Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To, with Professor David Sinclair #208

4 snips

Oct 12, 2021

In this insightful discussion, David Sinclair, a Harvard professor and a leading authority on longevity, shares groundbreaking ideas about reversing aging. He emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes such as intermittent fasting, plant-based diets, and exercise to activate our longevity genes. Sinclair highlights aging as the root of major chronic diseases and proposes a shift in healthcare focus. With practical tips and inspiring research, he encourages listeners to rethink aging and embrace habits that could enhance vitality and extend healthy lifespans.

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INSIGHT

Survival Genes

Longevity genes are essentially survival genes activated by adversity.
Continuous activation, through practices like fasting, can slow aging as a side effect.

INSIGHT

Aging as a Medical Condition

Modern medicine needs to shift from treating symptoms to addressing aging as the root cause of most diseases.
Aging should be classified as a medical condition for preventative treatment.

ANECDOTE

Biological vs. Chronological Age

Dr. Chatterjee recounts helping a patient realize his biological age exceeded his chronological age.
This realization motivated the patient to engage actively in lifestyle changes.

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My guest today is a revolutionary thinker and ground-breaking scientist who’s on a mission to make you younger. And if that sounds promising, you’ll be pleased to know this podcast contains practical advice you can start to follow today.

He’s Australian biologist and Harvard professor David Sinclair, author of Lifespan: Why We Age – And Why We Don’t Have To. David is one of the world’s leading scientific authorities on longevity, ageing and how to slow its effects. His research interest is the epigenetics of ageing and how we can reprogramme our genes to stop and even reverse it. That’s right – reverse the ageing process. And when you listen to him explain the science, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

The key to staying young, he explains, is inducing hormesis, a state of survival in our bodies, and you don’t need a lab to do it. Simple habits like skipping meals, eating more plants and less meat, certain types of exercise, and hot/cold therapies can create just enough adversity to switch on our bodies’ longevity genes.

David’s goal is not vanity. It’s not to make us young for the sake of it. Instead, he’s shining a spotlight on ageing as the root cause of all the major chronic diseases that ultimately kill us. Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, dementia – his research suggests they could all be eliminated if we looked at the common cause, instead of treating the end symptoms.

Of course, this would result in a population who spent significantly more time on earth, so we discuss the ethical questions this raises in the light of our climate and economic crises. Would ageing really be better described as a disease than a natural, inevitable process? This conversation contains so many thinking points and lots of practical tips that we can all start to apply immediately. Would you want to live to 150, if you could do so in full health?

CAUTION: If you have type-2 diabetes or are on any blood sugar lowering medications, talk to a healthcare professional before you go for prolonged periods without eating.

Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/208

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.