Spermidine for autophagy, anyone notice anything real or is it subtle

Posted by student748 in Longevity & Anti-Aging - 4 points, 6 comments.

Been reading up on spermidine and the autophagy angle sounds pretty interesting on paper. I get the mechanism, inhibiting acetyltransferase activity, mimicking caloric restriction signaling, promoting clearance of damaged proteins. Makes sense conceptually especially as we get older and autophagy naturally declines.

For what it is worth i started taking a low dose about 6 weeks ago, just 3mg daily. Honestly cant say ive noticed much of anything concrete. Sleep maybe slightly better but that could be heaps of other things. Energy feels about the same. No GI issues which is a relief after the urolithin A disaster.

My question is, for people who have run it longer, does anything actually become noticeable over months? Or is this one of those things where you just trust the mechanism and hope its doing something in the background? The long-term human data still seems pretty thin from what i can tell.

Also keen to know if anyone cycles it or just runs it daily. Seems like the kind of thing where constant supplementation might downregulate natural polyamine production but i might be way off there. Chur for any input.

Comments

• fasted_scientist: Reckon you're spot on that the human data is thin. Most of the autophagy stuff is from yeast, fruit flies, and mice. The human trials that exist are small and short, and they mostly look at markers or immunological ageing in things like the BC1000 cohort, not hard clinical endpoints. So anyone claiming they "feel" autophagy happening is, ngl, probably fooling themselves. I tried it for about three months last year, 1mg dose, and honestly felt nothing concrete either. Sleep was maybe a touch bet
• nate_g: Yeah I agree with this completely. Autophagy is not something you can feel, that is just not how it works tbh. I have been taking spermidine for maybe two months now and if I am being honest the only thing I notice is that I stopped thinking about whether it does anything... Which is not exactly a ringing endorsement. The mechanism is sound on paper but feeling it is a different story.
• tracker_jade: Yeah same here, tried 2mg for 8 weeks, no clear change, just wondered if timing with fasted state matters? Maybe taking it empty stomach vs with food could shift anything subtle?
• student748: Chur for that, kinda reassuring im not the only one not feeling much. 8 weeks at 2mg and nothing concrete either, yeah that lines up with what im seeing. The fasting timing thing is a, for what it is worth ive been taking mine with breakfast so maybe thats worth switching up. The caloric restriction mimicry angle would sort of suggest empty stomach makes more sense but i genuinely dont know if that translates to absorption. Might try it first thing in the morning before food and see if anything
• student748: Yeah that pretty much confirms what i suspected. The "stopped thinking about whether it does anything" bit is too real, im basically in the same headspace at 6 weeks. Are you going to keep taking it long term or do you reckon you'll drop it at some point if nothing ever surfaces? For what it is worth im leaning towards sticking it out a few more months just to see if bloodwork shifts anything but yeah nah, not holding my breath.
• student748: Chur for that, kinda what i expected but good to hear from someone who actually ran it for a few months. Interesting you were at 1mg though, ive been doing 3mg and still nothing concrete. Makes me wonder if dose even matters much for subjective effects or if its all just background stuff you never feel. Did you stop because you figured it wasnt worth the cost, or did you have a specific reason? For what it is worth the sleep thing could genuinely just be coincidence for both of us.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.