David Sinclair, a professor at Harvard University is perhaps the foremost expert in the growing field of longevity research. In a recent video, titled “Dr David Sinclair – Defeating Ageing & Living Longer | Modern Wisdom Podcast 343” [The video has been made private by the uploader], Dr. Sinclair discusses the supplements he is currently taking, as well as his diet and exercise routine.
m0:23 – Avoids fried food and a lot of meat.
m0:30 – Typical meal is a bit of cheese and vegetables.
m1:40 – Eating one meal a day is a process that takes time – at least 2 weeks.
m2:20 – Minimum exercise would be running 3x per week on a treadmill up to running 20 miles per week.
m3:25 – Does light dumbbells with a lot of reps, but fast for both strength and cardio workout.
m5:22 – Being obese is a bad as smoking. Maintain a healthy BMI.
m7:39 – Recently added Quercetin and Fisetin.
m9:28 – He has a glass of wine or a whiskey every night.
m9:55 – If you add a bit of fatty food with resveratrol, you get 5x more in blood.
David Sinclair’s Supplement Stack
Bear in mind that Dr. David Sinclair has made it a point to not promote or endorse any supplement products or brands. This list was taken from his book, “Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To” (page 304) and his many interviews. It’s not known if he still takes these supplements or whether he takes other, additional supplements not on this list.
NMN + Resveratrol: 1 gram (1,000mg) of NMN and 0.5 gram (500mg) of resveratrol each morning. He also mixes this in with his own homemade yogurt to make it more bioavailable.
In regards to NMN and Resveratrol, David has said that these are molecules which essentially mimic the effects of the sirtuin genes. “You can think of resveratrol as the accelerator pedal for the sirtuin genes, and NMN as the fuel. Resveratrol steps on the accelerator pedal of the sirtuin enzymes, but you need the fuel (NMN) for resveratrol to work.”
Metformin: 1 gram daily – 0.5 grams in the morning and 0.5 grams at night. He only uses metformin, though on days he does not workout.
Metformin – Uses the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and has been shown to extend the lifespan of animals. Human trials are underway.
Vitamin D3 and K2
High Dose Statin (David has stated he has genetically driven high cholesterol and takes a cholesterol lowering prescription drug since his early 20s due to family history of cardiovascular disease)
TMG (trimethylglycine)
TMG is used as “an insurance policy” against loss of too many methyl groups. The body methylates and excretes used up NMN, known as nicotinamide or NAM in the urine when it is in excess, potentially depleting cells of methyl groups. Methyl groups are important for synthesizing creatine for muscle and dopamine for the brain.
Baby aspirin (83mg)
Omega-3 fish oil
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Coenzyme Q10
Quercetin
Fisetin
Both Quercetin and Fisetin are flavonoids taken because of their senolytic properties, as explained in the video above.
David Sinclair’s Diet
Sinclair skips breakfast and lunch on most days and tries to eat only one meal a day, known as the “One Meal a Day” diet or OMAD diet, a type of intermittent fasting that promotes autophagy.
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out dysfunctional or damaged cells in order to regenerate newer, healthier ones. “Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So autophagy literally means “self-eating”, similar to turning on a self-cleaning oven – except that instead of burning off the debris, it is recycled in throughout the body.
Strives to keep sugar, bread, and pasta intake as low as possible. Gave up desserts at age 40.
Eats a lot of plants and will eat meat if he’s working out. Resveratrol is just one of a bunch of polyphenols that plants make when they’re stressed
1 cup of coffee in the morning, green tea after that
Limit protein intake, and specifically red meat Why? A molecule in meat (Trimethylamine N-oxide – TMAO) has been linked to heart disease.
Some fish, and occasionally chicken
David Sinclair’s Exercise Routine
Run 1-2x a week, at a fairly high intensity. His goal in exercising is to stay healthy and mentally sharp rather than to be muscular
Both he and Joe Rogan use a U-shaped Assault Treadmill
He’ll also box and lift weights 2-3x a week
David frequently uses a sauna in conjunction with a cold bath
Joe suggests going from the sauna to cryotherapy (sounds like there’s one down the road from the studio)
Joe says he typically stays in for 3 minutes, takes a 10 min. break, and then goes back in for another 3 minutes
David Sinclair’s Other Longevity Tactics
He doesn’t smoke and tries to avoid microwaved plastic
Avoids excessive UV exposure, X-rays, and CT scans. According to Sinclair, X-ray scanners “change the epigenome”. The genome is your DNA/genes. The epigenome is what regulates/reads those genes at the right time. According to Sinclair: “What I think is causing aging is not the loss of the digital information (the genes/DNA), but the reader (the epigenome)”. So when we age, our cells are losing the ability to read the right genes the way we could do in our younger years. In short, x-rays add up over time, and act as smalls “scratches” to the DNA/chromosome. When the body repairs these “scratches”, this disrupts its ability to read the right gene at the right place (aka the epigenome).
Wearing blue light blocking glasses a few hours before bed has greatly improved David’s sleep quality
Tries to keep body weight or BMI in the optimal range of 23 – 25