At the young age of 16, NOVOS founder and CEO Chris Mirabile was cured of a brain tumor. He then made it a mission to focus on sustaining excellent health and avoiding disease. A successful entrepreneur, Mirabile experienced different supplements, diet, and exercise research to create the highly acclaimed NOVOS brand to slow down aging and prevent disease. I had the privilege to chat with Mirabile to hear his fascinating story and learn more about his revolutionary line.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us how you got to where you are today?
My passion for the longevity space stemmed from my own health battles when I was younger, starting with a brain tumor diagnosis at 16, and knowing that I have a family history of cancer, dementia, and obesity. I became really interested in longevity when I learned that age is the number one risk factor for all these diseases (and more), and that the rate at which we age can be sped up and slowed down based on lifestyle decisions. I wanted to do whatever I could to avoid a brain tumor recurrence, and to stave off some of these conditions that I’d seen my family endure. I began experimenting with different strategies to slow my pace of aging in an effort to avoid disease and extend my health span, and realized over time that the results I’ve seen in myself are a lot more attainable than many think. I founded NOVOS, a longevity biotech company providing science-based and accessible supplements, tests, and resources, in an effort to create a platform that inspired others to follow the same path, and provide a roadmap for people of all kinds, whether already seasoned health optimizers or those just beginning to be proactive with their health.
Why did you decide to create your own supplement line – what was the motivation behind it?
I started to attend longevity biotech events in 2017. I was quite possibly the only one there who wasn’t a PhD or MD. I was curious and wanted to learn. I quickly realized that everyone was focused on prescription drugs and extremely costly interventions that were years or decades away from being publicly available, assuming FDA approval. Even when they were to be made available, most people wouldn’t be able to afford them. I was motivated to find ways to apply the latest science about why we age to products that would be accessible to most people. I proposed an idea to some of the world’s top scientists in the field. To create a first-of-its-kind formulation to address all of the known “mechanisms of aging” (the biological root causes of aging), hypothesizing that this would be the most effective way to make an impact on the aging process. The scientists unanimously agreed, and I set off, with many of these scientists by my side, to create an over-the-counter, safe, and natural formula to positively impact aging by addressing all of the mechanisms at once. Now, years later, we can proudly share that the formula was based on more than 400 scientific studies, has been found to have extraordinary results in human in vitro studies and has been shown to reduce the rate of biological aging (based on the latest epigenetic biological age clocks) for the large majority of people who took it in a six-month case study. Additionally, millions of doses have been taken with great success by people across the world.
The supplement space has also become wildly oversaturated in recent years. It’s hard for health-conscious consumers to determine which supplements they should be taking, much less wade through all the marketing and false advertising to find the ones that actually offer safety and efficacy. With NOVOS, we wanted to create thoroughly tested and validated solutions that would actually move the needle for people trying to live healthier into their later years.
Why would we want to implement NOVOS into our diet and is this supplement meant for everyone? What age range would you say are most consumers who take NOVOS?
Everyone can benefit from NOVOS Core, as all the ingredients address one or more of the 12 mechanisms of aging. There are certain biological changes that occur in each and every one of us as we get older, from genomic instability (which can lead to declining cognition and impaired immune function) to cellular senescence, a major contributor to wrinkles, hair thinning, and age spots. Each ingredient is intentionally chosen for its ability to combat these root causes, helping people see noticeable improvements in their energy, physical appearance, and overall well-being.
We’re a unique company in that our customer base is strong across age ranges. For example, we have almost the same number of customers in their 20s as we do in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Our community members also represent nearly every corner of the wellness space, from experienced biohackers to those just beginning their wellness journey, to people more focused on the aesthetic side of aging. We want our products, services, and overall ethos to feel approachable to anyone, regardless of their prior health habits or knowledge.
With some supplements it is recommended to take a break. Is NOVOS a supplement that you believe we should continue to take daily for a significant amount of time?
NOVOS products are designed to be taken over a long period of time to yield maximum benefits. Unlike a lot of rhetoric in the health space that promotes quick fixes and immediate results, we view health through a long-term lens and believe that repeated, consistent habits are optimal for the best results. While many of our customers start feeling improvements in their energy, mood, and physical appearance (specifically in regards to their skin or hair) after just two to eight weeks, we statistically see significant improvements in pace of aging for case study participants after only six months. True changes to aging come with regular usage over time. Consider for example, exercise and healthy eating: any amount is better than none, but consistency over time leads to the best outcomes. The difference is noticed; a large percentage of repeat customers often report to us how much they feel the difference if they stop using NOVOS.
What sets your brand apart from others, and will you be producing any new products?
In a largely profit-driven industry, NOVOS was founded as a Public Benefit Corporation, meaning that one of our primary goals has always been to make health and longevity resources available to anyone who wants to access them. In addition to our product line, we also have several digital resources, including FaceAge, a dermatologically verified algorithm that helps determine facial pace of aging, a lifestyle survey that helps identify strengths and areas for improvement, nutritional guidance, and a comprehensive blog with over 200 articles authored by some of the top experts in the field. We strongly believe that the world would be healthier as a whole if more people had access to these resources.
We are also firmly rooted in science and research, developing our formulations with a team of longevity scientists and MDs over extended periods and running scientific studies to validate the combinations of ingredients. Most supplement companies are actually marketing entities, not scientific research teams. To that point, we recently terminated a product in its final stages, sacrificing a lot of time (18 months), money, and resources, because of the main ingredient. This component that many supplement brands still sell and tout as a longevity ingredient, was found to not be orally absorbable by humans, effectively rendering it useless. It’s important to us that we maintain our throughline of transparency and integrity with our community, who have come to trust what they’re getting from us.
One of our current priorities is to continue expanding complimentary resources that will help people along in their longevity journeys. We just launched our first mobile app, NOVOS Life, that offers several free resources, including a survey-based AI-powered biological age test that is more accurate than most blood- and saliva-based biological age tests, as well as a longevity score, community ranking, and AI chatbot feature. We’re excited to see how this foray into the digital space continues to impact the community at large and their health.
We are also heads-down focused on novel formulations that continue to lead the industry forward, as we did when we were the first to address the 12 hallmarks of aging.
If we take NOVOS daily, should we still take other vitamins as well, or is NOVOS sufficient for all our needs?
I typically suggest that everyone consider a solid, high quality multivitamin that includes vitamins D and K, to cover the essential micronutrients. For those who want to be more tailored with their approach, they can dig into their diet’s micronutrient composition with tools like Cryonometer, and can even go as far as getting their blood biomarkers and genetics tested to determine what they might be running a deficiency or inadequacy in. NOVOS Core contains a healthy amount of calcium and 73% of the RDA of magnesium, a mineral that more than 60% of people don’t get enough of and isn’t adequately dosed in multivitamins. Combine that with NOVOS Core’s longevity ingredients, it makes a well-rounded solution for both general health purposes and longevity relevant outcomes ranging from improved energy, cognition, mood, skin health, and more.
You have impressively reduced your biological age. Please tell us about your daily routine as well as any health tips you swear by.
Though I enjoy testing the latest innovations and technology in the longevity space, I like to keep my routine simple and straightforward to show people that achieving great results using approachable methods isn’t out of reach. I prioritize my diet, exercise, and sleep routines, while also focusing on reducing stress and continuing to strengthen my close relationships, two areas that are often overlooked but vital for longevity.
I tend to believe that most restrictive diets aren’t ideal for health in the long term, as they’re either unsustainable or cut out vital nutrients. I followed several different diets at various points of my health journey, but have now arrived at a more balanced, evidence-based approach, largely based on the mediterranean diet with some tweaks, (see the NOVOS longevity diet). The general principles around nutrition that I follow include getting enough protein but not overdoing it, incorporating a diverse mix of plants, eating a moderate amount of healthy carbs, minimizing alcohol intake, and avoiding nutrient deficiencies or inadequacies.
I make sure to incorporate a mix of different types of exercise, including strength training, and cardio, which includes high intensity interval training. I exercise five to six days per week and walk a lot on my rest days. I prioritize my sleep, by going to bed within 30 minutes of the same time each night (exception the weekend), and making sure to get the temperature right, blocking out sound (ear plugs), and any ambient light (sleep mask).
I try to live a balanced life with loved ones, friends, and my beautiful collie, Mia, all of which can help with quality of life and stress management. When that’s not enough, I meditate, and reset the context for the stressor relative to the rest of my life. And of course I supplement with each of NOVOS’s formulations: Core, Vital, and Boost which is approaching five years now for Core and Boost, which I began taking during the R&D phase of development.
I see you praise eating tons of veggies. Do you also eat dairy or eggs? Will taking NOVOS compensate for this?
I consume eggs, including yolks, because of their abundance of nutrients, including one that many people are deficient in, choline. When it comes to dairy, I avoid milk and consume a modest amount of cheese, typically when it’s included in a meal when dining out.
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
On the beauty front, there are so many products on the market that work by masking the visible effects of aging, rather than addressing the root causes. Actual aging happens on the cellular level through processes like DNA damage, chronic inflammation, cellular senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction. If you’re spending money on lotions, serums, and cleansers, also consider investing in solutions that will impact skin health from the inside out and result in lasting change, not just in regards to how your skin looks today and tomorrow, but how you continue to feel and function as you age.
Take control of your health and visit https://novoslabs.com
