The formulation, which is commercialized as Mimio from California-based Mimio Health, was designed to mimic the effects of fasting, which has been consistently shown to boost healthspan and lifespan in model organisms.
Data published in Scientific Reports indicated that eight weeks of supplementation with Mimio led to significant improvements in total cholesterol, LDL, oxidized LDL and fasting glucose, compared to placebo.
“These findings demonstrate, in a gold-standard placebo-controlled trial, that Mimio’s fasting mimetic formulation can deliver similar metabolic, cellular and appetite-regulating benefits as fasting—without fasting,“ said Dr. Chris Rhodes, PhD, CEO of Mimio Health and a corresponding author on the paper.
“We observed significant improvements in cholesterol and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, digestion and hunger control that mimicked our previous findings of the benefits of a 36-hour fast, without requiring participants to change how they eat or live.”
Results at home
The study was performed by People Science, a technology-enabled clinical research organization specializing in decentralized trials. The company’s proprietary platform, Chloe, is designed to enable rapid, scalable and scientifically rigorous studies.
Azure Grant, PhD, People Science’s head of research and lead author on the new paper, told NutraIngredients that people try new health interventions every day; the key is to leverage that data for scientific discovery.
“Our collaboration with Mimio illustrates what people can accomplish by participating in research from their own homes,” she said. “Our participants, Mimio and People Science wanted to uncover if the benefits of fasting can be delivered without needing to skip meals. By simply taking in the molecules the body makes during fasting, we saw benefits over placebo in hunger, satiety and even cardiometabolic markers.
“Our digital tool, Chloe, supported 94% adherence, delivered personal results and collected high-quality data leading to a publication in Scientific Reports."
Study details
Drs. Rhodes and Grant and their co-workers recruited 42 older adults (average age 62) with elevated BMI and HbA1c levels to participate in their randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, decentralized clinical trial (RCT). The participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or the Mimio fasting mimetic to be taken every day 30 to 60 minutes before the first meal of the day.
Mimio is formulated to deliver 250 mg of nicotinamide, 600 mg of PEA (Palmitoylethanolamide), 400 mg of OEA (Oleoylethanolamide) and 8 mg of spermidine.
Subjective measures collected over the course of eight weeks showed that all hunger and satiety metrics improved in the Mimio group over time than in the placebo group. Notably, 91% of participants in the active group reported improved mealtime appetite regulation, compared to 47% in the placebo group.
In addition, Mimio also significantly reduced self-reported abdominal pain and bloating, compared to placebo.
Comprehensive metabolic bloodwork was analyzed at the start and end of the study, with the Mimio group experiencing “fasting-like improvements to cardiometabolic blood markers”, compared to placebo, the researchers reported. These included significant improvements in LDL particle number, total cholesterol, oxidized LDL, LDL, non-HDL and glucose concentrations.
“This work shows that we can investigate sophisticated biological mechanisms in real-world conditions and still meet the highest scientific standards,” Noah Craft, MD, PhD, co-CEO of People Science, shared in a press release. “By combining decentralized infrastructure with biomarker-driven endpoints, we’re able to move more quickly from hypothesis to evidence, and, importantly, to identify where the science should go next.”
The researchers noted that future longer-term studies with larger populations may show that Mimio can aid in weight loss and trigger a “new homeostatic setpoint to lipid metabolism”.
“Given the lifespan extending effects demonstrated by Mimio and its constitutive ingredients in previous studies, future studies of Mimio should focus on its hypothesized ability to reduce markers and metrics of biological aging in humans, particularly elderly cohorts for whom fasting would otherwise be unsafe,” they added.
Source: Science Reports, 2026, 16, 7812. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-38495-7. “A novel fasting mimetic (Mimio) creates fasting-like benefits to hunger control, oxidative stress, and cardiometabolic health in humans”. Authors: A.D. Grant, et al.
