The secret ingredient that scientists believe could help us live for longer

DOLPHINS, THE US NAVY AND PECORINO: THE STRANGE TALE OF A LONGEVITY BREAKTHROUGH, BY CLAUDIA COCKERELL

- CLAUDIA COCKERELL

Supplements are a pillar in the longevity space. Anti-ageing entrepreneur Bryan Johnson takes more than 100 a day, from the classics like vitamin C to the more recherché spermidine and L-theanine. US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is a fan of peptides, while Goop queen Gwyneth Paltrow swears by phospholipids, which she says supports brain health.

The global supplement market is worth more than $200 billion, according to Precedence Research. Yet the catch is that very few of them are scientifically proven to work. Take NAD+ IV drips, which are used by everyone from Hailey Bieber to Joe Rogan for their promise to rejuvenate cells although there is no good evidence to show they are effective.

There is a gap in the market, then, for a longevity supplement which actually works, and more pertinently, one that we actually need. Many are simply vitamins and minerals which can be consumed through a varied diet.

Dr Stephanie Venn-Watson did not set out to create a supplement. In fact, she describes her discovery of the first essential fatty acid in over 90 years as "an accident". That accident has led her to develop Fatty15, a once-daily capsule which is billed as the new longevity nutrient. The story starts in an unlikely place: with US Navy dolphins.