossmann at the lowest prices, while the same brands cost more in pharmacies (Apotheken). What the higher pharmacy price buys is a pharmacist who can check your medication list for interactions, which the drugstore clerk cannot. So the Drogerie works for routine restocking, and the Apotheke is worth it when you start a new stack or already take prescription drugs. Wherever you buy NR, look for an independent certificate of analysis.

Test first. Before the first capsule, a blood test shows which of these gaps you actually have. It also stops you from overdoing the fat-soluble vitamins, which build up in body tissue. That baseline is also what a later retest is measured against, so it tells you whether a dose fit and when a product can go.

Four blood markers are worth testing before your first supplement: 25-OH vitamin D, the Omega-3 Index, ferritin and vitamin B12. Shortfalls in these four are common enough that the test costs less than a year of pills taken on a guess, and it points your money at the gap you actually have. Not everyone needs every test, though. The Endocrine Society advises against routine 25-OH vitamin D testing without a specific medical reason, and that includes pregnancy and age 75 and older.^[9] In those two groups it suggests taking vitamin D without a test.^[9] So a vitamin D test pays off most when your doctor has a concrete reason to suspect a low level. B12 testing, by contrast, matters most with a vegan diet or long-term use of metformin or acid blockers.

25-OH vitamin D. This is the storage form of vitamin D, not the active hormone, and German lab reports give it either in ng/ml or in nmol/l. Since 1 ng/ml equals 2.5 nmol/l, 30 ng/ml is exactly 75 nmol/l, so mixing up the units can make a deficiency look like a top result. Levels are lowest at the end of winter, which makes that the moment to test if you want to see your low point of the year.

Omega-3 Index. This test measures EPA and DHA, the two main omega-3 fats, in your red blood cells rather than in serum, the liquid part of the blood.^[16] That is the difference between your long-term store and your last meal. Red blood cells renew over three to four months, so the index reflects that stretch of eating. A retest makes sense after three months at the earliest, ideally about four. Cerascreen sells a home test through DACH pharmacies for about €65 to 80 (as of October 2026), or you can order one from OmegaQuant directly.

Ferritin plus transferrin saturation. Ferritin, the protein that stores your iron, misleads on its own because it also rises with inflammation, so a normal-looking value can hide an iron deficiency. That is why it is read together with an inflammation marker such as CRP (C-reactive protein).^[18] Labs usually add transferrin saturation, which shows how much of the blood's iron-carrying protein is actually carrying iron. Getting iron right matters more than with most supplements, because your body loses very little iron and what you absorb largely stays.^[52] Taking it blind can therefore do real harm.

Vitamin B12. The classic serum value drops late, while two other markers, holo-transcobalamin and methylmalonic acid, show a deficiency earlier. Those earlier markers matter most on a vegetarian or vegan diet and with long-term use of metformin or proton pump inhibitors (acid blockers).

Serum magnesium: read it with care. More than 99% of your magnesium sits inside cells and bone, and less than 1% is in the blood.^[17][38] A normal serum value therefore does not rule out low stores.^[17] It is still the standard, affordable test when a doctor suspects too little or too much magnesium, for example with kidney disease or certain medications.^[38] The magnesium forms compared guide covers which form suits whom.

What does insurance pay? With a medical indication (your doctor documents a concrete suspicion), German statutory health insurance (GKV) usually covers vitamin D, ferritin and B12. Without one, your Hausarzt (family doctor) can run them as IGeL, a self-pay extra service, and prices vary a lot. A wider baseline panel often adds HbA1c (long-term blood sugar), a lipid panel and hs-CRP (a sensitive inflammation marker). The longevity blood test guide explains each marker, and the self-pay guide lists what a panel realistically costs.

The loop. Test, fill the gap on purpose, retest after about three months, then adjust the dose or stop the supplement. The retest is what shows whether the dose fit, and stopping a product once it has done its job keeps the stack short, with every product in it closing a gap you can measure. Once a value really is low, the strength of the evidence behind each product decides which one is worth filling the gap with.

Ranked by the strength of the human evidence, the list starts with a handful of Tier 1 basics that suit almost anyone with a gap, followed by four promising Tier 2 options, three Tier 3 compounds that are still unproven in humans and one prescription drug. The basics are where to start if a test or your diet shows a gap. Their top label means cheap, safe and useful when you are low or have a clear reason. It does not mean proven to help healthy people live longer,^[9][21] and if your diet already covers a nutrient, you may need nothing.

Tier 1: the basics

The first table holds the five basics, and the "Best for" column says when each one earns its place.

Sources: see the linked sections and guides.

Tier 2, Tier 3 and prescription-only

Below the basics sit the promising candidates, with earlier evidence, and the second table shows how far each one has got.

Sources: see the linked sections and guides.

How to use this list. Start with Tier 1. For many people it is the whole stack, and you add more only when a test or a clear reason points there. It is the cheapest and safest group, and the DACH starter stack covers it for roughly €30 to 55 a month. Add a Tier 2 pick only once the basics and your blood markers are handled. Tier 3 compounds suit people who like to experiment, as a defined trial with a tested product rather than a staple.

NMN and NR are a promising way to raise NAD+, a molecule your cells use to make energy, and both do raise it in human blood.^[31] Whether that turns into a clear health benefit is still open: no trial has shown one yet, and a year-long NR trial in Parkinson's disease found no benefit.^[30] Typical study doses are 250 to 500 mg a day for NMN and 300 to 1,000 mg for NR, and both are fairly expensive. In the EU, NR (as nicotinamide riboside chloride) is authorised in food supplements up to 300 mg a day for adults. In pregnancy and breastfeeding the limit is 230 mg a day,^[40] so the higher NR doses are study doses, not supplement doses.

Besides making energy, NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) helps your cells repair DNA and switch on sirtuins, proteins linked to aging. It falls with age, but by how much depends on the tissue. In human skin it falls clearly with age.^[34] In the fluid around the brain, by contrast, the combined NAD level was about 14% lower in people over 45 than in younger adults.^[35] No single number fits every tissue, which is why blanket talk of "NAD+ depletion" tends to overshoot what has been measured in any one organ.

NMN

NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) is a direct building block of NAD+, and in animals it improved metabolism, stamina and insulin sensitivity. In people it raises blood NAD+,^[31] and the first health signals are still small and early. In women with prediabetes, a small trial reported better muscle insulin sensitivity, meaning muscle responded better to the hormone insulin.^[33] That result still needs confirmation. A pooled analysis of 15 trials lasting up to 24 weeks found NMN well tolerated.^[29] It did not change weight, blood sugar or blood fats, though, and it lowered blood pressure only slightly, in the lower (diastolic) reading.^[29] Long-term safety is unknown.

NR

NR (nicotinamide riboside) is another NAD+ building block, and trials with the branded form NIAGEN show it is well tolerated and raises blood NAD+.^[32] The first direct comparison in people was a small Nestlé-run study in healthy adults. It found that NR and NMN raised blood NAD+ about equally over 14 days,^[31] so neither one clearly absorbs better. A much bigger test followed in 2026. A phase 3 trial, the last stage before a drug can be approved, gave about 400 people with early Parkinson's disease 1,000 mg NR a day for a year. It found no benefit, with slightly worse symptom scores than placebo and no more serious side effects.^[30] That does not show harm in healthy people, but it is a reason not to treat NR as a supplement that changes the course of a disease.

Cancer caveat

Two pre-clinical studies (lab and animal work, not human trials) give reason for caution about raising NAD+ when cancer is in the picture. The first found that NAD+ recycling inside cells drives the inflammatory cocktail that old cells release. Its authors say NAD+ boosting for anti-aging "should be administered with precision".^[10] The second, a mouse and cell study, pulled in two directions. Tumours used their own NAD+ to keep up PD-L1, a "don't attack me" signal on cancer cells. Yet raising NAD+ also helped a treatment that blocks this signal and lets the immune system attack the tumour.^[11] So the net effect on cancer is unknown, and if you have active or recently treated cancer, do not take NMN or NR without your oncologist.

Regulation

In the US, the FDA excluded NMN from dietary supplements in 2022 and reversed that in September 2025. NMN can be sold there again, and the NMN-Germany guide follows that story. NR keeps its US GRAS status (generally recognised as safe). In the EU, by contrast, NMN has no authorisation as of October 2026. It is an unauthorised novel food and may not be sold as a food supplement.^[54] EFSA published a positive safety opinion on one product, EffePharm/Uthever NMN, on 11 May 2026, at 300 mg a day and excluding pregnant and breastfeeding women.^[15] Because EFSA assessed only up to 300 mg a day, the higher study doses fall outside that safety assessment.^[15]

That opinion is not yet a sales licence. After an EFSA opinion, the Commission has seven months to put a draft authorisation to the member states. As of October 2026, that decision is still pending.^[54] It will also be product-specific, so until it is adopted no NMN product may be sold as a food supplement in the EU. For now, NR is the only one of the two you can buy as a supplement in the EU. If you have the lifestyle basics and Tier 1 in place and want to explore NAD+, NR is the legal route in the EU: pick a product with an independent certificate of analysis, stay within the EU limit of 300 mg a day^[40] and give it a defined trial period. Its health benefit is still open, so judge it as an experiment, after the basics and never instead of them.

How much vitamin D3 you need depends on your starting level, and the safest default is modest. Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) advises that a food supplement provide no more than 20 mcg (800 IU) a day. To correct a tested low level, practitioners commonly use 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day and then retest, though that is a practitioner habit, not a guideline recommendation. EFSA's tolerable upper intake level for adults is 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day in total from food and all supplements.^[19] That figure is a ceiling, not a dose to aim for. Going above it belongs with a doctor and regular blood checks, because vitamin D is fat-soluble and builds up in body tissue.

D3 or D2? Whatever the dose, D3 (cholecalciferol) raises blood levels better than D2 (ergocalciferol), so D3 is the form to buy.

Target levels. The blood level a dose should reach is a separate question. For healthy adults under 75, the 2024 Endocrine Society guideline no longer endorses a specific level of 25(OH)D, the storage form of vitamin D, and it advises against routine testing in that group.^[9] Many longevity-focused practitioners aim for 40 to 60 ng/ml (100 to 150 nmol/l), but that target is not a mainstream guideline position.

Where vitamin D helps. Vitamin D clearly helps when it corrects a real deficiency, and shortfalls are common: about 40% of people in Europe fall below 50 nmol/l (20 ng/ml).^[20] Beyond correcting a deficiency, the benefits shrink. The same guideline suggests routine supplementation only for children and teenagers, adults aged 75 and older, pregnancy and high-risk prediabetes. For healthy adults under 75, it advises against taking more than the reference intake to prevent disease.^[9]

That advice rests on trials like VITAL, where 2,000 IU a day did not reduce fractures in generally healthy midlife and older adults, whatever their starting level.^[36] The same dose did not lower cancer or cardiovascular events either,^[21] and the small drop in deaths shows up only in people aged 75 and older.^[9]

Telomeres. VITAL also looked at a marker of cellular aging. In a sub-study, daily vitamin D3 slowed the shortening of telomeres in white blood cells over four years compared with placebo.^[8] Telomeres are the protective caps on your chromosomes, and their length stands in for cellular aging without directly measuring biological age. So the result shows a slower change in a proxy marker, not a measured slowing of aging.

Authorised claims. Nor is that telomere finding an authorised EU health claim, although two authorised disease-risk claims, the wording the EU allows on a label, do involve vitamin D and age.^[42] One says vitamin D helps reduce the risk of falling in men and women 60 and over, with 20 mcg a day from all sources.^[42] The other says calcium plus vitamin D helps reduce bone loss after menopause.^[42]

Vitamin K2: optional. D3 is often sold with vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7), because both vitamins are involved in handling calcium. The popular line that "K2 steers calcium into bone rather than arteries" is shorthand from lab and observational work. EFSA has twice rejected heart and artery claims for K2.^[22][23] The only authorised vitamin K claims are that it "contributes to normal blood clotting" and "to the maintenance of normal bones".^[43] If you take K2, the BfR proposes at most 25 mcg a day in supplements.^[51] Because K2 weakens vitamin K antagonists such as phenprocoumon (Marcumar) or warfarin, anyone on one of those drugs should take it only with their doctor and INR checks.^[51]

Higher blood levels of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA are linked to a longer life.^[6][7] That link comes from observational data, and in trials of fish-oil pills the best-documented effect is on blood fats. The American Heart Association's advisory on fish oil gives no recommendation for preventing a first heart problem in the general population, because trials had not tested that use.^[53] For most people, fatty fish such as salmon, sardines or mackerel two to three times a week is therefore the evidence-aligned route. If you eat little fish or have a low Omega-3 Index, a supplement is a simple way to close that gap, and 1,000 to 2,000 mg of combined EPA and DHA a day is the usual dose.

Longevity evidence. A pooled analysis of 17 studies linked the highest blood levels with a lower risk of death from any cause. Depending on the fatty acid, that risk was 15 to 18% lower than at the lowest levels.^[6] The Framingham Offspring study turned a similar link into years. At age 65, the gap in life expectancy between the highest and lowest fifth of the Omega-3 Index was about 4.7 years. The authors themselves compared that model estimate with the gap between non-smokers and smokers.^[7] Both results are observational, so they describe groups of people, not what a capsule will add to your life.

Picking a supplement:

• Look for 1,000 to 2,000 mg of combined EPA and DHA a day.
• Choose products tested for purity (heavy metals, oxidation).
• The triglyceride form may absorb better than the ethyl ester form.
• Algae-based oils work for vegetarians and vegans.

Atrial fibrillation at higher doses. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular, often fast heartbeat, and it is the main safety signal for omega-3 pills. In the REDUCE-IT trial, more people on 4 g a day of a purified EPA drug were hospitalised for atrial fibrillation or flutter.^[4] The STRENGTH trial confirmed the signal, with more new atrial fibrillation on 4 g a day of a drug that combines EPA and DHA.^[5] Across seven large trials, the increase in atrial fibrillation risk was greater above 1 g a day. A smaller increase was also present at 1 g or less,^[28] although the absolute risk is small.

Small is not zero, though, if your heart is already the problem. If you have heart disease, atrial fibrillation, other rhythm problems or high blood pressure, talk to your doctor before taking any omega-3 supplement. The same goes if you have had a cardioversion (a procedure to reset the heart rhythm). In every case, the lowest dose that brings your Omega-3 Index up is the one to use.

Testing. The Omega-3 Index measures EPA and DHA as a share of red blood cell membranes, so it shows your long-term intake.^[16] In the work that introduced the test, an index of 8% or more went with the lowest risk of dying from heart disease and 4% or less with the highest.^[16] The 8 to 12% range that the test's developers promote is therefore linked to lower heart risk in observational data. It is not an official target of the American Heart Association or the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Among the other popular longevity supplements, creatine and magnesium have the firmest footing, CoQ10 has a clear niche, and resveratrol, the senolytics and taurine are early candidates that rest mostly on lab and mouse data. That puts them on a sliding scale from "backed by EU-authorised claims" down to "interesting mouse data, little in humans", and they appear below in that order.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the best-studied ways to hold onto muscle and strength, which matters more as you age. The EU authorises two creatine claims at 3 g a day.^[43][44] The first says creatine "increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise".^[43] The second, for adults over 55 who do regular resistance training, says "daily creatine consumption can enhance the effect of resistance training on muscle strength".^[44] Research on brain effects under sleep loss or heavy mental load is a growing field but not authorised, so treat it as a promising research finding for now. Creatine has a long safety record at 3 to 5 g a day in healthy adults.

Magnesium

Magnesium intake is often low,^[17] and your body uses the mineral in more than 300 enzyme reactions,^[38] which makes correcting a low intake its clearest use. Its popular use for sleep is not established, though. Trials of magnesium for sleep are inconsistent and of low to very low certainty. A 2026 review found they do not support it as a routine insomnia treatment.^[37] Forms like glycinate are often marketed as better absorbed than the cheap oxide form, and the magnesium forms compared guide sorts out which form suits whom. Whatever the form, the typical dose is up to 250 mg elemental magnesium a day, taken in two portions.^[39] Kidney disease raises the risk of too much magnesium in the blood, so check with your doctor first.^[38]

CoQ10

CoQ10 is a compound your mitochondria (the energy factories in your cells) need, and its levels drop with age. Its best-tested use is muscle pain on statins (the common cholesterol drugs). For that pain, a pooled analysis of seven small trials found a modest overall drop, but only four of the seven showed it on their own.^[49] If you consider CoQ10 for that, the product matters more than the form on the label. It is sold as ubiquinone or ubiquinol. In a study comparing seven products, though, the carrier oil and how well the CoQ10 was dissolved mattered more for absorption than the form.^[14] Typical dose: 100 to 200 mg a day with a meal that contains fat. The CoQ10: ubiquinol vs ubiquinone guide covers forms, funding and DACH products, and the mitochondria guide the wider context.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol, found in red grapes, became famous as a possible switch for sirtuins, proteins linked to aging. Part of that early result turned out to be a quirk of the lab test.^[1] A later study then found that resveratrol can activate one of the sirtuins directly with certain natural partner molecules.^[45] So the mechanism is still debated, and in people the trials are mostly small and have shown little so far, with no proof of a human longevity benefit. Absorption adds a practical limit. Most of what you swallow is absorbed, but your gut and liver convert it so fast that very little unchanged resveratrol reaches the blood.^[46]

If you want to try it as an experiment, pick trans-resveratrol, the form the EU has authorised in capsules or tablets for adults, up to 150 mg a day.^[41] Its label must say that people on medication should take it only under medical supervision.^[41] Many shop products list higher doses, so treat 150 mg as the ceiling the EU has assessed.

Fisetin and quercetin (senolytics)

Fisetin and quercetin are plant compounds studied as senolytics, substances meant to clear senescent "zombie" cells, old cells that refuse to die and drive inflammation. Fisetin lengthened life in mice in one study.^[2] The more rigorous Interventions Testing Program of the US National Institute on Aging, however, found no lifespan benefit in mice,^[25] and small human trials are still running. Quercetin's senolytic evidence comes almost entirely from its combination with dasatinib, a prescription cancer drug.^[3] The research is early, and the dosing schedules run a few days a month rather than daily. Self-experimenting with dasatinib is not advisable.

Taurine

Taurine drew a lot of attention as a possible longevity supplement. A 2023 study found that taurine supplements extended lifespan in mice by about 10 to 12% and improved health markers in monkeys.^[24] In humans, the same paper only showed that lower taurine went along with age-related disease.^[24] Two 2025 studies then pushed back on that human link. One found that blood taurine stays stable or even rises with age,^[12] and the other found no link with age, muscle strength or muscle mass in men aged 20 to 93.^[13] Falling taurine therefore looks unlikely to drive human aging. Doses of 1 to 3 g a day are generally considered safe in healthy adults. Still, no long human trial has shown a benefit on hard outcomes such as disease or death, so taurine stays plausible but unproven.

Knowing what to skip makes a good stack easier to build. Some supplements marketed for longevity give little for their price, and a few can cause harm at the doses sold in shops and online. The clearest warnings come from large trials of antioxidants, which were meant to prevent disease and in some groups did the opposite.

Red flags:

• Mega-doses of antioxidants: high-dose vitamin E, beta-carotene and vitamin A have shown harm in clinical trials,^[26][47][48] so more is not better.
• Proprietary blends: a label that hides ingredients behind a "proprietary blend" hides the doses too.
• Unproven "anti-aging" compounds: new molecules with no human safety data.
• Miraculous claims: no supplement has been shown to make people live longer, so a label that promises it oversells.
• Cheap, untested products: unknown brands, no independent testing, suspiciously low prices.

Supplements with concerning evidence:

• High-dose vitamin E (400 IU a day or more): linked to higher death rates in a pooled analysis.^[26]
• Beta-carotene supplements: two large trials in smokers (and asbestos workers) found more lung cancer and more deaths.^[47][48]
• Iron: only if a test shows you are low (see the blood-test section).
• Calcium supplements: some studies hint at a link to heart and blood vessel risk, so get calcium from food first.^[27]

Who should not self-start

Even the Tier 1 basics are not for everyone to start alone. These groups should talk to their doctor first:

• Kidney disease: magnesium only with your doctor.^[38]
• Vitamin K antagonists (phenprocoumon/Marcumar, warfarin): K2 only with your doctor and INR checks.^[51]
• Atrial fibrillation, other rhythm problems or heart disease: omega-3 only after talking to your doctor.^[28]
• Taking medication: resveratrol only under medical supervision, as the EU label requires.^[41]
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: no NMN,^[15] and NR at most 230 mg a day.^[40]
• Active or recently treated cancer: NMN and NR only with your oncologist.^[10][11]

Beyond these groups, a good stack is short, tested and reviewed, and short is also safest. Test before you supplement, start with smaller doses inside the official limits, pick products with independent testing, and reassess every so often, because your needs shift over time. If you take prescription medication, have a pharmacist check the products and doses you plan against your medication list before you buy.