Dr. Brad Stanfield’s Longevity Protocol — Evidence-Based (2025-2026)

Why Longevity takes it: Muscle, strength and possibly cognition/healthspan preservation. — YouTube / drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: For muscle mass and strength with resistance training the evidence is A-grade (multiple meta-analyses, incl. older adults). Cognitive benefits are inconsistent and no trial shows creatine extends lifespan, so the healthspan claim is an extrapolation. Excellent safety.

Why Longevity takes it: Cardiovascular protection and anti-inflammatory support. — YouTube / drstanfield.com

What the evidence says: VITAL found no reduction in its primary CV or cancer endpoints, though MI fell in secondary analyses. Benefit is clearest in high-triglyceride/secondary-prevention settings, not healthy low-risk adults at ~1 g/day. Defensible and low-harm but not a proven longevity intervention.

Why Longevity takes it: Correct insufficiency; possible cancer-mortality and immune benefit. — drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: VITAL showed no reduction in all-cause mortality, CVD, cancer incidence or fractures in replete adults. However a 52-trial meta-analysis found a 16% reduction in cancer mortality. Most compelling for people actually deficient; the modest 1000 IU dose is sensible and safe.

Why Longevity takes it: Cardiovascular mortality reduction seen in COSMOS. — drstanfield.com cocoa-flavanols article

What the evidence says: COSMOS did NOT meet its primary composite CV endpoint; the ~27% cardiovascular-death reduction is a secondary/subgroup finding vulnerable to bias, and COSMOS-Mind showed no cognitive benefit. Promising and low-risk, but the headline rests on a secondary endpoint.

Why Longevity takes it: Macular/eye protection and retinal aging. — drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: AREDS2 supports lutein/zeaxanthin for slowing progression of intermediate-to-advanced AMD and as a safer replacement for beta-carotene. That benefit is specific to AMD, not general longevity, with no mortality endpoint.

Why Longevity takes it: Antioxidant; cardiovascular and prostate support. — drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: Evidence is entirely observational: meta-analyses associate higher lycopene/tomato intake with lower stroke and CVD risk, but an umbrella review graded this low/very-low quality and supplement RCTs are lacking. Confounding by diet is likely.

Why Longevity takes it: Skin elasticity/hydration; he is explicit it is NOT a muscle-building protein. — YouTube / drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: A meta-analysis of 14 RCTs found hydrolyzed collagen modestly improves skin hydration and elasticity over ~12 weeks, but most trials are short and industry-funded. Cosmetic outcome, not longevity. Low-risk; benefits limited to skin.

Why Longevity takes it: Skin moisture/wrinkle reduction and joint support. — YouTube / drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: A small 12-week double-blind RCT (40 people, 120 mg/day) reported reduced wrinkles and improved skin hydration. Trials are small, short and manufacturer-run, and the outcome is cosmetic. No longevity data; safe but weakly evidenced.

Why Longevity takes it: Restore glutathione, lower oxidative stress; glycine also aids sleep. — YouTube / drstanfield.com (Sleep)

What the evidence says: GlyNAC RCTs from a single Baylor group report improved glutathione and function in older adults, but samples are tiny, partly open-label, and lack independent replication or hard outcomes. Glycine alone has small trials for subjective sleep. Interesting but not yet proven for aging.

Why Longevity takes it: Taurine declines with age; restoration extended healthspan in animals. — drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: The 2023 Science paper showed taurine extended lifespan/healthspan in mice and worms and that levels fall with age in humans, but the human data are purely observational. No completed RCT shows taurine improves human aging outcomes. Mechanistic/animal signal only.

Why Longevity takes it: Methylation support; homocysteine lowering; offsets TMG depletion from creatine. — drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: Betaine reliably lowers homocysteine, but homocysteine-lowering has repeatedly failed to reduce cardiovascular events, and a meta-analysis found betaine >=4 g/day moderately RAISES cholesterol (his ~0.5-1 g dose is well below that). No longevity outcome data.

Why Longevity takes it: Lower LDL, improve glycemic control and gut health. — YouTube / drstanfield.com (MicroVitamin+)

What the evidence says: A 2024 systematic review/meta-analysis confirms psyllium significantly reduces total and LDL cholesterol, consistent with a large RCT base and FDA-recognized cholesterol claim. Benefit is on cardiometabolic surrogates, but the LDL-to-risk link is strong. One of the better-supported, cheapest items.

Why Longevity takes it: Sleep onset support at a physiologic (not megadose) level. — drstanfield.com (Sleep)

What the evidence says: An umbrella review found melatonin reduces sleep-onset latency on subjective and objective measures, though effect sizes are small and study quality low. No evidence it extends lifespan; any longevity benefit is indirect via sleep. The 300 mcg physiologic dose is sensible.

Why Longevity takes it: Aggressive lifelong LDL lowering to reduce atherosclerotic risk. — YouTube (medications for longevity)

What the evidence says: Statins have the strongest evidence in the entire stack: JUPITER (a rosuvastatin primary-prevention RCT) plus CTT meta-analyses show consistent reduction in major vascular events proportional to LDL lowering. Absolute benefit is large in high-risk/familial cases and small in low-risk young people. Best-evidenced intervention here.

Why Longevity takes it: He argues healthy people should NOT take aspirin; reserved for secondary prevention or specific genetic risk. — drstanfield.com / aspirin video

What the evidence says: High-quality evidence supports his stance AGAINST routine aspirin in healthy adults: ASPREE found low-dose aspirin did not prolong disability-free survival and was associated with INCREASED all-cause mortality plus more major bleeding. A case where strong evidence argues against the intervention for primary prevention.