Longevity doctor Peter Attia shares the 9 supplements he’s taking each morning in a bid to extend his youth

• Dr. Peter Attia is wildly popular with longevity seekers.
• Attia shared his morning supplement routine on a recent podcast, detailing at least 9 he takes.

Dr. Peter Attia really doesn’t want to tell you which supplements he’s taking.

“Why do people care what supplements I take?” Attia, the wildly popular author of the 2023 New York Times bestseller “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity,” said during a special question-answering episode of his podcast, released October 20.

He wants to be very clear: his supplement routine probably isn’t right for you.

“Nobody understands the rationale,” he said. “Nobody understands the clinical history.”

But — because he knows you’ll ask — he’s willing to share what he’s currently taking every morning. These days, it’s eight different kinds of pills. They’re mainly vitamins, but his daily regimen also includes a baby aspirin, plus one scoop of green powder mixed into a drink.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that many of these capsules, pills, and powders are targeting heart health. Attia, 50, believes keeping his cardiovascular system healthy and spry is one of the most important things he can do for his body as he ages.

Fish oil capsules

Fish oil contains two different omega-3 fatty acids, called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).Getty Images

“I can never remember their names, they’re so convoluted,” he said. “It’s like super EPA or something, but it is the highest EPA version that they have. So by taking four of these capsules a day, I’m taking roughly two grams of EPA a day and probably a gram and a half of DHA.”

Fish oil is an excellent source of two omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) which are great for protecting your heart, and improving cholesterol. This is why experts generally recommend incorporating about two servings of fatty fish, like salmon, into your diet every week.

A high dose of Vitamin D

We can absorb vitamin D from the sun, as well as through certain foods like fatty fish and egg yolks. But sometimes it’s not enough.Francesco Vaninetti Photo/Getty Images

“This is one of those things where I think the risk is insanely low,” Attia said.

Vitamin D is a darling, low-stakes supplement in the longevity world that’s taken by a wide array of top health experts.

Vitamin D improves how our bodies absorb calcium, helping us maintain strong bones. Vitamin D also helps prevent muscle cramps and spasms, reduces inflammation, and improves immune function.

Immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, antiaging researcher João Pedro de Magalhães, and billionaire longevity investor Christian Angermayer have all told Insider they take vitamin D supplements in various dosages. Some only take it in the winter, when they’re absorbing less vitamin D from the sun, while others pop it year round.

Attia’s dose is perhaps a bit high: according to The National Institutes of Health, the safe upper limit for vitamin D is 4,000 IU a day. The NIH says most people will do fine with 600 IU a day, but people over the age of 70 should aim for at least 800 IU.

Magnesium in 3 different ways

Gavin Wren suspected food poisoning from bagged spinachkrblokhin/Getty Images

Attia says he takes “two or three” magnesium chloride pills from a brand called SlowMag every day, plus some magnesium L-threonate and magnesium oxide.

“All in all, I’m trying to get up to about a gram of total magnesium or elemental magnesium in my system a day,” he said.

Magnesium is, like vitamin D, great for your bones. It also regulates the way your muscles and nerves work, helps control blood pressure and blood sugar, and helps the cells in your body make protein and create energy from the food you eat.

But you don’t necessarily need to take supplements to get enough of this wonder nutrient. It’s abundant in leafy greens like spinach, as well as bananas, avocados, almonds, cashews and other nuts, lentils, seeds, beans including soy, milk, yogurt, and fortified cereals.

Methylfolate and methyl B12 — the lowest standard dose of these supplements, popping one of each a day

Eggs are a great source of B12.Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Attia uses a brand of methylfolate and B12 supplements called Jarrow. He says he has a common genetic variant that may impact how his body processes folate, aka vitamin B9. Folate helps keep heart disease at bay, and it is abundant in (you guessed it) dark leafy greens, beans, whole grains, nuts like peanuts, and seeds like sunflower seeds, as well as eggs.

Ethyl B12 is recommended to treat B12 deficiencies. Without enough B12, people become anemic. Animal products like beef, liver, fish, eggs, yogurt, and milk (including fortified plant milk) are some of the best sources of B12. But, as people age, they may have a harder time extracting B12 from their food, which is why doctors sometimes recommend a B12 supplement, preferring methyl B12, the natural kind Attia takes, because it’s easier on the kidneys.

Vitamin B6 — but only three times a week, instead of daily, as he used to

Tanja Ivanova

Attia worries about data showing that too much B6 can lead to neuropathy, or nerve damage.

“We don’t need nearly as much B6 as I thought we did,” he said. “So I’ve lowered that to 50 milligrams, three times a week.”

Attia said on the podcast that getting enough B6 “helps with the homocysteine,” an amino acid that our bodies produce naturally, which, with vitamin B6’s help, can be broken down into chemicals that reduce inflammation, improve liver health, and create proteins in our bodies.

“You just have to be careful that you’re not overdoing it,” he said.

A baby aspirin: “this is kind of a soft call”

Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Attia said his scientific rationale on this one isn’t super strong, because baby aspirin probably isn’t doing that much for his overall heart health.

“I don’t think there’s an evidence-based reason why I should take a baby aspirin,” he said.

But he does.

Attia knows there are some small benefits of baby aspirin for heart health which “fall in and out of favor over time,” but he says most elderly adults should not use baby aspirin “unless your risk of cardiovascular disease is significantly high.”

Doctors say people who’ve already had a heart attack or stroke, and those with heart disease, can definitely benefit from daily baby aspirin, because their risk is so high, but for other people, the benefits of daily baby aspirin are debatable.

Because aspirin is a blood thinner it can reduce blood clots, helping reduce your odds of having a stroke or heart attack, slightly. But the anti-clotting effect also means taking a daily baby aspirin can up your risk of bleeding to death. That’s why the US Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend daily baby aspirin to people over age 60. (The task force does say daily aspirin may be helpful for at least some people, like Attia, aged 40-59, but the decision to take it should be “an individual one.”)

“I’m always happy to reevaluate the use of this, and any supplement for that matter, in the presence of new data,” Attia said.

A scoop of Athletic Greens — the only supplement on this list that Attia says he has a financial stake in promoting

Green powders are among supplements that most people don’t need to buy.Getty Images

Attia is both an advisor to and investor in supplement company Athletic Greens. He takes their flagship product, AG1, which is a scoop of green powdered drink mix that blends into water. It’s similar to a multivitamin, including more than 20 common vitamins, plus a probiotic and digestive enzyme.

And finally, two probiotic pills that he keeps in the fridge, which cost him more than $10 a day

Geza Farkas/Shutterstock

Attia said he’s been trying out a probiotic called Glucose Control by Pendulum for a few months now, to see if it might improve his blood sugar levels on a lab test. It’s basically his pre-breakfast.

Glucose Control is marketed as “the only clinical-grade probiotic on the market for the management of type 2 diabetes,” and it costs $165-$215 for a bottle of 30 pills. It has two different types of clostridium bacteria inside, as well as three other strains from different genera. (Many probiotics have just one type of bacteria in them.)

“I take two of those in the morning with my AG [Athletic Greens],” he said. “That’s kind of like the first thing I consume.”

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