ON THE HORIZON: The age of anti-aging
April 07, 2019 • 1 min read
Nothing is certain but death and taxes. Though still true today, when it comes to mortality, new treatments may at least delay the inevitable.
A new pill called TruNiage aims to mimic the effects of calorie restriction – a regime likely to inhibit disease and premature aging. But why go hungry when a pill will do the job.
The new drug’s ‘killer’ ingredient is a unique form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide riboside (NR). NR has been shown to boost levels of the catchy-sounding molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).
The benefits of eating less, without eating less
Studies show that people (and mice) who eat less have more NAD, leading scientists to think that NAD may be behind the health benefits of calorie restriction.
From the few trials conducted so far, TruNiagen may offer some benefits without going hungry, or any other costs (other than $50 for one month’s supply), including lowering blood pressure, and reducing fat in the liver among the obese, including the 100 million Americans who suffer from the fatal fatty-liver disease.
In the meantime, US life expectancies continue to fall, while America’s raging appetite for largely unproven and ineffective anti-aging products – a market expected to reach $300-plus billion by 2021– shows no signs of slowing.