Healthspan research · evidence-first
Rapamycin.store: what actually works for longevity, without the hype.
The best hard-outcome result in longevity research so far is a 20% drop in cardiac events over roughly 3 years (per the 2023 SELECT trial of semaglutide), and it was measured in people who already had heart disease. Rapamycin.store reads the primary literature, cites every claim and never sells prescription drugs.
Start here
Each hub is a plain-language, cited guide to one compound or test, with an honest buying view where it applies.
Prescription drugs
Medicines with real side effects and monitoring. We explain the evidence and the prescribing route, never a checkout.
Rapamycin The flagship. What the evidence shows, side effects, dosing debate, cost and access. 
Metformin for longevity The TAME trial, the exercise trade-off, and access. 
GLP-1 drugs and aging Semaglutide and tirzepatide beyond weight loss, and what aging data exists. NAD+ precursors
Compounds that reliably raise a blood marker in short trials, and the purity questions behind the label.
Best NMN supplements NAD+ precursors compared by evidence, purity and dose, not by hype. 
NAD supplements What actually raises NAD+: NR vs NMN vs the rest. Mitophagy and autophagy
Two cellular clean-up pathways, one pivotal trial that missed its endpoints, and a lot of food-source nuance.
Urolithin A & Mitopure Mitophagy, and the 'you may already make it' nuance. 
Spermidine Autophagy, food sources, and the observational-vs-causal gap. Senolytics and polyphenols
The best idea in the field next to its most famous cautionary tale, both judged on human data.
Resveratrol The bioavailability problem most brands skip. 
Senolytics Fisetin and quercetin: clearing senescent cells, honestly assessed. Skin and measuring aging
A supplement with a measurable skin effect, and the clocks people use to check whether anything works.
The whole field, ranked by human evidence
Most roundups in this field rank by search volume and affiliate margin. This one ranks by a harder question: what does the human evidence actually show, and for which claim? That reorders things uncomfortably. The compounds with the deepest trial records are the ones nobody markets as anti-aging, and the ones marketed hardest have the thinnest data.
| Compound | Evidence | Best-supported claim | What the record shows | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine | Strong human evidence | Preserves muscle and strength with age | Decades of randomized human trials | The best-evidenced thing here, and nobody markets it as anti-aging |
| GLP-1 drugs | Strong human evidence | Fewer cardiac events in people with cardiovascular disease | 17,604 randomized, 20% reduction | Best hard-outcome data in the field, in a disease population only |
| Omega-3 | Early / mixed evidence | A small epigenetic clock effect | Missed its primary endpoints in a 25,871-person trial | Cheap, sensible, and not the lifespan drug the lists imply |
| Vitamin D | Early / mixed evidence | Corrects a measured deficiency | No cancer or cardiovascular benefit in VITAL | Test first. Correcting a deficiency is not extending a lifespan |
| NAD precursors | Early / mixed evidence | Raises NAD+ levels | Short trials on surrogate markers | Does what it says to a marker; unproven on anything you would feel |
| NMN | Early / mixed evidence | Raises NAD+ levels | Same as above, plus a three-year FDA dispute | Lawful again since September 2025. Purity is the real risk |
| Urolithin A | Early / mixed evidence | Muscle endurance in older adults | Pivotal trial missed both primary endpoints | Genuine secondary-endpoint signal at the highest price in the category |
| Rapamycin | Early / mixed evidence | Extends lifespan in mice, reliably | Strongest animal record in the field, no human lifespan trial | The most interesting molecule here, and a prescription drug |
| Collagen | Early / mixed evidence | Skin elasticity over 8 to 12 weeks | Randomized skin trials; one affiliated aging study | Buy it for your skin. The glycine in it is the interesting part |
| Metformin | Early / mixed evidence | Proposed to delay age-related disease | TAME has published no efficacy results | The case has weakened, and it blunts exercise adaptation |
| Resveratrol | Limited evidence | Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity | Nine-year mortality study found no association | The cautionary tale this whole field should be read against |
| Spermidine | Limited evidence | Induces autophagy in cells | Supplementation did not raise plasma spermidine | Eat the wheat germ. Watch the trials |
| Senolytics | Limited evidence | Clears senescent cells in mice | Fisetin did not extend lifespan in the NIA ITP | The best idea in the field with the weakest product evidence |
Show the numbers as a table
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Strong human evidence | 2 compounds |
| Early or mixed | 8 compounds |
| Limited | 3 compounds |
How is the evidence graded?
On four rungs, from randomized human outcome data down to animal data only, and every claim on this site is placed on one of them. A ranking is only useful if you know what it measures.
- Randomized human outcome data. A trial that measured something a person experiences, such as strength, a disease event or death.
- Randomized human surrogate data. A trial that measured a marker believed to track with aging, such as NAD+ levels or an epigenetic clock.
- Observational human data. Populations consuming more of something appear to do better, with all the confounding that implies.
- Animal data only. Real, often striking, and historically a poor predictor of what happens in people.
Almost every claim in this aisle rests on rung two or lower. That is not a scandal; it is the honest state of a young field.
Where the real problem sits
The problem is marketing that writes rung-two results in rung-one language. The clearest way to see the gap is our guide to ranking supplements by evidence, and the clearest way to check whether anything you take is doing something is what biological age tests can and cannot tell you.
The results that reordered the field
The ranking is not a matter of taste. A handful of published results moved compounds up or down the ladder, several of them against the story the marketing was telling.
Show the numbers as a table
| When | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rapamycin mouse gain | started late in life |
| 2019 | VITAL comes back null | vitamin D and omega-3 |
| 2022 | FDA excludes NMN | drug-preclusion letter |
| 2023 | SELECT reports | 20% fewer cardiac events |
| 2023 | Fisetin fails in ITP | no mouse lifespan gain |
| 2025 | FDA reverses on NMN | lawful in supplements |
Two patterns run through those dates. The strongest human result came from a drug developed for a disease, not from a product sold for aging. And the most rigorous tests of popular supplements, from the 25,871-person VITAL trial (per its 2019 report) to the fisetin arm of the mouse testing program, mostly returned nulls.
Strong human evidence: creatine and GLP-1 drugs
Two entries reach the top band, and each earns it for one narrow claim. Creatine preserves muscle and strength with age across decades of randomized human trials. GLP-1 drugs cut cardiac events by 20% among 17,604 randomized people with cardiovascular disease (per the 2023 SELECT trial).
Neither result says much about a healthy adult hoping to live longer, which is the question most readers bring to this table.
Early or mixed: where most of the aisle sits
The largest band moves a marker or a secondary endpoint without a proven outcome. NAD precursors raise NAD+ levels in short trials, urolithin A missed both primary endpoints of its pivotal trial, and TAME has published no efficacy results for metformin.
Rapamycin belongs here too: the strongest animal record in the field, and no human lifespan trial. Any longevity use of it is off-label.
Limited: resveratrol, spermidine and senolytics
These rest mainly on cell and animal work. A long-term resveratrol mortality study found no association, supplemental spermidine did not raise plasma spermidine, and fisetin did not extend mouse lifespan in the NIA Interventions Testing Program.
Each still has a plausible mechanism in cells, which is exactly why each keeps being marketed well ahead of its human trials.
How to use the table for your own decision
- Start from the claim, not the compound. Decide what you want to change, such as muscle, a blood marker or skin, and check whether any row has human evidence for that exact claim.
- Check the rung. A marker moving in a short trial is a reason to watch, not a reason to expect a longer or healthier life.
- Price the gap. The most expensive entries often sit in the mixed band, so ask what you are paying for beyond the label.
- Separate supplements from prescriptions. A drug on this list is a clinical decision with monitoring, never a shopping decision.
- Read the page behind the row. Each name links to its full review, where the trials, the populations studied and the limitations are set out with citations.
Why trust this site
Per-claim citations
Every health claim links to primary literature (PubMed / DOI) or a reputable secondary source. No claim floats free.
Honest comparisons
Product roundups tell you who each option is not for, and rank by strength of human evidence, not by commission.
No prescription sales
Rapamycin, metformin and GLP-1 drugs are prescription-only. We explain them and point to legitimate routes, never a grey-market checkout.
We show our uncertainty
Where the human evidence is early or missing, we say so plainly. "Promising in mice" is not "proven in people."
We correct in the open
When a trial reports or a regulator changes position, the affected pages are rewritten rather than patched, and the reviewed date changes with them, so you can see how recent each reading is.
The rules we hold ourselves to are written down in our editorial standards, including how we grade evidence and how we handle corrections. If you want to know who is behind the desk, start with about Rapamycin.store, and if you spot something wrong, tell us.
Latest guides
- What is rapamycin
- Rapamycin side effects
- How rapamycin works (mTOR)
- The hallmarks of aging
- Autophagy and fasting
- NMN vs NAD vs NR
- Bryan Johnson Blueprint
- Blue zones
These are the newest. Every explainer, dosing breakdown and evidence review lives in the full guide archive.
Common questions about longevity supplements and drugs
What actually works for longevity?
Nothing in a bottle beats not smoking, staying metabolically healthy, sleeping properly and doing resistance training. Among supplements, ranked by human evidence rather than popularity, creatine and omega-3 have the deepest randomized data. Nothing sold in this category has been shown to extend human lifespan.
Has any supplement been proven to extend human lifespan?
No. Several reliably move a marker such as NAD+ levels or an epigenetic clock. None has demonstrated longer life in a randomized trial, and the distinction between moving a marker and changing an outcome is the single most useful thing to hold on to in this field.
How do you grade evidence on this site?
Four rungs: randomized human outcome data, randomized human surrogate data, observational human data, and animal data only. Almost every claim in the supplement aisle sits on rung two or lower, and we say which rung each claim occupies.
Do you sell anything?
We do not sell prescription drugs, and we never point to grey-market sources for rapamycin, metformin or GLP-1 medicines. Where we compare consumer supplements we disclose affiliate relationships on the page.
Which compound has the strongest animal evidence?
Rapamycin, by a clear margin. It extends lifespan in mice reliably and dose-responsively, in the field's most rigorous multi-site program. It has no human lifespan trial and it is a prescription drug with real side effects.
Which has the strongest human evidence?
GLP-1 receptor agonists, on hard outcomes, in people who already have cardiovascular disease. That is a genuinely different class of evidence from everything else discussed here, and it does not transfer to a metabolically healthy person.
Why do your verdicts disagree with other sites in this field?
Because we rank by the strength of the human evidence and state the criterion, rather than ranking by search volume or commission. That reorders the field considerably, and it puts the least glamorous compounds at the top.
Where should I start?
If you want the flagship compound, start with the rapamycin evidence review. If you are assembling a routine, start with the evidence-ranked supplement guide. If you want to measure anything, start with what biological age tests can and cannot tell you.
How often is this updated?
Pages carry a visible reviewed date and every claim links to a primary source. When a trial reports or a regulator changes position, the affected pages are rewritten rather than patched.
Is any of this medical advice?
No. Everything here is informational. Rapamycin, metformin and GLP-1 drugs are prescription medicines and any longevity use is off-label, which is a conversation for a licensed clinician who knows your history.
References
11 sources, all link-checked; oldest check
- Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in obesity without diabetes (SELECT). Lincoff AM et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2023;389:2221–2232.Publisher blocks automated checks · last tried Sep 14, 2026
- Vitamin D supplements and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Manson JE et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2019 (VITAL; cited 2,159).25,871 participants, median 5.3 years: vitamin D did not lower the incidence of invasive cancer or cardiovascular events versus placebo.Publisher blocks automated checks · last tried Sep 14, 2026
- FDA letter stating that NMN is excluded from the dietary supplement definition. US Food and Drug Administration, superseding letter dated 4 November 2022 (docket FDA-2022-S-0023).The original drug-preclusion decision: NMN excluded under 21 U.S.C. 321(ff) because it had been authorized for investigation as a new drug.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- Astaxanthin and meclizine extend lifespan in UM-HET3 male mice; fisetin, SG1002, dimethyl fumarate and mycophenolic acid do not. Harrison DE et al. GeroScience 2023 (NIA Interventions Testing Program; cited 64).The most rigorous multi-site mouse lifespan program tested fisetin and found no lifespan extension.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- FDA response to citizen petition on beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). US Food and Drug Administration, letter of 29 September 2025, docket FDA-2023-P-0872.Reversal of the 2022 position: FDA concluded NMN is not drug-precluded and is not excluded from the dietary supplement definition.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- GRADE: an emerging consensus on rating quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. Guyatt GH et al. BMJ 2008;336:924.The framework behind the strong / mixed / limited evidence grades used across this site.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- Why most published research findings are false. Ioannidis JPA. PLoS Medicine 2005;2(8):e124.The base-rate argument for treating any single positive study as provisional.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- PubMed. US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.The index every citation on this site is checked against before publication.Verified Sep 14, 2026
- Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.The neutral consumer reference on how supplements are regulated in the United States.Publisher blocks automated checks · last tried Sep 14, 2026
- Targeting aging with rapamycin and its derivatives in humans: a systematic review. Lee DJW et al. The Lancet Healthy Longevity 2024.Systematic review, cited 189 times.Publisher blocks automated checks · last tried Sep 14, 2026
- Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice. Harrison DE et al. Nature 2009;460:392–395.9–14% mouse lifespan extension started mid-life.Verified Sep 14, 2026
Every link above is re-requested on a schedule by an automated checker; the date shown is when it last answered. Publishers that block automated requests are marked as such rather than reported broken. Our editorial standards explain how a source gets cited here in the first place.
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