New book makes the case for a new essential fatty acid that protects health and promotes longevity

Image courtesy of Simon and Schuster

The Longevity Nutrient, published by Simon & Schuster, and written by Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH is now available for purchase online and wherever books are sold. Venn-Watson is the co-founder of CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics, which was the 2021 winner of our Best of the Industry Award for Ingredient Supplier. Seraphina Therapeutics manufactures a newly discovered odd-chain fatty acid called pentadecanoic acid (C:15; branded as fatty15). Venn-Watson, a veterinary epidemiologist, discovered the ingredients’ important role in our health when researching U.S. Navy dolphins, in which levels of C:15 were a leading indicator for health in aged dolphins. Dolphins low in C:15 developed diseases commonly associated with older humans, namely insulin resistance, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver disease, chronic inflammation, and anemia.

In her new book, Venn-Watson, a recently recognized 2025 CNBC Changemaker, details her initial research on the dolphins as well as the robust science that has been emerging over the past decade, demonstrating C:15’s health benefits. These findings include evidence that C:15 meets the rare criteria for being an essential fatty acid, making it the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in 90 years, as well as its impact on multiple longevity-enabling pathways. Additionally, the book highlights new research findings that demonstrate C:15 nutritional deficiencies resulting in Cellular Fragility Syndrome, a condition the book claims to impact as many as one in three people globally.

“Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson has made a groundbreaking, once-in-a-century discovery that changes how we can age for the better, at all stages of life,” said Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder and chief medical officer of Function Health, in a press release. “While improving the health of older dolphins, she unexpectedly discovered the crucial ingredient we all need to slow aging and fight chronic aging-associated diseases. The Longevity Nutrient tells the rest of the story. The book entertains as it enlightens, with impressively robust science that has positively affected my own life, and I guarantee you won’t look at saturated fat the same way again.”

To learn more about C:15 and the new book, watch our interview with Stephanie here.