Supplements I am Taking Now

Mimicking the Baylor GlyNAC Study

Glycine powder 5 grams (1 teaspoon) twice daily

NAC powder 5 grams (1 teaspoon) twice daily

Acceptable manufacturers:  Bulk Supply and Nutricost.

   WHY: This combination is intended to mimic the GlyNAC supplementation program discussed in the earlier blog entries.  It restores glutathione levels to those of young adults.  Staying on this protocol will allow you to benefit from an extensive ongoing aging research program at Baylor and other institutions.  If it doesn't work or there is a problem we will hear about it.

    WHO BENEFITS:  In my experience, anyone over fifty, especially if failing physically or mentally from aging or a specific chronic disease, will notice some improvement.  Some younger people with chronic disease, such as chronic migraine, and those with barrier problems such as IBS or chronic sinus or respiratory infections may benefit.  Broadly estimating, try it for one month and if there is partial benefit give it four months to evaluate maximum benefit..  

    ALTERNATIVE REGIMENS:  Some have trouble with the taste of either of the powders.  It is possible that lower doses through capsules would be helpful but the research is limited.  Life Extension is an acceptable manufacturers of capsules.  The problem with capsules is that they are cut with ingredients to improve capsule filling that cause some people problems (silica makes up a large portion of the capsules and you would have to take in the range of 24 600 mg capsules daily to equal the powders).  That said, a smaller dose of perhaps two capsules twice daily seems sufficient and tolerable for some people.  Much of the psychiatric literature on NAC and glycine has reported benefits from much lower doses, or a single agent (NAC or glycine alone).  

Additional supplements for aging hormone replacement

Pregnenolone 50 mg morning or night

Melatonin 1 to 5 mg at night, reduce dose if vivid dreams occur

Acceptable manufacturers:  Life Extension, Source Naturals

Alternative regimens:  I use Source Naturals Pregnenolone 25 mg lozenges and Source Naturals 2.5 mg sublingual peppermint, and chew two pregnenolone and one to two melatonin and hold in mouth for absorption.    https://www.chronobiology.com/melatonin-and-periodontal-disease-a-promising-treatment/#:~:text=Researchers believe that melatonin's effects,of the gingiva and periodontium.

Who benefits:  in my experience, only those over 50 or those with a chronic disease will notice benefit.  The very old and frail benefit the most, and often within a few days.

An interesting question is whether these hormonal replacements are needed if you are on the GlyNAC regimen.   Melatonin doesn't do much for sleep, but it does benefit immune competence in aging animal studies and in some measures in people https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1325257/#:~:text=Melatonin enhances both innate and,cells%2C occurs after melatonin supplementation.

Stress, anxiety, and depression

    Many of the diseases of aging- hypertension, weight gain, insomnia, fatigue, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance- can be considered adaptive physical changes due to chronic stress.  It is clear that these changes precede the onset of degenerative conditions.  

L-Theanine 200 mg twice daily

Those with psychiatric or physical symptoms of stress, which may simply be due to aging.  The concept of learned helplessness as a way to understand depression is helpful:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness

Acceptable manufacturer: Nature's Trove

Here's two interesting papers on L-Theanine:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197018618307101

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006899313001856  

Nutritional supplementation

The need for additional nutritional supplementation in the elderly with an adequate diet is not well studied.  But almost nobody has an adequate diet and absorption is an issue in the elderly.  After awhile a person gets pill fatigue swallowing all these things.

I am reporting on what I take and may comment on the reasons from time to time, with less confidence that it makes a difference when taken in addition to GlyNAC and a good diet in a healthy person.

Centrum Silver one a day multivitamins  

This low-dose daily multivitamin has this study going for it:  https://www.alz.org/news/2022/daily-multivitamin-slows-cognitive-aging-in-three

Zinc 25 with copper 2 mg

Calcium citrate 600 mg twice daily

Vitamin D 5000 units, vitamin K2, Vitamin A (retinol) 10,000 units daily

Aspirin 650 mg (two adult aspirin) every night (only with glycine and vitamin K2)

Magnesium carbonate powder in morning coffee

B Minus b vitamins one every morning

Thorne Methyl Guard one every morning

Disclaimer:  Nothing on Unchronic should be construed as medical advice to you personally. You are not my medical patient, I am not your doctor, and I am not responsible for your healthcare decisions.  The information in UnChronic reflects my own aging choices and my personal opinions.   You are responsible for choosing to take these supplements which are available OTC as unregulated supplements, in consultation with your responsible healthcare provider. I do not sell supplements or profit from these recommendations in any way.