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
MedicationsMeloxicam
Well established. In 12-week placebo-controlled trials it improved arthritis symptoms at 7.5 and 15 mg.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
MedicationsMetformin
In UKPDS 34, overweight people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who were allocated metformin had fewer diabetes-related endpoints and lower all-cause mortality than those on diet alone.
2026-09-29 · 17 min read
MedicationsMethylphenidate
Cochrane reviews find it may reduce ADHD symptoms in children and modestly reduces self-rated symptoms in adults, but rate the certainty of evidence very low, with mostly short, often industry-sponsored trials.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
SupplementsMethylsulfonylmethane
Limited evidence. The evidence is limited.
2026-09-29 · 17 min read
MedicationsMetoprolol
Well established. The strength of the evidence depends heavily on why it is prescribed.
2026-09-29 · 17 min read
ResearchWhat happens to the gut microbiome during and after a course of antibiotics?
A disrupted community is measured, not felt: sequencing shows loss of diversity within 3 to 4 days of starting a drug and a shifted composition afterwards.
2026-09-29 · 7 min read
SupplementsMilk thistle
Milk thistle is the archetypal liver supplement, and the liver evidence is the weakest part of its file.
2026-09-29 · 16 min read
FastingModified alternate-day fasting
Well established. Modified ADF leads to weight loss compared with no diet change.
2026-09-29 · 11 min read
SupplementsMolybdenum
Molybdenum is needed for a small set of enzymes, and dietary deficiency has never been seen in healthy people; the only acquired deficiency on record was a patient fed intravenously without it.
2026-09-29 · 7 min read
MedicationsMontelukast
Well established. It blocks the CysLT1 receptor, where leukotrienes act to narrow and inflame the airways.
2026-09-29 · 10 min read
SupplementsN-acetylcysteine
Limited evidence. The best-graded evidence is narrow.
2026-09-29 · 14 min read
SupplementsNattokinase
The evidence is limited and mostly about surrogate markers, not about heart attacks or strokes.
2026-09-29 · 13 min read
SupplementsNiacin
Not supported by the research. The strongest evidence is against the main claim made for high-dose nicotinic acid.
2026-09-29 · 11 min read
SupplementsNAD+ precursors: nicotinamide mononucleotide
Short human trials show these compounds are well tolerated but have not shown consistent clinical benefit.
2026-09-29 · 13 min read
SupplementsNoni
Limited evidence. Noni is marketed as an antioxidant, immune-supporting and anticancer supplement.
2026-09-29 · 12 min read
SupplementsOat and barley beta-glucan
Well established. Beta-glucan lowers LDL cholesterol.
2026-09-29 · 9 min read
SupplementsOlive leaf extract
Limited evidence. The evidence is real but thin and low-certainty.
2026-09-29 · 15 min read
MedicationsOlmesartan
For lowering blood pressure the class evidence is solid and olmesartan is not distinguishable from other ARBs.
2026-09-29 · 19 min read
FastingOne meal a day
The evidence is thin: three small crossover trials in healthy normal-weight adults (two reports from one trial, lasting 8 weeks per period, and one 11-day trial) and one observational cohort.
2026-09-29 · 9 min read
SupplementsOmega-3 fatty acids
This is the ingredient where the marketing and the trial evidence part company most sharply.
2026-09-29 · 22 min read
MedicationsOmeprazole
The trial evidence that PPIs relieve heartburn and help heal and prevent ulcers (with antibiotics when H. pylori is present) is solid, though Cochrane rates much of the ulcer evidence low quality.
2026-09-29 · 15 min read
MedicationsOndansetron
Well established. Ondansetron blocks the serotonin signal that vomiting is triggered by.
2026-09-29 · 18 min read
MedicationsOxycodone
It relieves pain by acting on opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, with no ceiling to the dose-response for analgesia.
2026-09-29 · 26 min read
SupplementsPanax notoginseng
The clinical evidence is large in volume but weak in quality, and almost all of it comes from China.
2026-09-29 · 16 min read