David Sinclair

Biologist and longevity researcher. Professor @ Harvard Medical School. Startup founder.

Website

About

David Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. He is most known for his academic work in the field of aging having discovered the role that the Sirtuin 1 protein plays in slowing down aging in yeast.

David Sinclair has also co-founded several biotechnology companies including: Sirtris, Ovascience, Genocea, Cohbar, MetroBiotech, ArcBio, and Liberty Biosecurity.

He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller book, Lifespan: Why We Age -- and Why we don't have to. (2019).

Table of Contents

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Motivations and Frameworks

David Sinclair has spent the majority of his life studying the cause of aging and his biohacking mostly revolves around self-experimentation with anti-aging compounds. He believes that aging should be classified as a disease and that future drugs and therapies will be able to significantly extend health lifespans in humans. While he does not describe himself as an immortalist, he believes that there is no optimal lifespan. On Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Radio podcast episode he stated that he expected to live to 100-years-old.

David Sinclair approaches his anti-aging regimen as a scientist and monitors his biomarkers (liver enzymes, see InsideTracker) closely.

David Sinclair's Biohack Stack, Regimen, and Routine

Biohack	Type	Frequency	Notes
Intermittent Fasting	Diet	1x per day	Fasting 16 hours, eating 8 hours. Is thought to have benefits similar to calorie restriction (anti-aging, autophagy, etc)[1]
Bravo Yogurt	Diet	1x per day	Self-made probiotic yogurt kit, two spoons in the morning, probiotic[1]
Okinawan Diet	Diet	?	Enjoyed the "Blue Zone" Okinawan diet in the past. (Plant-based, purple sweet potatoes, beans, tofu, etc). Not currently on it.[3]
Plant-based Diet	Diet		Switched to a plant based diet to reduce protein intake and mTORC1 gene pathways. [Talks @Google]
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)	Exercise	?	Performed on treadmill.[3]
4 hour Exercise Session	Exercise	1x / week	A combination of weightlifting, stretching, treadmill, more stretching and hot cold therapy. [Impact Theory]
Metformin	Drugs	0.5g - 1g, 1x per day	Diabetes medication (off-label) suspected to have anti-aging effects[2]
Statin	Drugs	?	Prevention of cardiovascular disease (family history)[1]
Baby aspirin	Drugs	?	Prevention of cardiovascular disease (family history)[1]
Hot Cold Therapy	Lifestyle	1 hour, 1x / week	Sauna @ 150 F, then steam room, then cold pool @ 4 degrees C.[Impact Theory]
InsideTracker	Services	every 6 months	Comprehensive biomarkers blood testing service. Using it since 2008.[3]
Oura Ring	Products	?	Sleep tracking ring (wearable)[5]
Blue light blocking glasses	Products	nightly?	Filtering out blue light in the evenings is potentially effective in improving sleep quality.[4]
Freestyle Libre	Products	daily?	Continuous glucose monitor. Aim to keep glucose levels low.(Siim Land Podcast)
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN)	Supplements	1g, 1x per day	NAD precursor believed to have anti-aging effects. Taken with yogurt in the mornings.[4]
Resveratrol	Supplements	1g, 1x per day	A sirtuin activator found in red wine that may have anti-aging properties in humans.[Found My Fitness 2019]
Meditation	Lifestyle	?	Meditation is often used to reduce stress levels.[4]

What does David Sinclair take? Key Summary.

According to interviews with David Sinclair on the Joe Rogan Experience, Talks at Google, and Impact Theory in Fall 2019, these are the supplements he currently takes:

Resveratrol, 1g per day - A compound found in red wine that is believed to support sirtuin gene pathways that repair cells. Taken in the morning with yogurt
NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), 1g per day - A NAD+ precursor. NAD+ is a chemical compound vital to cell metabolism that also supports sirtuin gene pathways.
Metformin, 0.5g per day - A diabetes drug that is currently being studied for efficacy in delaying age-related disease in a FDA trial (see TAME). Only taken on days when not exercising.

Editor's Notes

General

I've been following David Sinclair ever since I discovered him through Twitter / The Peter Attia Podcast

Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard who has spent nearly 30 years studying aging. The compounds he takes in the hopes of slowing down aging are promising but warrant further investigation. Sinclair has repeatedly stated he does not tell people what to take, instead choosing to simply share what personally takes. He has readily admitted on previous podcasts that he takes a self-experimental approach to anti-aging compounds such as metformin and NMN. It is important to remember to never blindly follow someone else's regimen or biohacking stack. Any medical treatment should be done under the supervision of a licensed medical professional.

Sinlair's opinions on exercise and diet are probably more informed than the average layperson, but I don't think they are really his field of expertise per se. He has stated that nobody knows what the perfect diet is. However, given his professed desire to live to 100 and "outlive his enemies", his regimens are worth investigating for yourself.

Information Theory of Aging

David Sinclair believes that aging can be traced back to a single fundamental cause: The loss of epigenetic information. Loosely speaking, the epigenome refers to chemical modifications of the genome that do not alter DNA sequence. These modifications regulate gene expression and Sinclair believes that over time noise and loss of this information causes cells to begin to lose their identities, malfunction, and result in aging of an organism.

Epigenome modifications include things like histone alterations and DNA methylation, the latter being the basis for Steve Horvath's epigenetic clock.

Three Levels of Anti-Aging

Sinclair divides anti-aging interventions into three different levels:

Level 1: Reset gene transcription factors through hunger (caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, time restricted eating)

Level 2: Silencing certain (antagonistic pleiotropic?) genes for a long time through exercise, diet, and compounds that activate sirtuins like metformin.

Level 3 "Deep Layer of Aging": Therapies in development today. Targeting epigenetic noise (methylation, histone markers, etc) permanently.

The number one thing David Sinclair recommends

According to Sinclair, the number one thing you can do right now to slow down aging is be hungry more often. Fasting activates gene pathways that tell our cells to hunker down and repair.

NR vs NMN

David Sinclair takes the NAD+ precursor NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) over the other popular precursor, NR (nicotinamide riboside), since he has already has a "stash" of NMN. He also believes that NMN is the more chemically stable compound. Otherwise, from an efficacy perspective, he suspects they are roughly the same.

Exercise and Metformin

David Sinclair no longer takes metformin daily, reserving the drug for days that he is not exercising and using a pulse on-off schedule. There have been scientific reports that metformin blunts the benefits of aerobic exercise in humans.

Biotracking

David Sinclair recommends biotracking through blood tests (he uses and is an investor in InsideTracker) to monitor any improvements in health after changes in a regimen (Joe Rogan Podcast).

Sinclair's Father

David Sinclair has spoken many times about his 80-year-old father's experimentation with David's anti-aging regimens (Metformin, NMN, Resveratrol). Anecdotally, it appears to be a great success. Sinclair has previously said that if you were to "put a bag" on his father's head, one would think he was 40 instead of 80.

Antagonistic Pleiotropy -- What helps us in young age hurts us in old age

Sinclair believes in the theory of Antagonistic Pleiotropy for aging - that some of the genes that provide fitness in early life become detrimental in aging.

Does David Sinclair take rapamyacin?

David Sinclair stated he does not take rapamyacin (an immunosuppressant drug some believe to have anti-aging benefits) in Kevin Rose's latest podcast interview.

Videos & Podcasts

A more science-y talk @Google:

A few good general podcast episodes done around the launch of Sinclair's book, Lifespan:

References

[1] Modern Wisdom Podcast Ep #66. 2019-04-22

[2] David Sinclair LinkedIn Blog. 2018-06-25.

[3] Joe Rogan Podcast Episode #1234. 2019-01-29.

[4]Rich Roll Podcast Ep #436. 2019-04-23.

[5] David Sinclair Twitter post. 2019-04-25