David Sinclair’s Diet and Exercise Patterns
The Main Principles Of Dr. David Sinclair’s Diet
David Sinclair’s diet is a combination of 3 main principles of healthy living. Those main principles are nutritious foods, intermittent fasting, and regular exercise.
Dr. David Sinclair is well known for his spectacular work as a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, his longevity diet, and his lifestyle choices. His main interest in the epidemics in aging has gained him spectacular knowledge about longevity and life choices that should be made to live a more fulfilling life.
Dr. Sinclair’s Food Preferences
According to Dr. Sinclair, the best chance to live a longer life is closely related to eating healthy food and maintaining a balanced diet. Here are a few highly nutritious foods that should be considered.
Vegetables
- Spinach originated in Persia and is one of the most nutritious among leafy green vegetables. Spinach is low in calories and contains mainly water, meaning that it can boost your hydration levels as well. All carbs in spinach consist of fiber, meaning that it is a significantly healthy vegetable. Another benefit is that it makes you full more easily as extracted thylakoid reduces appetite. Finally, it fights free radicals as the antioxidants in spinach limit the harm that these molecules can cause to the cells.
- Kale has been a part of a healthy meal since Roman times and for a very good reason. Kale has vitamin A which is important for eye and bone health as well as the immune system. Folate in Kale is a key component for brain development while Alpha-linolenic acid and omega-3 fatty acid help to get some healthy fats in the body.
And that is not all, vitamin C in Kale is an excellent antioxidant and serves very important functions in the human body. Vitamin C is necessary for the synthesis of collagen which is the most abundant protein in our bodies.
- Vibrant red beets are well known because of their essential vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds. They are one of the few vegetables that contain betalains, an antioxidant that gives beets that vibrant color. One of the properties that beets have is helping to balance human energy intake.
Red beets help the human heart and lungs to work better during exercise as nitric oxide increases blood flow to the muscles. Beets are also low in fat and calories, but high in water, this way improving the balance of energy intake. They also have compounds that reduce inflammation and protect our cells from damage.
Other Foods
Shrimp is another food that David Sinclair includes in his diet. Shrimp is not only one of the most famous seafood and appears in a variety of dishes, but also has an impressive nutritional value.
Shrimp is a very good source of protein while being low in calories. It helps you stay full for a longer period, which is important while taking care of your weight and maximizing your exercise performance. In addition, shrimp provides iodine, phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium which help with the immune system, bone health, and blood pressure.
Alongside all of these benefits, shrimp is one of the foods that increase NAD+, a central compound that helps to extend longevity. Cognitive health can be improved by eating shrimp as well. This seafood has astaxanthin, an antioxidant that can help to protect from free radical damage and lower the risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
Although blueberries might seem little, they have big health benefits. According to studies, blueberries can help with aging, cancer, and DNA damage. They have a generous amount of antioxidants that create a barrier around the cell and reduce the impact of oxidative stress.
Moreover, blueberries have manganese, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Manganese and Vitamin K helps with blood clotting, additionally, manganese promotes bone and muscle strength. Vitamin C is well known for boosting the immune system.
Soluble fiber is another property of blueberries. Soluble fiber can help with cholesterol, as it binds to the bile and helps to remove it with the body’s waste.
David Sinclair’s Fasting Protocol
One of the lifestyle choices that Dr. David Sinclair implemented in his life is intermittent fasting (IF). He skips breakfast and lunch on most days and starts his day only with a cup of black coffee. According to David Sinclair, it is “one of the best things you can do for your health”.
Intermittent fasting differentiates from other diets as it is an eating plan that switches between fasting and a regular eating schedule. Instead of focusing mainly on what you eat, it is more about when you are eating your meals.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
When practicing intermittent fasting, the key requirement is to regularly eat during a specific time window.
For example, you could eat for an 8–9 hour period and fast for the rest of the day or you might choose to eat only one meal a day for 2 days a week. According to David Sinclair, not eating for 16 hours within a 24-hours time window is the most preferred fasting method for him.
Fasting for a certain number of hours every day helps to not only burn body fat but also gives you other health benefits. According to the research, intermittent fasting is closely associated with longer life, a healthier body, and improved cognition.
One of the potential health benefits of IF is the insulin level in your body. After a few weeks, during the fasting period, your liver will start to make glucose at a steady level. As a result, it will not cause significant spikes in insulin which is the main reason for feeling tired.
It also has a record of helping to boost verbal memory in adults and initiating your cells to start gene expression. The changes in gene expression are closely related to longevity and protection against different diseases.
If you are new to fasting, Dr. Sinclair recommends skipping only one meal, whether it would be the first or the last meal of the day.
David Sinclair’s Exercise Protocol
Exercise is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle as it brings an uncountable number of benefits. Those benefits also include the increase of NAD+ levels, and the ability to modify longevity regulators such as SIRTs, NF-kB, AMPK, and mTOR in the right direction.
While exercising Dr. David Sinclair seeks to follow these aspects:
- Raise heart and respiratory rate.
- Choose higher intensity exercise (HIIT workouts are recommended)
- Pay attention to his breathing. Breathing should be deep and rapid, approximately at 70–85% of maximum heart rate. This way your body boosts oxygen into the bloodstream and increases caloric burn, which helps to activate the Epigenetic clock.
- Choose a more difficult workout that makes it difficult to say more than a few words without pausing for breath (also known as a hypoxic response).
- Working out in cold weather as it increases the immune system.
Other Lifestyle Practices To Prolong Your Lifespan
Alongside a healthy diet, intermittent fasting, and exercise, there are a few more practices and products that the professor includes to increase his longevity and feel healthier. It includes various supplements such as NMN, Vitamin D3, Coenzyme Q10, Resveratrol, and TMG. Moreover, regular meditation, and expansion of thermoneutral zones (cold therapies).
Supplements
Natural supplements instead of prescription drugs. Dr. Sinclair believes that supplements might be a very important factor when preventing damage from free radicals and improving health. “Natural supplements can replace prescription drugs — they are safer and more effective”.
The stack of Professor’s D.Sinclair supplements includes:
- NMN supplements. David Sinclair’s NMN dosage is 1000mg. NMN supplements may increase insulin sensitivity, energy levels, and sharpen your mind.
- Resveratrol. Dr. Sinclair dissolves 1000mg of Resveratrol in olive oil and drinks it every morning. It works well with NMN by activating Sirtuin genes and DNA repair.
- Metformin. Dr. Sinclair uses 1000mg of Metformin every day, apart from the days when he is exercising.
- Statin. Dr. Sinclair uses Statin from the age of 29 and now has a heart of 20-year-old. However, it is important to note that Statin is not suitable for everyone, and before choosing to include it in your supplements stack, consult your doctor.
- Aspirin. David Sinclair takes 85 mg of Aspirin daily as it may protect against heart stroke. However, it is important to stay cautious about taking Aspirin in large doses as it may lead to bleeding.
Meditation
Meditation is a practice of quieting the mind and deeply focusing for a certain period. It helps to reduce stress, relax more easily, and boost memory. Meditation may even help to increase your longevity.
According to scientific evidence, regular practice of meditation might help to manage anxiety and depression which are two of the many other factors that affect the human lifespan. It also shows an effect on the immune system and lowers cortisol levels (also known as the stress hormone).
Nowadays meditation can be adapted with a lot of help from various sources. Meditation is available from real-life classes, to specially designed apps that are personalized to the individual.
Cold Therapies
According to Harvard professor David Sinclair, his interest in cold therapies started in 2008. And since then he has tried a few simple and easily adaptable principles that he uses to this day.
Those principles include slightly opening your window at night, leaving heavy blankets behind, especially when sleeping, turning the thermostat above 69, and turning it down to 67 for the duration of the night.
During the gym sessions, if possible, the professor recommends plunging into the cool pool for at least 20 seconds. David Sinclair has been practicing this activity himself for a while and sees the results of instant refreshment and energy for the rest of the day.
Summary
To conclude, It is clear that to feel your best self it is important to make a change not only in one aspect of your life but make at least small adjustments in all of them. By combining a better diet, eating schedule, and changes in your daily routine you will be able to see the difference in your physical and mental health as well as increase your chance to have a longer lifespan.
