From Memios
The Longevity Letter
Practical writing and video on living strong and active into your 90s. No hype, no supplements to sell. Just what the evidence supports and what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday.
579 items
SupplementsActivated charcoal
The evidence for activated charcoal sits almost entirely in acute poisoning medicine, not in consumer wellness.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
MedicationsAlbuterol
Albuterol relaxes airway muscle within minutes and reliably protects against exercise-induced narrowing of the airways when taken as a single dose.
2026-09-29 · 13 min read
SupplementsAlfalfa
Limited evidence. Alfalfa is mainly promoted for cholesterol.
2026-09-29 · 7 min read
FastingAlternate-day fasting
Limited evidence. The evidence for zero-calorie alternate-day fasting is thin: small, short trials.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
SupplementsAmerican ginseng
American ginseng has been tested mainly for blood glucose, cancer-related fatigue and prevention of colds.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
MedicationsAmitriptyline
For depression, a Cochrane review of 39 trials found amitriptyline clearly beat placebo on response, but the trials were old and poorly reported.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
MedicationsAmlodipine
In large outcome trials amlodipine-based treatment lowered blood pressure and cardiovascular events about as well as a thiazide diuretic (ALLHAT) and better than an atenolol-based regimen (ASCOT-BPLA).
2026-09-29 · 17 min read
MedicationsAmoxicillin; Clavulanate
Where placebo-controlled evidence exists, the benefit is real but modest and the harms are quantified.
2026-09-29 · 19 min read
MedicationsAmoxicillin
Well established. Amoxicillin kills susceptible bacteria.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
SupplementsApple cider vinegar
The human evidence is made of small, short trials, several of them unblinded, and it points to modest metabolic changes rather than the weight-loss effect the product is usually sold for.
2026-09-29 · 13 min read
SupplementsArtichoke leaf extract
It is mainly sold for cholesterol and digestion. Two recent meta-analyses of small randomised trials report modest falls in total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
2026-09-29 · 11 min read
SupplementsAshwagandha
Limited evidence. The evidence is limited and of low certainty.
2026-09-29 · 19 min read
SupplementsAsian ginseng
Claims made for Asian ginseng cover vitality, immunity, cognition, physical performance, blood sugar and sexual function. The evidence is mixed and mostly rests on small short trials.
2026-09-29 · 17 min read
MedicationsAspirin
The strongest evidence is in people who have already had a heart attack or stroke, where pooled individual-patient data from randomised trials show a clear absolute reduction in serious vascular events.
2026-09-29 · 22 min read
SupplementsAstaxanthin
Claims run to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, skin, eye and sports-performance effects; the trial evidence is thin and mixed.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
SupplementsAstragalus
Limited evidence. The evidence is limited and mostly low quality.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
MedicationsAtenolol
Disputed. Atenolol slows the heart and lowers blood pressure.
2026-09-29 · 15 min read
MedicationsAtorvastatin
The trial evidence that atorvastatin and other statins cut heart attacks and strokes is strong.
2026-09-29 · 20 min read
MedicationsAzithromycin
For the infections it is approved for, azithromycin works by stopping bacteria making proteins.
2026-09-29 · 19 min read
SupplementsBacopa monnieri
Limited evidence. The honest summary is that the effect, if real, is small and narrow.
2026-09-29 · 16 min read
SupplementsBee Pollen
A 2023 scoping review found that human clinical and translational research on bee pollen is still largely lacking compared with the volume of basic laboratory and animal work.
2026-09-29 · 9 min read
SupplementsBerberine
Limited evidence. The trial literature is real but thin and mostly low quality.
2026-09-29 · 16 min read
SupplementsBifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis
One large trial funded by the strain's maker found BB-12 raised average bowel movement frequency in adults with infrequent stools.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
SupplementsBifidobacterium longum
Limited evidence. The strongest evidence is in preterm infants.
2026-09-29 · 7 min read