The fountain of youth is a dietary supplement made from ingredients bought at local health food stores, according to research by a McMaster scientist.

David Rollo says seniors can live longer and with zest by taking a supplement consisting of garlic, ginger root, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, cod liver oil, vitamins B1, C, D and E, acetylsalicylic acid, beta carotene, folic acid, magnesium, melatonin, potassium and flax seed oil.

"This holds great promise for extending the quality of life... of humans," Rollo said in a statement.

The study, published in the current issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, was done on mice.

Mice fed bagel bits soaked in the supplement maintained youthful levels of mobility into old age while those not given the supplement showed a 50 per cent loss in daily movement.

The researchers concluded the supplement extended longevity, prevented cognitive declines and protected the mice from radiation.

"This study obtained a truly remarkable extension of physical function in old mice, far greater than the respectable extension of longevity that we (previously) documented," Rollo said.

He bought the ingredients at local health food stores and is continuing to look for new and more effective supplements.

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