sthira,
I really do appreciate your concerns. I haven't been following anti-aging supplements as long as many people, but I've been reading and studying them since my teenage years. On more than one occasion over the past fifteen years I've gotten really excited about a supplement. But as time went on I realized it was way over hyped and didn't have nearly the beneficial effects everyone hoped it would. For example, consider alpha lipoic acid. It is still, in my opinion, one of the superior supplements on the market. But by itself it is not going to do a tremendous amount to reverse the aging process. At best, it could help some disease conditions, slow it down, and improve general health.
My goal though is not simply better health or a slight slowing of the aging process. I'm hoping for highly significant age reversal. Now, let me tell you my view on this. I doubt highly significant age reversal will come from diet or individual supplements. There are just too many people on tons of different diets and no has proven that their aging process has been reversed to any great extent. The same goes true for supplements. Now, there have been people with neurological conditions such as MS and Alzheimers improve their disease conditions dramatically -- but they still appear old and gray even if they are MUCH more functional and able to do for themselves.
So I have two primary hopes:
1) That combinations of synergistic supplements can provide *some* (even if not dramatic) actual age reversal. Sulforaphane seems hopeful, because unlike so many other supplements it is high absorbable in the body (most supplements are not) and it induces MAJOR effects (in vitro) of gene expression at concentrations of single digit umols. So I'm hoping that combining sulforaphane (the cheapest source is natural broccoli sprouts) with other possibly significant supplements (like nicotinamide riboside) might provide some significant anti-aging potential.
2) Because there are factors of the aging process that CANNOT (as far as we know) be reversed with supplementation of natural compounds (such as glucosepane accumulation or mitochondrial DNA deletions), I think to produce POWERFUL anti-aging effects that pharmaceutical drugs will have to be used with the supplements. As of yet, I don't know of any such pharmaceuticals. If we could find a glucosepane breaker that would be a great start. Also, CRISPR could allow for a breakthrough.
My hopes may seem extremely high, but I'm trying to show some level for optimism. Because truthfully, we are all seeking "escape velocity" so we can live long enough for science to reach the point that our aging process can be completely reversed.