Health expectancy: 5 insights to help millions worldwide not just live longer, but live better

Summary 

• Science has extended how long we live—however, the focus now shifts to enhancing quality of life as we age. Our new whitepaper series explores how we can tackle the cellular mechanisms underlying aging to transform our final decades from decline to vitality.
• Our health expectancy series reveals how specific nutrients can target four key aging hallmarks—from clearing senescent cells to supporting mitochondrial function— to slow the biological aging process and support healthy longevity.
• As consumers increasingly seek proactive ways to age well, nutritional brands have a unique opportunity to meet this demand with science-backed, user-friendly solutions. By aligning innovation with consumer needs, we can help redefine what it means to grow older.

In today's rapidly aging world, a profound shift is taking place in how we approach growing older. The key question has evolved from "How long will I live?" to the more meaningful "How can I remain healthy for longer?"

At dsm-firmenich, we believe that increasing health expectancy—the years we live in good health—is one of the greatest opportunities to transform billions of lives globally. Through our comprehensive health expectancy whitepaper series, we explore the science behind aging, the role of nutrition in supporting healthy longevity, and innovative approaches to developing solutions that target aging at both cellular and system levels.

Here are five insights from our research that illuminate the path toward not just extending life, but enhancing its quality at every life stage:

1. Most of us will spend our last 10 years battling ill health—but this isn’t inevitable

Today's medical reality reveals a troubling pattern: while life expectancy has increased significantly, many of us will spend our final decade struggling with chronic illness and poor health.¹ As our first whitepaper, "The science of aging well", explains, this creates a critical gap between lifespan (how long we live) and healthspan (how long we live in good health) that nutritional interventions can help address.

The traditional healthcare system treats each age-related disease separately. While this approach is valuable for managing individual conditions, emerging research is shifting focus towards addressing the underlying mechanisms of aging itself—potentially reducing or delaying the onset of multiple chronic diseases simultaneously.²

By understanding how the 12 hallmarks of aging (including genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, and dysbiosis, among others) interact in complex ways to drive the aging process, we can develop more targeted nutritional interventions that support health expectancy.²

2. Integrating triage theory, hormesis and homeostasis with nutrition for healthy longevity

As explained in the second whitepaper edition, Proposed by Bruce Ames in 2006, this theory explains how nutrient deficiencies impact health by prioritizing short-term survival over long-term wellbeing.

When micronutrients are scarce—a common occurrence in modern diets³—the body directs available nutrients to critical short-term functions like energy production and reproduction. This comes at the expense of processes that support long-term health, such as DNA repair. Over time, this prioritization can lead to cumulative damage and increased risk of age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative conditions.

The theory predicts that adequate intake of around 40 essential micronutrients throughout life can help mitigate these negative long-term effects—supporting greater health expectancy. This research highlights the importance of addressing nutrient gaps proactively, rather than reactively after health problems emerge.⁴

Two other important biological concepts complement the triage theory:

• Hormesis describes a biological phenomenon where exposure to a low or moderate dose of a stressor (such as toxins, heat, or exercise) stimulates the body's repair and defense mechanisms—ultimately strengthening cells and systems over time to become more resilient.⁵ Plant-sourced phytochemicals, like resveratrol and quercetin found in the Mediterranean diet, can act in a hormesis-like manner to lower the risk of diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular issues), while also promoting anti-aging effects, like reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting cell senescence.^6,7
• Homeostasis refers to the body's ability to maintain its natural balance. Several micronutrients, like vitamins A, D, C, E, and B vitamins, as well as minerals like iron and zinc, help maintain barrier integrity in the skin and gut.⁸ Additionally, anti-inflammatory compounds—like antioxidant vitamins, polyphenols, and omega-3 fatty acids—and minerals like zinc and magnesium also help manage inflammation, support tissue repair, and return the body back to its homeostasis state.^9,10

3. Four key hallmarks of aging offer promising targets for nutritional intervention

Our research has identified four specific hallmarks of aging that present significant opportunities for effective nutritional interventions to promote health expectancy. Importantly, advances in biological aging research now allow us to measure the impact of these interventions through ‘aging clocks’—biomarkers that can demonstrate whether nutritional strategies are genuinely slowing the aging process at the molecular level.

Cellular senescence: As we age, cells lose their ability to divide and replicate but don't die, instead accumulating and secreting molecules that damage neighboring cells. This creates a pro-inflammatory environment leading to chronic inflammation and contributes to tissue dysfunction.¹¹

Mitochondrial dysfunction: The mitochondria—our cells' power generators—begin to fail with age, producing less energy and managing oxidative stress less effectively. This dysfunction is particularly impactful in energy-demanding tissues like the brain, heart, and muscles.¹²

Chronic inflammation: Often called "inflammaging," this persistent low-grade inflammation accelerates cellular aging, damages tissues, and is linked to numerous age-related diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions.¹³

Gut microbial dysbiosis: An imbalanced gut microbiome can trigger chronic inflammation, impair immune function, and cause metabolic dysfunctions that accelerate aging.¹⁴

4. Specific nutrients and bioactives can target the hallmarks of aging

Our second whitepaper, "Redefine aging with nutrition", identifies specific nutrients and bioactive compounds that can address the key hallmarks of aging. This approach has been validated by a recent study which demonstrated that combined vitamin D supplementation, omega-3 fatty acids, and exercise interventions can measurably slow the aging process at the molecular level.¹⁵ Participants showed an average reduction in epigenetic age of 1.96 years compared to placebo groups, marking the first clinical evidence that nutritional supplementation can reverse biological aging markers rather than simply supporting general health.¹⁶

Cellular senescence:

• Senomorphic molecules like resveratrol and vitamin E can mitigate pro-inflammatory molecules¹⁶
• Nutrients like vitamins C, D, zinc, and selenium boost immune function to help eliminate senescent cells¹⁷
• Senolytic compounds like fisetin and quercetin can selectively eliminate senescent cells^18,19

Mitochondrial function:

• B group vitamins; vitamins C, K, and E; zinc; selenium; omega-3s; and coenzyme Q10 help maintain energy production and cellular metabolism^20,21

Chronic inflammation:

• Vitamin D modulates immune responses and lowers inflammatory markers²²
• Vitamin C reduces chronic inflammation markers and system inflammation²³
• B group vitamins are essential for immune system homeostasis, which plays a key role in regulating inflammation²⁴
• Antioxidant vitamins, polyphenol compounds and minerals like zinc and selenium reduce oxidative stress, thereby limiting cellular damage and contributing to the management of inflammation.²⁵
• Omega-3 fatty acids help support a healthy inflammatory response by reducing harmful inflammatory substances and promoting healing processes that help resolve inflammation²⁶

Gut microbial dysbiosis:

• Microbiome-targeted vitamins like B2 and C, and pre/pro/postbiotics support a balanced gut microbiome^27,28
• Research on centenarians shows they exhibit unique gut microbiomes with anti-aging properties and higher microbial diversity^29,30

Research into these hallmarks has revealed that aging is not a single process, but rather the result of multiple interconnected mechanisms. This understanding has supported the development of more sophisticated, multi-target approaches to healthy aging interventions.

5. A three-step approach to cellular senescence offers promising health expectancy benefits

While each hallmark of aging presents opportunities for intervention, cellular senescence has emerged as one of the most promising targets for comprehensive nutritional strategies. The accumulation of senescent cells is a major contributor to aging and age-related diseases, making it an ideal focus for systematic intervention. Our third whitepaper, "Discover a science-driven path to living better for longer", details a revolutionary 3-step approach to addressing cellular senescence:

• Step 1: PROTECT—Prevent further damage using resVida®, a powerful senomorphic and antioxidant that helps prevent young cells from becoming senescent
• Step 2: BOOST—Strengthen the immune system to better recognize and eliminate aged cells with ALL Q® (CoQ10 Ubiquinone) and super antioxidant Redivivo® (lycopene)
• Step 3: RENEW—Eliminate leftover senescent cells with Quercefit®, a natural flavonoid that can remove senescent cells and neutralize free radicals

This systematic approach addresses cellular senescence from multiple angles, potentially offering a more comprehensive solution than single-ingredient approaches.

It's time to increase the health expectancy of the human race

Science has increased our life expectancy. Now, our research aims to increase health expectancy—helping millions worldwide not just live longer, but better.

Our comprehensive health expectancy series provides the scientific foundation and practical insights needed to develop effective solutions for this rapidly growing market. Together, we can make health expectancy solutions a reality and transform billions of lives globally.