Longevity research for healthier and longer lifespans
Welcome! I am a Norwegian PhD student at the University of Cambridge working on the biology of aging and cellular rejuvenation. I have dedicated my career to extending our healthy lifespans and plan to start a company focused on developing therapeutics that reverse aging in our cells and organs (possibly in Cambridge/London and Norway). Please let me know if you know someone who could be interested in joining or investing (click here for contact details).Following many requests, I have added my current supplement lists and habits below. The choices of supplements are based on many peer-reviewed publications and studies. The purpose of taking supplements is to 1. Hopefully extend our healthy lifespans (no supplement is yet known to extend healthspan or lifespan in humans), 2. Improve cognitive and physical performance, and 3. Help prevent deficiencies, while minimising side effects.Please check the lists at least every 2-3 months, because changes will be made as new studies get published. References and rationale will be added in the future.
Media (newspaper articles and podcasts episodes)
Supplement lists
(last updated 25/1/2025)
| Powder (with link to example product) | Dose (every morning) |
|---|---|
| Cocoa powder. Choose brands with low heavy metal levels (independently tested). | 6 grams |
| Pea protein (minimise sugar). Choose products that have been tested independently for heavy metals. Pea protein tends to have the lowest toxic metal amount, while chocolate-flavoured protein powders had 110x more cadmium than vanilla-flavoured ones. I buy from Purition, but I would also buy from Truvani. | 10-30 grams (morning) + 10-30 grams (lunch), depending on how volume of strength and cardio training. I try to ingest protein corresponding to ~20g high-quality protein every 4 hours (so I have to eat more protein than that because my protein predominantly comes from plant-based food and supplements for longevity reasons and I eat within a 8-hour eating window). See more information about why protein should be limited in the Daily Routines section. I aim usually consuming around 0.8-1g/kg protein of my lean mass (minus fat), predominantly from nuts and plants, and a some from chicken and eggs. |
| 100% bovine collagen | 10 grams |
| Creatine | 5 grams |
| Calcium alpha ketoglutarate | 0.9 grams |
| Taurine | 2 grams |
| Turmeric | 0.5 grams |
| Green tea (leaves) | 0.5-2 grams twice per day. I do not drink it after 12 pm to prevent bad effects on sleep, but 1-2 pm might be fine for you). Find a brand that has tested the tea heavy metals, for example on Labdoor.com. Preferably drink tea leaves or put tablets with tea inside in your drink, because tea bags can contain high levels of heavy metals and billions of plastic microparticles and nanoparticles. |
| Sometimes: Black coffee (if I am skipping matcha tea or have to perform very well). For example organic instant coffee. Americano/espresso (no milk/cream/sugar etc.) | 1 standard cup or 3 grams (if drinking instant coffee). Max 3 cups per day, not after 12 pm to not reduce sleep quality |
| 1-3 cups: Decaffeinated coffee (example) or decaf tea (example) | 1-3 grams (when instant coffee). Rationale: For electrolytes and health benefits besides caffeine |
| Name (tablet, * indicates highest priority) | Dose per day |
|---|---|
| Vitamin D3*+K2 | 4000 IU + 100 µg (up to 10000 IU vitamin D appears to be safe). K2 promotes the uptake of calcium in bones, thereby reducing calcification in blood vessels |
| Vitamin C* | 1000 mg |
| Omega 3* from microalgae (to minimise heavy metals) | 300mg EPA & 500mg DHA (1 tablet). Alternatively 800 mg (1 tablet) cod liver oil |
| B12* | 1000 µg, All days except Sunday and Wednesday |
| B Complex | 1/2 pill Sunday and 1/2 pill Wednesday |
| Iodine (Alternatively: Liquid Iodine Potassium Drops) | 150 µg |
| Zinc | 15 mg (1 pill every other day) |
| Ginger root | 500 mg |
| Dark low-sugar chocolate. I recommend buying chocolate and cocoa powders from Mast, Taza, Ghirardelli, or Valrhona, which have safer levels of heavy metals. (Many other cocoa powders and chocolates contain high heavy metal levels). | 5-15g |
| Sleep supplements (see this page for more info) | Dose |
|---|---|
| Magnesium Threonate | 200-400mg 2-3 hours before sleep |
| Apigenin | 50mg |
| L-Theanine | 200-400mg |
| Glycine | 2 grams (every 3rd or 4th night) |
| GABA | 100 mg (every 3rd or 4th night) |
Some tips when taking supplements
You can save much time by preparing all the supplements in pill boxes for a week in one go. I use these boxes when travelling. Measuring the powders with a scale takes less than five minutes per morning (I also add some spices to improve the taste). In the morning, I take the supplements with fat-rich food for better absorption (such as yoghurt or olive oil). The supplements can be expensive, but lower doses than what I take can still be effective, You could also consider take them less frequently (except Vitamin D, C, B12 and cod liver oil).
| If you want to experiment with less studied supplements | Dose (every 1-5 days) |
|---|---|
| Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) | 100 mg |
| Inositol | 500 mg |
| Alpha-Lipoic Acid | 200 mg |
| Selenium | 200 µg |
| Spermidine | 6.5 mg |
May be added in the future (waiting for studies to inform risk/reward):
NMN or NR, rapamycin, metformin, statins, nattokinase, astaxanthin, UrolithinA (relatively well tested but expensive), fisetin, albumin, quercetin, butyrate, inulin, ergothioneine, ace inhibitor, plasmalogens, and probiotics
To be excited for: Treatment strategies that are currently or soon in human clinical longevity intervention trials
Infusion of plasma or plasma-derived factors from young donors (in human clinical trials).
mTOR inhibitors (in human clinical trials).
Partial epigenetic reprogramming in cells (soon in human clinical trials).
Some guidelines when choosing supplements
Read publications (for example on PubMed or Google Scholar) or trusted webpages (not where supplements are sold) describing doses, effects, and side effects observed, preferably in human clinical trials.
Look for supplements that have been tested for purity, heavy metals, or other harmful compounds. Cosumerlab.com and Labdoor.com can be a good start. Not all products contain as much of the compounds as they advertise.
Take regular blood tests (preferably at least every 3-6 months) to make sure your levels are not too low or too high.
Try to take supplements alongside food, especially fat-rich alternatives (olive oil or yoghurt for example). It helps with absorption of some supplements.
Incorporate one supplement at a time and assess whether they give you side effects.
Speak with your medical doctor to make sure that you can take the supplements at certain doses, given your health status and medications.
Do not take supplements instead of living a healthy lifestyle. Although many supplements reduce mortality and disease risk and extend lifespan and healthspan in model organisms, their effects on healthspan and lifespan in humans are yet to be determined with large studies.
No supplement list works for everyone. Read about risks and side effects (be aware that supplements can be harmful, similarly to medications). Decide doses based on studies and your levels. Keep testing blood tests to check if you are taking too much or too litlle of specific supplements.
Improving or optimising health and performance should be fun. Try to enjoy the learning and adaptation processes, without stressing or worrying.
You can find information about research articles and studies that tested supplements in ARDD conference talks on Youtube.
The following habits are more important than supplements to help increase healthspan (The period of life during which we have generally good health without suffering from age-related diseases and disabilities):
Sleep: 7-9 hours of high-quality sleep per day with regular bedtimes. Oura and Whoop have helped me change habits to increase sleep quality.
Exercise: Both strength and endurance. Aim for many hours per week. Intensive (so that you cannot have a normal conversation without stopping to catch your breath) and continuous exercise (without long breaks) reduce your all-cause mortality risk more. Move when you can.
Healthy diet: with plenty of whole plant-based and minimal processed and sugar-rich food and drinks.
Maintain close connections with family and friends. Aim to interact with them weekly.
Minimise stress: Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness, walking, music etc. can help.
Daily routines:
| Habit | Info |
|---|---|
| Exercise | I aim for 1-1.5 hours of continuous exercise every day. Intensity level: I cannot have a conversation without having to catch my breath. Strength training 3-4 times per week in the gym (whole body). Running ~4 days/week (outside, cross-country when I can, and often to and back from work). Interval run once per week (usually 4-5 times (1 min easy, 2 min progressive, 1 min at anaerobic threshold). Stand up and move every hour. Use a standing desk every other hour. Walk/bike when possible. I drink water or eat an apple, citrus fruit, dried mango, or apricot when I run for more than 1 hour. |
| My breakfast (tastes like a dessert, and much better than my former oat and bread breakfasts) | 28g walnuts, 28g almonds, 28g cashew, 28g chia seeds, 28g sunflower seeds, 28g pumpkin seeds, 14g flax seeds (linseeds), 14g macadamia nuts, 30 mL extra virgin olive oil (26g), 150g frozen/fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, with no added sugar), peanut butter (1-2 tablespoons), cocoa powder (6 grams), a lemon, a teaspoon of tahini, and 5-15g dark low-sugar chocolate, and spices, including cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and herbs. I recommend buying chocolate and cocoa powder from Mast, Taza, Ghirardelli, or Valrhona, which have safer levels of heavy metals. Many cocoa powders and chocolates contain high heavy metal levels. Add water to the food and let it sit overnight or for 20 minutes in the fridge. Optional: Coconut yoghurt (no sugar, soy, or dairy), flaxseeds, a bit of whole oats (<100g), fruits such as orange, apple, and kiwi. Consider skipping bananas and raisins due to the high sugar content. Can also mixed in a blender to a 'mousse' and frozen in batches. Due to a lot of exercise, I have to eat more on some days to keep the weight and muscles: Several days a week, I eat 50-75 grams of organic whole oats (plain and uncut) with some berries, cinnamon, and peanut butter, and 100-120 grams of chicken (for around 30 grams of protein). In those cases, I postpone the breakfasts with nuts. Sometimes I also eat shrimps, mackerel, or salmon (usually not more than 100-200 grams) to increase the calorie and protein intake |
| Food eaten most days | >150g beans/chickpeas/lentils (black for example), nuts (>28 g of walnuts, cashew, almonds, macadamia), seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower, linseeds/flaxseeds), 30 mL extra virgin olive oil (26 g), 1 avocado, 3-5 eggs, 1 bell pepper, 2-3 carrots, 1 lemon, >150g of frozen blueberries/raspberries/blackberries/strawberries, 10-20g dark chocolate with minimal sugar, and a selection of vegetables. I mealprep vegetable meals that contain the following per day (feel free to add other ingredients, it should taste delicious to you): Beans (53% of the jar is water, so I include around 200-300 grams for each day) and chickpeas (50-100 grams per day), 45g black lentils per day, cauliflower (150g), frozen onion cut pieces, frozen broccoli pieces (250 grams), 1 lemon, 1 lime, green beans (frozen) or asparagus (300g), spinach, kale, 50 grams of mushrooms shiitake (for example shiitake or maitake), lots of spices. Optional: sweet potato (up to 300 grams), beets (up to 500 grams). How to cook: I rinse the beans and chickpeas thoroughly with water in a sieve, and then start boiling them in a big saucepan (more than 10 minutes total), while I add all the other ingredients except the black lentils. I make sure to boil the vegetables for over 20 minutes (recommended for mushrooms for example), and I add the boiling water to the glass food boxes too (contains lots of nutrients). How to cook the black lentils: I boil water in a saucepan, add the lentils, reduce to low heat, and cook without a lid for around 20 minutes, before rinsing them under cold water. Outside of celebrations and social events, I aim to consume no dairy products or red meat, and to not eat more than 120-200 grams of white meat (usually chicken, shrimps, mackerel, or salmon) per day. |
| Protein intake | Firstly, a range of studies in humans and model organisms suggest that ingesting too much protein increases disease and mortality risks, and shortens lifespan, so you should take care to not eat too much protein, especially from animal source food and protein powder. Here are some resources that can motivate and guide how much protein you should consume: 1, 2, and 3. With the health risks of animal-based protein and letting protein be a large proportion of the calorie intake in mind, there are lots of good advice on building muscle strength and mass while promoting longevity in the following videos and the references mentioned in them: The Science of Protein and Its Role in Longevity, Cancer, Aging, and Building Muscle & Dr. Luc van Loon: Optimizing Protein Intake & Distribution for Muscle Growth. Some takeaways: You can gain muscle when ingesting 0.8g protein per kilogram of fat-free mass, and the gain might increase at 1.2. 1.4 or 1.6g/kg may help increase muscle mass and strength for more people, but more protein than that is not necessary (most people ingest protein amounts in this range anyway). There is a self-fulfilling prophecy: the more protein you eat, the more protein you will need, so the body will adapt to your protein intake. 20g of high-quality protein in a meal maximises muscle protein synthesis for 4-6 hours in young people, so 20-25g in three meals per day was recommended (extra meals can be added by athletes) to optimise muscle conditioning (for example increased protein in muscle filaments if doing strength training or to mitochondria if doing endurance training), not only muscle building. In older people, the response to protein ingestion gets worse, but exercise prior to protein ingestion can almost reset it. A human trial found that muscle protein synthesis was not lowered in people who restrict eating to an eight-hour window (like myself). Moderate protein intake in a meal can stimulate 24 hours of muscle protein synthesis. |
| Other recommended food (references to come) | Fish (I eat 2 filets salmon/cod/mackerel 1-2 days/week), seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower etc.), lemons, lime, coconut milk yoghurt (without sugar), mango, mushrooms, tangerines, grapefruit, chili, garlic, beetroot, organic spices (chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, black pepper, herbs etc.). If you want to eat fruits, I would recommend apple, kiwi, and citrus fruits (due to the beneficial effects reported in studies and the relatively lower sugar contents). You can get inspiration by reading How Not to Die or searching for the following diets: Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB), DASH diet, MIND diet. Fry with coconut oil or olive oil. |
| Eating/drinking window | Less than 8 hours (except when there are celebrations or social events). Aim for more frequent, smaller meals rather than big ones. An eating window smaller than 8 hours is recommended (intermittent fasting). I currently try to eat between 8 am-4 pm when I do not have social events, but the window can be shifted (I did 12-8 pm before) Note: Children, very old people, and people who have certain chronic diseases or are pregnant should not do intermittent fasting. Consider buying a continuous glucose monitor to test which eating times and order of food eaten within a meal are better to reduce blood sugar spikes (eating protein and fats before carbohydrates for example). Consider not eating many small meals, because eating more than three meals per day increased risk of stomach cancer. I drink very little after 3 pm, mainly because I do not want to disrupt my sleep by having to wake up to go to the bathroom. |
| Food/drinks that I limit | Ultra-processed food, sugar-rich food and drinks, red meat, fried food, carb-rich food (rice, noodles, pasta, potatoes, bread, oats etc.), raw meat, internal organs, salt, canned food (there is BPA in many metal containers), tuna (relatively high accumulation of heavy metals), alcohol, and dairy products. If you need a good reason to eat less processed red meat: People who ate only ≥22.5 - 25g processed red meat (measured raw) per day had a worse cognition and a 13% higher risk of dementia than people eating 9-10g per day.. Remember to not be fanatic about what you cannot it. It is healthy to sometimes ignore what is healthy, especially when socialising or celebrating. |
| Wearables/monitors | Oura ring, Whoop watch, Garmin watch, Whoop Blue Light Glasses (I try to wear them 2 hours before switch of the light to sleep). I measure my weight every mornings with Withings Body Cardio scale, and a few mornings per week I measure my blood pressure with Withings BPM Connect (I can then see the trends in my health apps). |
| Sleep | Aim to go to sleep at the same time +/- 10 minutes every night. Calm down 1 hour before bedtime: meditate/yoga/breathing exercises, read a book, no phone/laptop, listen to calm music, and try to ignore thoughts about work and tomorrow. Switch off lights except red light bulbs. Keep the temperature in the bedroom around 18.3 °C and you could try a weighted blanket. Mark Huberman made a great sleep toolkit and Matthew Walker had an inspiring talk about improving sleep. I try to drink as little as I can (any drink) several hours before sleep to avoid waking up in the night. |
| After waking up | Drink water, walk outside (5-10 minutes if sunny and 15-20 min if overcast), use a 10,000 lux lamp, meditate, exercise. |
| Books, podcasts, and talks | These books are helpful to learn the basics about aging research and lifestyles that seem to support longevity: Outlive by Peter Attia and Why We Die by Venki Ramakrishnan. Hundreds of talks (Youtube) from leading longevity scientists and companies from the invaluable ARDD conferences. |
| Extra habits to consider | Sauna, cold showers/baths, continuous glucose monitor, heart monitor, Eight Sleep Pod, genetic testing, more extensive tests for body composition (DEXA or MRI) hormones, organ age, cancer (whole-body screens) etc. Measure biological age and the rate of aging using clocks (when they are improved). |
Mealprep of 14 days supply of the daily vegetable meal, which I usually eat sometime between 2-3 pm
More information about my research and plans
I started my PhD after doing a 3-year BSc in Molecular Genetics at King's College London. For the past eight years, I have been following the scientific literature on aging research and lifestyles/interventions that may extend healthy lifespans.The PhD projects aim to identify causes of aging and identify therapeutic targets that may enable us to reverse aging and extend our healthy lifespan. I am currently working on two projects that aim to 1. develop a quantitative epigenetic profiling method and 2. identify novel epigenetic drivers of aging that may be targeted to enhance cellular rejuvenaton.A proposed definition of the aging process is that it is the progressive decline in function at the molecular, cellular, and organ level, leading to an increased risk of diseases and death. Aging is the main risk factor for a range of common, debilitating, and deadly diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (Niccoli & Partridge, 2012). Thus, reversing the aging process (rejuvenation) can help us to broadly prevent and reverse age-related diseases and decline in health (López-Otín et al., 2013). This would increase our healthspan (the period of life during which we have good health and do not suffer from age-related diseases and disabilities). Indeed, eveloping therapeutics that may slow or reverse aging is clearly the most promising approach to extend healthy lifespan and reduce the risk of most chronic diseases.To contribute as much as possible to human longevity, I plan to start a company within the next 2-3 years to develop rejuvenation therapeutics.I am particularly interested in the development of strategies that can clear away large amounts of age-related damage. Examples include: epigenome editing, organ replacement, partial epigenetic reprogramming using Yamanaka factors, and removing harmful factors, such as metabolites and damaged organelles, that accumulate in cells. I heavily doubt that drugs or supplements will have satisfactory effects. We need more broad and robust therapeutics such as mRNA vaccines.My main motivation is to extend the period during which people can do what they love without suffering from diseases and disabilities of aging. Additionally, aging research has great potential to mitigate the substantial healthcare costs and other major challenges associated with the increasing proportion of older individuals in our societies. Personally, I would spend my extra healthy years travelling, trying loads of new activites, meet many new people, and contributing to solving other global challenges.There is a big need for more people to contribute to the field of aging and rejuvenation, so I am more than happy to guide you. You do not need a science background to contribute.I am a Trinity College student and my PhD supervisor is Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian at the University of Cambridge. He invented the widely used Solexa-Illumina Next Generation DNA Sequencing Technology. Previously, I worked in the Sinclair Lab (Harvard Medical School), Evandro Fang Lab (University of Oslo), and the Oakey Lab (King's College London).See my LinkedIn profile for more information about the aims of my research and motivation of my work: LinkedInGood publications to start learning about aging and age-reversal research: An invaluable perspective on aging (2016) and a broad overview of aging research (2023), Rejuvenation: A 2022 review and a 2024 review.Here is an Overview (from 2024) of companies that work on aging.
My PhD projects are funded by:
Contact details
Would you like guidance on how to join or contribute to the longevity field? Do you have suggestions for this webpage? Do you, or do you know someone, who would like to join or invest in a rejuvenation startup (possibly in Cambridge/London and Norway)?
Work email: [email protected]
Private email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Bjorn Fraser Olaisen
The supplement lists are based on publications and educated guesses by many people. Thank you to those who guided this work.Disclaimers:
I do not receive financial compensation for any of the content on this webpage, and I do not earn a commission on sales made through any links.Medical Disclaimer:
This webpage is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this webpage or materials linked from it is at the user’s own risk. The content of the webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.