The pursuit of healthier aging and longer lifespans is increasingly shaping consumer choices, with individuals seeking ways to maintain wellbeing throughout life.
This shift reflects a growing demand for products and lifestyle approaches that promote long-term health rather than simply addressing age-related conditions after they arise.
While aging has traditionally been associated with interventions for older adults, there is now greater recognition that the process of aging, and the steps to support it, begins much earlier. Driving this trend is the desire to both feel and look younger at every stage of life.
As a result, consumers of all ages are embracing preventative health strategies to enhance their quality of life, with younger generations showing a particular interest in products that support physical and cognitive longevity. For many, the goal for long-term health is not to simply extend their lifespan but to increase their ‘health span’ – the period when a person’s life is lived in good health.
The increasing awareness of aging as a lifelong process is driving demand for solutions that help individuals stay healthier for longer, fostering a market for products designed to support sustained vitality.
“Longevity is no longer just about extending life – it’s about optimizing the quality of life at every stage. This has evolved from lifespan to healthspan, and now what I call ‘youthspan’—the pursuit of staying as young as possible for as long as possible," says Shawn Wells, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder at NNB Nutrition.
“Younger generations are biohacking for peak performance and cognitive edge, while older demographics focus on cellular resilience and mobility. The common goal? Outperforming aging itself.”
Harnessing a natural antioxidant
Within NNB Nutrition’s portfolio, MitoPrime®, an advanced and effective form of L-Ergothioneine (EGT), is a key ingredient to improve health span and fight cognitive decline. In recent years, more research has emerged regarding the potential for EGT to reduce oxidative stress, indicating a strong potential for supplementation to combat the signs of aging, reduce inflammation and prevent age-related diseases, among other benefits.¹
Recent research has shown that levels of EGT decline with age and that supplementing with the compound could prove beneficial.² A further study found that the level of the compound in the blood was positively correlated with gait speed, with higher levels being linked to the preservation or improvement in middle-aged adults.³
EGT has also been found to be a natural antioxidant that accumulates in tissues that are susceptible to oxidative damage.⁴ The same study found that EGT holds advantages over other antioxidants, such as glutathione and ascorbic acid, due to its ability to accumulate in certain tissues without toxicity, as well as being easily distributed through the body on consumption.
In terms of cognitive health, in vitro studies have suggested that EGT benefits brain function through both its antioxidative activity and by promoting neurogenesis and neuronal maturation.⁵
“L-Ergothioneine is emerging as the ‘longevity vitamin’, with research showing it protects DNA, mitochondria and, most notably, the brain from oxidative damage,” says Wells.
“Its ability to accumulate in critical tissues makes it essential for both young individuals looking to enhance cognitive function and performance, and older populations aiming to slow age-related decline. This is a molecule with true lifespan-spanning potential.”
Countering age-related muscle loss
As people get older, there is an increased likelihood for age-related decline in muscle mass. This progressive loss of muscle mass can lead to an overall lower quality of life by reducing exercise performance and slowing down the body’s metabolism. This is why NNB developed DL 185®, or L-Leucyl-L-Leucine Monohydrate, which is a dipeptide that aids in muscle protein synthesis.
Leucine is known as a key regulator of muscle protein synthesis, with it activating the mTOR pathway to initiate protein translation and muscle growth. In creating DL 185®, NNB wanted to address one of the challenges in harnessing this compound, which is sourcing enough as a dietary component to promote muscle synthesis and fight the aging process.
For anti-aging, research shows that the demand and importance of leucine increases with age, and the requirements are higher than previously thought.⁶ In the elderly, an increased intake of leucine is associated with greater muscle mass and strength, potentially helping with morphological and functional declines associated with aging.⁷
Dileucine is present in all animal and plant protein sources, however, plant proteins contain far lower levels. By comparison, for a two-gram serving of DL 185®, it would be necessary to consume 159 grams of whey protein concentrate or 219 grams of pea protein.
Research has shown that dileucine is more effective than leucine in stimulating muscle protein synthesis in healthy young males.⁸ A further study found that dileucine also enhanced lower body strength and muscular endurance more effectively than leucine or placebo in young males.⁹ Dileucine increased protein synthesis by 60% compared to leucine, and boost total strength by 145% compared to placebo.
With the ability to help boost muscle development, DL 185® could be beneficial both to younger populations looking to improve exercise performance but also to older individuals looking to mitigate some of the muscle loss associated with aging.
“Muscle isn’t just about strength – it’s metabolic currency. Maintaining lean mass regulates glucose metabolism, supports mitochondrial health, and reduces frailty as we age," says Wells.
“Whether you’re an athlete optimizing performance or an older adult preventing sarcopenia, muscle preservation is at the core of longevity.”
An array of options
MitoPrime® and DL 185® are two products within a wider portfolio at NNB designed to support greater longevity and improved health span. One example is GeniusPure®, which is an alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha-GPC) supplement that has the ability to enhance cognitive function in a single dose. The product is available at concentrations of 70% and 90%, making it the highest potency Alpha-GPC product on the market.
In a recent study, supplementation with Alpha-GPC was shown to significantly increase cognitive performance in a group of young, healthy males – with an 108% increase in focus with one dose reported.¹⁰ The results indicate that the supplement could be suitable for individuals looking for improved focus and cognition. It could also be incorporated into a pre-workout supplementation routine to improve exercise performance.
NNB has also worked on the development of Puremidine™, which delivers spermidine that provides a range of benefits, from promoting cell autophagy to regulating the inflammatory response. Emerging research into spermidine has indicated the potential for it to extend lifespan in yeast and reduce age-related oxidative protein damage in mice, suggesting that the compound could have potential as a universal anti-aging drug.¹¹
Other research has indicated that it could delay neurodegeneration.¹² Spermidine has also been found to be beneficial to gut barrier integrity and gut microbiota function, with research suggesting that weight loss could be achieved through supplementation.¹³
With interest in healthy aging only increasing, supplements whose ingredients are backed by research to slow the aging process and ensure a greater health span will be in higher demand. Partnering with NNB allows supplement manufacturers access to a global team of scientists that can tailor ingredients to individual needs or create specific blends of formula in-house.
“NNB is redefining what’s possible in longevity science, delivering cutting-edge, highly bioavailable compounds backed by rigorous research,” says Wells.
“From MitoPrime’s unmatched cellular and mitochondrial protection to DL 185’s breakthrough in muscle protein synthesis, we don’t just follow the science – we advance it, creating ingredients that translate directly into real-world vitality and performance.”
References
- Tan, BL.; et al. Antioxidant and Oxidative Stress: A Mutual Interplay in Age-Related Diseases. Front Pharmacol. 2018 Oct 16;9:1162.
- Paul, B.D. Ergothioneine: A Stress Vitamin with Antiaging, Vascular, and Neuroprotective Roles? Antioxid Redox Signal. 2022 Jun;36(16-18):1306-1317.
- Nierenberg, J.L.; et al. Serum metabolites associate with physical performance among middle-aged adults: Evidence from the Bogalusa Heart Study. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Jun 1;12(12):11914-11941.
- Fu, T.T.; et al. Ergothioneine as a Natural Antioxidant Against Oxidative Stress-Related Diseases. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Mar 18;13:850813.
- Ishimoto. T.; et al. Ergothioneine in the brain. FEBS Lett. 2022 May;596(10):1290-1298.
- Paulussen, K.J.M.; et al. Dileucine ingestion is more effective than leucine in stimulating muscle protein turnover in young males: a double blind randomized controlled trial. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2021 Sep 1;131(3):1111-1122.
- Szwiega, S.; et al. Dietary leucine requirement of older men and women is higher than current recommendations. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021; 113:(2). Pages 410-419, ISSN 0002-9165.
- Lixandrão, M.E.; et al. Daily Leucine Intake Is Positively Associated with Lower Limb Skeletal Muscle Mass and Strength in the Elderly. Nutrients. 2021 Oct 9;13(10):3536.
- Hagele, A.M.; et al. Dileucine ingestion, but not leucine, increases lower body strength and performance following resistance training: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. PLoS One. 2024 Dec 31;19(12):e0312997.
- Kerksick, C.M. Acute Alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine Supplementation Enhances Cognitive Performance in Healthy Men. Nutrients. 2024 Dec 9;16(23):4240.
- Madeo, F.; et al. Spermidine: a novel autophagy inducer and longevity elixir. Autophagy. 2010 Jan;6(1):160-2.
- Madeo, F.; et al. Spermidine delays aging in humans. Aging (Albany NY). 2018 Aug 6;10(8):2209-2211.
- Ma, L.; et al. Spermidine improves gut barrier integrity and gut microbiota function in diet-induced obese mice. Gut Microbes. 2020 Nov 9;12(1):1-19.
