Can Metformin Extend Your Lifespan?

DISCLAIMER: First off, we’re not telling you what to do. We’re not doctors and we’re not scientists. We are only presenting information that we have seen that we find of genuine interest, and submitting it for your review and your consideration. Of course we should say, “Consult with your doctor before using this medicine,” so we will say that, but really, we’re not telling you to do anything: we’re just providing some information for your consideration.

There is mounting evidence (though this evidence is not accepted by many medical professionals) that Metformin, long sold and prescribed as a diabetes medicine, adds years to an expected lifespan, even in pre-diabetics and in non-diabetics. Here’s a very informative video of two Canadian MDs discussing the pros-and-cons of Metformin. Though they are very positive on Metformin increasing lifespan with few side-effects in few people, at the end they both state that they would not take it. One would not take it because he does a lot of exercise and says that for people who work-out regularly it is not advised; the other questions the ethics of living longer and thinks that people should instead try to live longer by lifestyle changes. But, overall, we think it is very fair to say that these Medical Doctors are very positive on the longevity benefits of Metformin. The video is very informative.

To get deeper into this information, we offer this article on fortune.com entitled, “One of the cheapest diabetes drugs on the market can also slow aging and extend your life span. Here’s how.” The article begins, “Metformin is the mostly widely prescribed drug in the world to treat type 2 diabetes. It may also be a key to slow aging, mitigate age-related diseases, extend lifespan and increase health span. All in a pill that costs pennies a day, is safe, and has been scientifically shown to impact age-related biological changes.” Again, we’re not saying this: fortune.com is saying this.

From the fortune.com article:

“It’s not exactly clear just how metformin affects aging, but researchers think it acts on several different hallmarks of aging—changes at the cellular, chromosomal and molecular levels which accumulate over time. These transformations are what can lead to onset of conditions like heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, or dementia, often known as “diseases of aging.” 

Many studies show that metformin targets these age-related cell changes. The result: Not only does it help control type 2 diabetes, but over time, people with diabetes taking the drug had lower death rates, better health, and longer lives compared with both diabetic and non-diabetics not taking metformin.”

(To read the full article, click on the image above.)

You may also wish to read, “Will Metformin Become the First Anti-Aging Drug?” in Life Extension Magazine.

From the Life Extension Magazine article:

“Could a common diabetes mellitus pharmaceutical also help protect against aging? Emerging research shows that the diabetes drug metformin, used in type 2 diabetes treatment, has the potential to inhibit aging by activating AMPK-mediated pathways that promote youthful functioning at the cellular level—making it a potential healthy aging drug. Because diabetes is characterized by high blood glucose levels that not only result in insulin resistance but also impact or accelerate aging, this is welcome news for diabetics.

Additionally, studies show this diabetes-treatment drug goes beyond anti-diabetic properties and glucose regulation, and also has been shown to protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. It also offers neuroprotection, and promotes weight loss by regulating AMPK-activated pathways that modulate healthy metabolism.”

(To read the full article, click on the article’s title above.)

Alright, you may not be impressed by Life Extension Magazine, so let’s look at this article from the Harvard Medical School, “Is metformin a wonder drug?” The article claims that, “Preliminary studies suggest that metformin may actually slow aging and increase life expectancy, possibly by improving the body’s responsiveness to insulin, antioxidant effects, and improving blood vessel health.” The article (in health.harvard.edu) says, “The safety profile for metformin is quite good. Side effects include nausea, stomach upset, or diarrhea; these tend to be mild. More serious side effects are rare.” Metformin is “the most widely prescribed medication for people with diabetes who cannot control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone,” according to the Harvard Medical School article, which goes on to say that it also does much more, and that researchers are investigating the potential of metformin to lower the risk of cancer due to cardiovascular disease, to lower risks for dementia and stroke, and to slow aging, prevent age-related disease, and increase lifespan.

The article’s author,  Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing, concludes by saying:

“If you have diabetes and need metformin to help lower your blood sugar, its other potential health benefits are a wonderful — not harmful — side effect. And if you don’t have diabetes? Well, its role in preventing or treating diseases, and possibly even slowing aging and extending life expectancy, is much less clear.

While the research so far is promising, we need more compelling evidence before endorsing its widespread use for people without diabetes. But, for clinical researchers hoping to repurpose an old medicine as a new wonder drug, metformin would seem like a great place to start.”

Finally, we bring to your attention this MedPub article published in the National Library of Medicine, “A Critical Review of the Evidence That Metformin Is a Putative Anti-Aging Drug That Enhances Healthspan and Extends Lifespan.” The article “critically evaluated the literature that has investigated the effects of metformin on aging, healthspan and lifespan in humans as well as other species.” While it concludes “that despite data in support of anti-aging benefits, the evidence that metformin increases lifespan remains controversial,” it immediately adds that, “However, via its ability to reduce early mortality associated with various diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and cancer, metformin can improve healthspan thereby extending the period of life spent in good health.” So despite the obligatory note that the use of Metformin for increasing lifespan “remains controversial,” it appears to endorse the concept that Metformin can extend “the period of life spent in good health.”

Your longevity is, we think, governed by many factors: your genetics, your health, your weight, what you eat, your tensions and troubles vs. joie de vivre (joy of life), hard physical work (including hard physical exercise) vs. a more placid and leisurely life, sheer good luck (staying out of accidents and not catching horrible diseases). There are at least some of these factors over which you may have some control, and perhaps you can improve your chances to have a lengthened lifespan. People have always been searching for the “fountain of youth.” We’ve never found it. But can Metformin, while not restoring youth, provide you with several more years at the end, more years spent in good health and with a clear mind? It may well be worth your consideration. Start with the articles we’ve reviewed above, and then go on to continue your research. You may even wish to ask your doctor, but bear in mind that most doctors will not provide any advice that is not authoritatively approved and generally accepted, and certainly the use of Metformin for lifespan enhancement is not generally approved nor accepted. Sometimes you may wish to be on the “cutting edge” of medicine and science, but that takes some risk. Sticking with the tried and true also takes risk. In the end, it’s up to you. Do what you think best.

One final thought: You must understand that you can never know if any longevity pill really works, because no matter how long you live, you will never know if you could have lived just as long (or longer) without the pill, and in any case, whether you live shorter / just as long / or longer with the pill, you’ll be dead before you can analyze the data. If you live to be 90, you’ll not know if the pill did it, or is was just your good genes.