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

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
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 Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all in one vitamin mineral probiotic drink. I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012 So I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast. The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs. It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have. In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health. I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body. With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need and the probiotics to support my microbiome. If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to athleticgreens.com/huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year supply of vitamin D3K2. There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Even if we're getting a lot of sunshine, many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3 and K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body and so on. Again, go to athleticgreens.com/huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3K2. Today's episode is also brought to us by Element. Element is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means the exact ratios of electrolytes are an element and those are sodium, magnesium and potassium, but it has no sugar. I've talked many times before on this podcast about the key role of hydration and electrolytes for nerve cell function, neuron function, as well as the function of all the cells and all the tissues and organ systems of the body. If we have sodium, magnesium and potassium present in the proper ratios, all of those cells function properly and all our bodily systems can be optimized. If the electrolytes are not present and if hydration is low, we simply can't think as well as we would otherwise. Our mood is off, hormone systems go off, our ability to get into physical action, to engage in endurance and strength and all sorts of other things is diminished. So with element, you can make sure that you're staying on top of your hydration and that you're getting the proper ratios of electrolytes. If you'd like to try element, you can go to drink element that's lmnt.com/huberman and you'll get a free element sample pack with your purchase. They're all delicious. So again, if you want to try element, you can go to element lmnt.com/huberman.