Metformin for Longevity? How the $5 Blood Sugar Drug May Help You Live Longer and Healthier
Plus discover two doctor-backed ways to support healthy aging right now
Key Takeaways
- New research suggests metformin may influence healthy aging through its effect on ATP5I.
- Doctors say metformin's longevity benefits are promising, but more research is still needed.
- Some physicians already prescribe metformin off-label for select patients.
Your doctor just prescribed you metformin to help lower your blood sugar levels, and your mind is jumping to all the not-so-great “what ifs.” What if I get side effects? What if this doesn’t work for me? But what if you took the time to think about the positives instead? What if the medication improved your health or even had benefits you weren’t expecting? It may sound like wishful thinking, but with metformin, it could be a reality. It turns out metformin doesn’t just help manage diabetes, it may offer impressive longevity benefits, too. Keep scrolling to discover the unexpected perks of this popular diabetes treatment.
What is metformin?
“Metformin is an oral medication in the biguanide class that has been used for decades as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes,” says Kardie Tobb, DO, MS, FASPC, FACC, a board‑certified preventive cardiologist and the medical director for the Cone Health HeartCare Women’s Heart Health and Cardio-Obstetrics Clinic. “It is one of the most extensively studied medications in medicine and generally has a favorable safety profile when appropriately prescribed.”
Metformin (which can cost as little as $5 per month) treats type 2 diabetes by lowering the amount of sugar produced by the liver and improving the body’s ability to use the hormone insulin, which helps move blood sugar from the bloodstream into cells where it can be used for energy, explains Sadia Saeed, MD, physician and medical advisor with Welzo.
Woman's World Answers
The benefits of metformin for longevity
While metformin is primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes, Dr. Tobb says people who take the medication often experience lower rates of cardiovascular disease, lower rates of some cancers and lower mortality compared to people with type 2 diabetes who do not take metformin. Researchers have long wondered whether metformin’s association with lower mortality may point to broader longevity benefits. New research offers a potential theory, and the key is something known as ATP5I.
“ATP5I is a mitochondrial protein, which can be described as an energy factory in the cell,” says Dr. Saeed. “The function of this enzyme is to assist the body in generating ATP, a molecule that provides the primary form of energy to support all of the cellular functions. If there were no ATP, then cells would not be able to carry out their important functions.”
In a new eLife study, researchers discovered that metformin interacts with ATP5I, a protein that helps cells produce energy. The findings suggest ATP5I may be one of the mechanisms behind metformin’s potential longevity and healthy-aging benefits.
“It has been shown that when you alter your energy metabolism by a small margin, it can initiate or stimulate your body’s mechanisms to protect itself from cell damage and stress,” explains Dr. Saeed. “This process may have an impact on healthy aging as a whole because it improves our ability to maintain our cells and reduces many of the physiological changes associated with decreased function and loss due to aging.”
Dr. Tobb notes that while the ATP5I findings may help explain some of metformin’s potential longevity benefits when it comes to an improved aging process, the study was conducted primarily in cancer-cell models, so researchers cannot yet conclude that ATP5I explains the drug’s longevity effects in humans.
Can doctors prescribe metformin off-label for longevity?
In short, yes. Dr. Tobb says doctors in the United States can legally prescribe medications for off-label use when they believe it is medically appropriate. For example, she says longevity-focused physicians may prescribe metformin for older adults with insulin resistance, patients with metabolic syndrome or people interested in evidence-based longevity interventions to support healthy aging long term. Still, she notes that prescribing metformin off-label for longevity alone is uncommon in mainstream medicine.
Could future treatments target aging with metformin?
“If future randomized trials demonstrate that metformin delays multiple age-related diseases, extends healthspan [and] reduces overall mortality, then aging itself may increasingly be viewed as a modifiable medical target,” says Dr. Tobb. Translation: If continuing research bears out the longevity benefits of metformin treatment, doctors may prescribe it in the future even if you don’t have diabetes or a metabolic condition.
However, Dr. Tobb says there are several hurdles that researchers need to overcome first. For one, we still haven’t answered whether or not metformin can extend lifespan in healthy people who do not have diabetes, and human longevity trials take many years to complete, she says. Additionally, aging is not currently classified as a “disease” by regulators, and any health benefits may ultimately be limited to specific groups of people rather than the broader population, says Dr. Tobb.
“My prediction [is that] we are more likely to see metformin prescribed to people with metabolic dysfunction and elevated aging risk rather than universally to healthy young adults,” she adds.
2 ways to support longevity right now
Some physicians already prescribe metformin off-label for select patients. And while we wait for metformin to be cleared for potential longevity use in the future, Dr. Tobb offers two supplements that can support longevity in an affordable way.
Ask about GLP-1 medications
GLP-1 medications like semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) are used to treat obesity and diabetes. They reduce appetite, promote weight loss and improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, all of which may help address age-related health risks including obesity, diabetes, inflammation and cardiovascular disease, says Dr. Tobb. Ask your doctor if a GLP-1 might be right for you.
Take omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA, which are found in fish and fish oil, may help reduce inflammation and support heart, brain and cellular health, says Dr. Tobb. She explains that their potential longevity benefits are likely indirect, as maintaining cardiovascular health is one of the most effective ways to support a longer healthspan.
The bottom line on metformin for longevity
You don’t have to wait for future breakthroughs to start supporting your healthy aging journey today. While research on metformin’s longevity benefits continues to unfold, you can talk with your doctor about which evidence-based vitamins and supplements may help you age your healthiest.
Ready for more inspiration? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcasts, health tips and uplifting stories designed for women 40, 50, 60 and beyond.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
