There's no miracle supplement: longevity specialist Vicente Mera says the foundation is sleep, movement, food and stress control

Pharmacy shelves are packed with little bottles promising a longer life, younger skin and more energy. Three doctors who work precisely on longevity have a message that doesn't sell nearly as well: a supplement is not a shortcut. The foundation, says longevity specialist Dr Vicente Mera, is still to sleep well, move, eat properly and keep stress under control.

Mera, Dr Mariel Silva, who works on healthy ageing, and Dr Isabel Viña, a supplement expert, agree on one thing: more pills don't mean better results. When they are taken without a clear reason, it's easy to end up taking the same ingredient twice, overdoing the dose or having two products interact.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all list, the experts recommend a tailored regimen: based on medical history and blood tests, and sometimes on body composition, the microbiome or biological age - and reviewed over time. Age, they say, matters less than personal circumstances: heavy periods, low vitamin D, a vegan diet, a planned pregnancy or intensive training.

When tests show a need, the most common candidates are vitamin D, B12 and omega-3. Magnesium and creatine come up for stress and physical exertion, and creatine especially for women after menopause, combined with strength training. For autumn, magnesium, vitamin D and omega-3 are named as the basics.

And the trendy "youth molecules"? For spermidine and NAD+ precursors, the evidence in humans is still being gathered, which means they are neither essential nor universal. Translated from marketing into plain language: maybe, sometime, for someone.

The irony is that the best advice is free. Sleep, strength training, enough protein, less stress, no alcohol or tobacco, and looking after your emotional health. None of it comes in a bottle with a gold-foil label - and that's exactly why it's rarely advertised. How many people spend more on capsules than on sleep?