Yeah low calories meals are associated with longevity. There's an interesting TED talk on this subject that might be interest for you guys.
I highly recommend you watch this: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100.html
M4
Really? That's pretty cool. The only thing so far that has proven to extend life in rats is to feed them somewhat less than they need.
The fountain of youth.
A study, conducted at McMaster University in Canada extended the lifespan of mice by an impressive 10%. Thirty carefully chosen vitamins, minerals, and herbs, based on recommended human dosages adjusted for body size.
Researchers used declining physical movement as a biomarker of aging and mortality risk.
The mice that received the daily supplement cocktail retained youthful movement well into old age
The ingredients contained vitamins B1, B3 (niacin), B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginko biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil.
It depends of the supplements, how you use it and if you need it. There are studies in both camps that are contradicting each other (have a look on pubmed). Of course supplements should be used as a tools and not as a replacement for healthy diet and exercise. The harm in using supplements is seen on the liver and kidneys but thats about it and here again there are many things you do in one that are worse than taking supplements. Did you know that breathing is what causing the more oxidative stress? What you got here with Linda Van Horn is a good example of biased mind and medicine is surely a big market and there's a lot of lobbying with the pharmaceutical industry and the pharmaceutical industry will often finance researches to be in complete denial with the supplements industry. What do don't tell you is that many medication including the famous Paxol using for chemotherapy came from herbs.
M4
Kind of paradoxical -- if there's no well conducted research, then how do we know supplements failed or didn't fail? I mean, I agree with the statement, but the problem is the lack of well conducted research, which will never be done until there's money to do it, which there will never be unless research ceases to be patent driven and pharmaceutical company contained and controlled, and we know they're lying. It's also interesting the claims you mention -- the Alzheimer's study studied one supplement, gingko, that never claimed to prevent Alzheimer's or treat it. Type 2 diabetes is largely dealt with through diet, not supplements. Statins also haven't been shown to prevent heart attacks, just delay them or lead to different causes of them. And premature death? What does that even mean?