Rewind Your Clock: David Sinclair, PhD Wants To 'Cure' Aging

Feb 10, 2020

David Sinclair, a renowned Professor of Genetics at Harvard and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center, delves into groundbreaking ideas on aging. He discusses treating aging as a disease and the role of lifestyle choices, like sleep and diet, in prolonging life. Sinclair highlights the significance of biological clocks in measuring age and innovations like resveratrol that may impact longevity. He also challenges societal views on aging, advocating for a proactive approach to health and the ethical implications of extending lifespan.

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INSIGHT

Converging Pathways

Exercise, calorie restriction, and other stressors activate the same longevity pathways.
These pathways converge on a master regulatory pathway controlled by the PNC1 gene and NAD.

INSIGHT

Sauna, Cold, and NAD

Sauna and cold therapy likely boost NAD production through the NAMPT gene, mimicking exercise and hunger.
NAMPT is a key regulator of NAD, potentially explaining the benefits of these therapies.

ADVICE

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is effective for longevity and allows more calorie consumption than constant restriction.
Both methods work similarly in mice, but intermittent fasting offers greater flexibility.

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Aging is inevitable. Everybody grows old. Everyone dies.

We accept these statements as fact.

But what if they're just stories based on history and our current understanding of biology?

What if everything we think we know about aging is about to change?

Across the globe, scientists are working on treatments and therapies that are designed to extend healthy human lifespans well beyond what we know today.

At the bleeding edge of such breakthroughs you will find David Sinclair, PhD, one of the world’s leading scientific authorities on longevity, aging and how to slow its effects.

Returning for his second appearance on the podcast, David is a professor in the Department of Genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1995 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at M.I.T. where, among other things, he co-discovered the cause of aging for yeast.

The co-founder of several biotechnology companies, David is also co-founder and co-chief editor of the journal Aging. His work has been featured in a variety of books, documentaries, and media, including 60 Minutes, Nightline and NOVA. He is an inventor on 35 patents, has been lauded as one of the Top 100 Australian Innovators, and made TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In addition, David is the author of Lifespan: The Revolutionary Science of Why We Age -- and Why We Don't Have To -- a New York Times bestseller that proposes a radical new theory of aging. As he writes: “Aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable.”

Last year I convened my first conversation with David (RRP #436), a scintillating and science-heavy primer on all things human lifespan, aging and longevity. It was a runaway hit with the listeners -- and left me wanting to know more.

So today we pick up where we last left off, diving deeper into the physiological mechanisms that contribute to biological degeneration. And we go further into the current state of research to better understand what contributes to aging and what can be done to counteract it.

Call him a dreamer, but David believes living to 200+ is a plausible reality. If you could double your lifespan, how would this impact how you choose to live? What would it mean for the future of humanity? And for the ecological stability of the planet? The implications are profound.

Equal parts philosophic and scientific, this conversation will forever change the way you think about why you age and what you can do about it. And it will leave you armed simple lifestyle practices you can deploy -- intermittent fasting, cold exposure, exercising with the right intensity, and eating less meat -- that will help you live younger and healthier for longer.

Brilliant and lovely, it’s an honor to once again share this man's wisdom with you today. So break out that pen and paper, because you're going to want to take notes on this one.

The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the episode.

Peace + Plants,

Rich