What To Do For Longevity | Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair Rewind

David Sinclair (0:00)

Welcome to Lifespan, a show where we discuss the cutting edge science of aging and how to live healthier at any stage of life.

I'm David Sinclair, a scientist and professor working on understanding why we age and discovering new ways to slow and even reverse the aging process.

On this show, I share an insider's look at the latest from my lab, the field and what's just around the corner.

When we launched Lifespan Season 1, it was intended as an eight-episode experiment to explore whether there was demand for understanding the science of aging and how to apply it in everyday life. What happened next surprised me. The show became the number one ranked health and fitness podcast and helped spark a global interest in longevity science. Since then, while I've been running my lab to understand how age reversal works and getting the first age reversal drug into humans, almost every day someone has asked me, when is season two coming? Now that both those endeavors are on track, I'm bringing Lifespan back for season two. We're kicking things off with two special Rewind episodes. This one is about how to live longer and healthier, featuring some of the most important and unexpected insights from season one. From what to do and what to avoid for a longer healthier life, to some of the most surprising discoveries about aging and what affects it. Longevity is driven by daily habits, not complexity, just consistency, and I'm going to guide you through it. Even if you watch season one, go watch these Rewinds I have. It's very relevant to our lives today, and we'll prepare you for season two.

Importantly, every insight meets Lifespan's rigorous scientific standards, meaning the science we're revisiting remains as true today as it was at the time of recording. This show is actually part of something much bigger. I'm launching Lifespan, a global community designed to connect you with me and other thought leaders with evidence-based insights and the latest advances in longevity research. I've hired a team of PhDs to produce Lifespan Magazine, the most accurate source of information to live better longer that you'll find anywhere. At Lifespan, we will support each other in our journeys and learn what actually works together. Lifespan is also very proud to support medical research and the careers of young scientists. If you'd like to go deeper, go to lifespan.com to sign up for early access and get bonus show content, Lifespan Magazine, exclusive Ask Me Anything sessions with me, a book club and much more to come. This show is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified health care provider as individual results may vary. Views expressed on my own and not those of Harvard University or Harvard Medical School. Full disclaimer is in the show notes.

SPEAKER_2 (3:02)

The one starting place is, wait for it, drum roll. Drum roll.

For longevity, the one starting place is?

David Sinclair (3:09)

Eat less often. Those three words, eat less often.

SPEAKER_2 (3:13)

Okay. And this doesn't mean eat fewer calories necessarily. It can. It can and that's good.

David Sinclair (3:21)

Yes.

SPEAKER_2 (3:21)

That's good. But a lot of people struggle to do that, to eat fewer calories.

David Sinclair (3:26)

Well, it comes naturally. If you're down to one meal a day, which I am now, you shed weight and then you get your 20 year old body back. That's a nice bonus. But then you maintain that weight. You have a larger dinner, which is what I do, to make sure I'm not becoming malnourished. Clearly, we're not talking about malnutrition or starvation here. It's about packing your calories into a shorter period of time.

SPEAKER_2 (3:50)

That's because packing your meals into a shorter period almost inevitably means less calories. But it's not really what's happening here. It's not just about less calories. It's about what eating less often does inside of our bodies.

David Sinclair (4:08)

Right. And we'll get to that. But really, it's not just about the period of eating. It's the period of not eating that's so important for boosting the body's defenses against aging to maximize longevity. And we'll talk about how that actually works in a minute. But you can still have a large body and fast and get the benefits. In my lab, we've looked at mice that are obese and tricked them into thinking that they're fasted and they live just as long as a skinny mouse.

So really, it's about getting your body into this state of defense at any weight. Though I would say that there are certain optimal body weights that it's clear that if you're carrying excess weight, you're going to accelerate your aging clock.