The Biology of Slowing & Reversing Aging | Dr. David Sinclair

(uptempo music) Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, my guest is Dr. David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of The Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging. Dr. Sinclair's work is focused on why we age and how to slow or reverse the effects of aging by focusing on the cellular and molecular pathways that exist in all cells of the body, and that progress those cells over time from young cells to old cells. By elucidating the biology of cellular maturation and aging, Dr. Sinclair's group has figured out intervention points by which any of us, indeed all of us, can slow or reverse the effects of aging. What is unique about his work is that it focuses on behavioral interventions, nutritional interventions, as well as supplementation and prescription drug interventions that can help us all age more slowly and reverse the effects of aging in all tissues of the body. Dr. Sinclair holds a unique and revolutionary view of the aging process, which is that aging is not the normal and natural consequence that we all will suffer, but rather that aging is a disease that can be slowed or halted. Dr. Sinclair continually publishes original research articles in the most prestigious and competitive scientific journals. In addition to that, he's published a popular book that was a New York Times bestseller. The title of that book is Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To. He is also very active in public-facing efforts to educate people on the biology of aging and slowing the aging process. Dr. Sinclair and I share a mutual interest and excitement in public education about science. And so I'm thrilled to share with you that we've partnered, and Dr. David Sinclair is going to be launching the Lifespan podcast, which is all about the biology of aging and tools to intervene in the aging process. That podcast will launch Wednesday, January 5th. You can find it at the link in the show notes to this episode today. As well, you can subscribe to that podcast on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify, or anywhere that you get your podcasts. Again, the Lifespan podcast featuring Dr. David Sinclair begins Wednesday, January 5th, 2022. Be sure to check it out. You're going to learn a tremendous amount of information and you're going to learn both the mechanistic science behind aging, the mechanistic science behind reversing the aging process, and practical tools that you can apply in your everyday life. In today's episode, Dr. Sinclair and I talk about the biology of aging and tools to intervene in that process. And so you might view today's episode as a primer for the Lifespan podcast, because we delve deep into the behavioral tools, nutritional aspects, supplementation aspects of the biology of aging. We also talk about David's important discoveries of the sirtuins, particular molecular components that influence what is called the epigenome. And if you don't know what the epigenome is, you will soon learn in today's episode. Coming away from today's episode, you will have in-depth knowledge about the biology of aging at the cellular, molecular, and what we call the circuit level, meaning how the different organs and tissues of the bodies age independently and how they influence the aging of each other. Today's episode gets into discussion about many aspects of aging and tools to combat aging that have not been discussed on any other podcasts or in the book Lifespan. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is ROKA. ROKA makes eyeglasses and sunglasses that are of the absolute highest quality. I've spent a lifetime working on the visual system and I can tell you that the visual system has to contend with a number of different challenges, such as when you move from a bright area outside to an area where there are shadows, you have to adjust a number of things in your visual system so that you can still see things clearly. One problem with a lot of eyeglasses and sunglasses is they don't take that biological feature into account and you have to take off your glasses and put them back on depending on how bright or dim a given environment is. With ROKA eyeglasses and sunglasses, you always see things with the utmost clarity. In addition, they're very lightweight and they won't slip off your face. In fact, they were designed to be worn while biking or running and in various activities, but they also have a terrific aesthetic, so you could wear them to dinner or work. I wear readers at night and when I drive and I wear the sunglasses for most of the day. If you'd like to try ROKA sunglasses or eyeglasses, you can go to roka.com, that's R-O-K-A .com, and enter the code Huberman to save 20% off your first order. Again, that's ROKA, R-O-K-A .com and enter the code Huberman at checkout. Today's episode is also brought to us by InsideTracker. InsideTracker is a personalized nutrition platform that analyzes data from your blood and DNA to help you better understand your body and help you reach your health goals. I've long been a believer in getting regular blood work done, for the simple reason that many of the factors that impact your immediate and long-term health can only be assessed from a quality blood test. And now with the advent of modern DNA tests, you can also get a clear picture of what your biological age is and compare that to your chronological age. And obviously your biological age is the important one, because it predicts how long you will live and it's the one that you can control. The great thing about InsideTracker is that compared to a lot of other DNA tests and blood tests out there, is that with InsideTracker, you don't just get your numbers back at the levels of various hormones, metabolic factors, blood lipids, et cetera, but it also offers clear directives to lifestyle factors, nutritional factors and supplementation that you can use in order to get the numbers into the ranges that are best for you and for your health. If you'd like to try InsideTracker, you can go to insidetracker.com/huberman to get 25% off any of InsideTracker's plans. Just use the code Huberman at checkout. Again, that's insidetracker.com/huberman to get 25% off any of InsideTracker's plans.Today's episode is also brought to us by Magic Spoon. Magic Spoon is a zero sugar, grain-free, keto-friendly cereal. Now, I don't follow a strictly ketogenic diet. What works best for me is to eat according to my desire to be alert at certain times of day and to be sleepy at other times of day. So for me, that means fasting until about 11:00 AM or 12 noon most days, and then my lunch is typically a low carb, keto-ish lunch, maybe a small piece of grass-fed meat, some salad, something of that sort. And then in the afternoon, I might have a snack that's also keto-ish. And then at night is when I eat my carbohydrates, which for me, helps me with the transition to sleep and allows me to get great deep sleep. That's what works for me. What that means is then in the afternoon, I'm craving a snack, and the snack for me is Magic Spoon. What I do lately is I put in some Bulgarian yogurt, sometimes I just eat it straight. Each serving of Magic Spoon has zero sh- grams of sugar, 13 to 14 grams of protein, and only four grams of carbohydrates in each serving, so it really matches that low carb, keto-ish approach. There's only 140 calories per serving, and they have a variety of flavors, cocoa, fruity, peanut butter, frosted. I particularly like frosted 'cause it tastes like donuts. I try not to eat donuts, but I do love the frosted, and as I mentioned before, I lately mix it with yogurt, put a little cinnamon on there. I'm getting hungry just talking about it now. If you want to try Magic Spoon, you can go to magicspoon.com/huberman to grab a variety pack. Use the promo code Huberman at checkout to get $5 off your order. Again, that's magicspoon.com/huberman and use the code Huberman to get $5 off. And now my conversation with Dr. David Sinclair. Thank you for coming.