What if you could feel 20 years younger? Many Americans are living longer, but the goal shouldn’t just be to add years — the secret sauce is added vitality. That’s why the focus on “healthspan,” the number of years you stay strong and active, is redefining how we approach aging.
Instead of assuming that our later years will be marked by declining health and fading enjoyment, more and more people are seeking new ways to supplement their health.
Healthy aging is the name of the game, but the gap between lifespan (about 77.5 years) and healthspan (around 62 years) shows the limits of a healthy lifestyle and even high-quality medical care. Replacing some of what you’re losing as you age can increase and even optimize your healthspan, and that’s driving a surging interest in supplements that help support healthy aging.
Rachel Jones, M.S., RDN
Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising and Science Officer, GNC
“Sometimes people think healthy aging is about, ‘Oh, I want to look younger. I want to have fewer wrinkles,’” said Rachel Jones, M.S., RDN, executive vice president and chief merchandising and science officer at GNC. “But you also just want to feel good. You want to live your life. You want to feel stronger. You want to optimize. Finding supplements backed by science can help you do just that.”
The challenge for many consumers is knowing which supplement retailers they can trust — and whether the supplements they offer are safe, tested, and effective.
Longevity and healthspan
“There are so many things we can do, especially with supplements, to help extend and lengthen that period of time — your healthspan,” Jones explained. “There’s a lot of research showing that a healthy foundation of things like vitamins, minerals, and unique antioxidants can help protect your cells, heart, brain, and joints.”
Figuring out what supplements to take can be challenging because the list of potentially beneficial supplements is long — from familiar, old-school vitamins and minerals to things like fish oil, which can help maintain healthy blood pressure and lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases; lutein, which supports skin and eye health; or supplements to maintain hormonal balance.
“Hormone balance is important for longevity and healthy aging, too,” Jones noted. “Both men and women start to see shifts in hormones starting in their 30s. For men, testosterone begins to decline, and you see myriad issues with that — decreased energy, decreased sex drive, it impacts your strength and lean muscle mass, the list goes on.
“For women, the shifts in hormones result in their metabolism slowing down, shifts in body composition, and a decline in bone health.”
While some supplements can be generally beneficial to anyone, the key is taking a personalized approach — and being able to trust the retailer you’re dealing with.
Science-backed
When investigating the benefits of supplements for healthy aging, perhaps the most important thing is knowing that you can trust the company you’re purchasing from and its products.
“Consumers trying to figure out what supplements are right for them should look for trusted brands with experience, and make sure you’re going to evidence-based sources for information,” so they can choose products and companies that have high-quality standards, Jones advised.
Things to look for when seeking a supplements retailer include whether the company pays for third-party verification on its products, whether it invests in clinical studies and research, and whether it has credentialed experts vetting and designing its products — all things GNC has been doing for more than 90 years.
“GNC sets the scientific bar higher than other brands and companies,” Jones stated flatly. “We go above and beyond what’s required from a regulatory perspective, just to make sure our products work, to ensure there’s truth in labeling.”
GNC has a rigorous screening process, including 150 quality checks alongside robust third-party verification to ensure the effectiveness and safety of its products. “If we say the product provides a benefit, it’s true,” Jones noted. “We have a commitment to follow regulations and the law — but we also have a commitment to the truth. And we’re very choosy — we have a ‘No-No’ list of over 300 ingredients. If those ingredients are in a potential product or exceed the levels we’ve set, we won’t carry it.”
One thing consumers should consider is the resources required to ensure this level of quality and efficacy — a company that pops up on social media one day likely lacks the ability to pay for third-party verification or expert advisers, or to commit to high quality standards.
Personalized
“We’re all different,” Jones explained. “From our genetic makeup to our diets, habits, lifestyle, or any conditions we might be dealing with — everybody has their own personal needs and goals.”
Understanding this need for a personalized approach yields tremendous benefits. For example, everyone can benefit from a multivitamin to some extent, but GNC offers more than 20 varieties to match different goals and needs. When it comes to healthy aging, for example, GNC offers products like their Mega Men 50 Plus and Women’s One Daily 50 Plus Vitapak programs, which are expert-curated daily regimens of supplements specifically designed for men and women age 50 or older.
“These vitapak programs feature clinically studied multivitamins designed for that particular age group,” Jones noted. “They incorporate the right levels of vitamins and minerals, as well as specialized antioxidants that can help support you and optimize your healthspan.”
That personalized approach extends to the retail experience in GNC stores, which are staffed with coaches who can guide consumers to products that meet their needs.
“The training program for these coaches was designed in collaboration with GNC’s group of 25 credentialed experts,” Jones said. “It’s science- and evidence-based, and the training staff and coaches have access to those experts any time they need help. A lot of that training focuses on identifying the basic questions they need to ask in order to personalize a supplement plan for someone, much like a dietitian is trained to work with people in nutritional counseling.”
GNC backs this up in two ways: a money-back guarantee that allows customers to bring back products for any reason, no questions asked, and a rigorous commitment to science.
The GNC difference
One reason Jones knows so much about the supplement space is the presence GNC enjoys in it — they have “skin in the game” — and the fact that she’s been with the company for more than 20 years.
“GNC has been around since 1935 — we’re a mission-driven company committed to helping people live well, and we have 90 years of experience,” she said proudly. “We also have the expertise — aside from having more than 40 internal experts, we’ve got a network of doctors, scientists, universities, regulatory experts, and suppliers.”
Many of GNC’s products are also exclusive to the company, in part because roughly half their products were developed in-house by their own experts, and in part because they’re a global enterprise. Having relationships around the world gives GNC insight into potential new products and the ability to source ingredients. “That’s why we’re able to sometimes have the first and best solutions for things like healthy aging and more,” Jones noted.
When it comes to supplements for healthy aging and having the longest possible healthspan, having a partner like that is crucial. “Everyone at GNC believes in the mission of helping consumers live well,” Jones said. “It’s truly embedded in everything that we do, and we’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Ninety years of science, 150+ quality checks. GNC sets the standard for healthy aging.
Learn how to optimize your healthspan with expert insights and proven supplements — start at GNC.com
