David Sinclair is a serious scientist whose Harvard lab does real work on the biology of aging, which is exactly why his personal supplement choices get so much attention. The picture is split. The research he studies, sirtuins, NAD and the idea that aging is partly a loss of epigenetic information that can be reset, is legitimate and in places astonishing. His personal regimen and his public optimism run ahead of what human evidence has confirmed, and his commercial ties, to NAD precursor companies and to a longevity-test business, mean his enthusiasm is not disinterested. This review goes through the stack as he has described it in his book and on his podcast, grades each item by the human evidence, adds up the cost, and separates the scientist from the shopping list.
David Sinclair's stack in 60 seconds. As he has described it, most consistently in Lifespan and in his 2022 podcast series: NMN, about 1 g in the morning; resveratrol, about 1 g, taken with yogurt or olive oil because it needs fat to absorb; metformin, about 1 g, a prescription diabetes drug he takes for its possible anti-aging effect and skips on exercise days; TMG (trimethylglycine) to replace the methyl groups NMN metabolism uses up; vitamin D3 with K2; low-dose aspirin; a statin; and, in some accounts, spermidine, fisetin and quercetin as senolytic bets. What the evidence supports: NMN does what the simplest claim says, it raises NAD, and nothing in people shows it slows aging; resveratrol has disappointed; metformin for aging is an open question with a trial still waiting for funding; the aspirin and the statin are medical decisions his doctor made for him; and the senolytics are mouse results.
The short answer: follow the research with interest, keep the fundamentals first, and treat his stack as the experiment he says it is. A famous researcher taking something is not evidence that it works.
Who Is David Sinclair, and Why Does His Stack Matter?
Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, co-director of a center on the biology of aging, and the author of Lifespan, which argued that aging is a disease and a treatable one. His lab's work on sirtuins and NAD in the 2000s, and more recently on partial epigenetic reprogramming, put him at the center of the field. He has co-founded companies in the space, including ones working on NAD precursors and on biological age testing, and he has been publicly corrected more than once for overstating what a result means. None of that makes the science wrong. It means his personal stack is a set of bets by a man with strong priors and commercial interests, and it should be read that way.
The Science He Studies, and What It Has Shown in People
The ideas are real. Sirtuins are proteins that respond to energy stress and need NAD to work; NAD declines with age in several tissues; and in 2020 his lab showed that resetting part of the epigenome in old mice restored vision (Lu Y et al., 2020). Epigenetic change now sits on the agreed list of aging hallmarks (López-Otín C et al., 2023). The crucial caveat is where the dramatic results live: in mice, cells and worms. The human results are more modest, and they are the ones that matter for a stack. What the human clocks can and cannot measure is in biological age vs chronological age.
What David Sinclair Takes: The List, With the Human Evidence
The grades below are Reverse Age Lab's reading of the human research for the purpose given for each item. Strong means repeated randomized trials in people show the effect. Moderate means the effect is real but conditional, for example only when a deficiency exists. Early means small or short human studies with mixed results. Weak means no convincing human trials for the claim.
Item | What it is | Why he says he takes it | Human evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
NMN, about 1 g a day | A precursor the body turns into NAD | Restore the NAD that falls with age | Early: raises blood NAD in every trial; improved muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women; a 60-day trial found modest gains in walking distance; no trial on aging itself |
Resveratrol, about 1 g a day | A polyphenol from grape skins | Activate sirtuins | Weak: poorly absorbed; blood levels were unrelated to mortality, cancer or heart disease in 783 older adults |
Metformin, about 1 g a day | A prescription diabetes drug | A possible anti-aging effect | Early: people with diabetes on metformin lived as long as matched people without diabetes in one cohort; the trial to test it in healthy people (TAME) has not run |
TMG (trimethylglycine) | A methyl donor | Replace methyl groups used by NMN breakdown | Weak: a reasonable biochemical argument; no trial of the pairing |
Vitamin D3 with K2 | The sunshine vitamin plus a cofactor | Bone, immunity | Moderate for D when low; no benefit when replete in a 25,871-person trial |
Low-dose aspirin | A prescription-grade decision | Heart, cancer | A medical decision: benefits and bleeding risks depend on the person; not a supplement |
A statin | Prescription cholesterol drug | Family history of heart disease | Strong for the purpose, prescribed; not a supplement |
Spermidine | A polyamine in wheat germ and aged cheese | Autophagy | Early: higher dietary intake went with lower mortality in a cohort; a one-year supplement trial found no cognitive benefit |
Fisetin and quercetin | Plant flavonoids with senolytic activity in mice | Clear senescent cells | Weak in people: fisetin extended lifespan in mice; human trials are small and unfinished |
What the Evidence Supports
NMN raises NAD. This part is settled. In a 10-week randomized trial, 250 mg a day of NMN increased muscle insulin sensitivity in 25 postmenopausal women with prediabetes, without changing the other outcomes measured (Yoshino M et al., 2021). In 80 healthy middle-aged adults, 60 days at 300 to 900 mg raised blood NAD in a dose-dependent way and modestly improved six-minute walking distance (Yi L et al., 2023). In older men, 12 weeks of NMN raised NAD and improved some measures of muscle function (Igarashi M et al., 2022). Nicotinamide riboside, the related precursor, raised NAD about 60 percent in a crossover trial and was safe over longer use (Martens CR et al., 2018; Conze D et al., 2019). What none of these show is a change in how fast anyone ages. The full picture is in NAD anti-aging supplements: benefits, evidence and how to choose.
Vitamin D, when low. The same evidence as on every list: correct a measured deficiency, and do not expect VITAL's 25,871 adults to have missed a benefit that was there (Manson JE et al., 2019).
Metformin, as a question. In a UK cohort, people with type 2 diabetes started on metformin lived slightly longer than matched people without diabetes, while those started on a sulphonylurea did not (Bannister CA et al., 2014). That is the observation behind the TAME trial, designed to test metformin against aging in people without diabetes (Barzilai N et al., 2016); it has struggled for funding and has not reported. Metformin is a prescription with side effects and it blunts some of the gains from exercise, which is why Sinclair skips it on training days. Taking it without a prescriber is not an experiment, it is a mistake.
What Is Not Worth Copying
Resveratrol. The compound that made Sinclair famous in mice has not delivered in people. It is poorly absorbed, which is why he takes it with fat, and when researchers measured resveratrol metabolites in 783 older adults and followed them for nine years, levels were unrelated to inflammation, cardiovascular disease, cancer or death (Semba RD et al., 2014). Trials of blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and inflammation are mostly null or inconsistent. It stays on his list for reasons that are now more biographical than scientific.
Spermidine, fisetin and quercetin. Higher spermidine intake from food went with lower mortality in a cohort of 829 people (Kiechl S et al., 2018), which is a reason to eat wheat germ and mushrooms, not proof for a capsule; a year of spermidine supplementation in older adults with memory complaints did not improve cognition (Schwarz C et al., 2022). Fisetin extended health and lifespan in mice (Yousefzadeh MJ et al., 2018) and the human trials are small and still running. These are bets, and he describes them as bets.
The prescriptions. Aspirin and a statin belong to his doctor, not to a stack. Low-dose aspirin trades a small reduction in heart attacks for a real increase in bleeding, and whether that trade is worth it depends on your risk; a statin is prescribed for a measured reason. Copy neither without the measurement.
What David Sinclair's Stack Costs, and What the Same Evidence Costs
Typical US retail prices, rounded, for a month at the doses he describes, as of October 2026.
Item | Roughly per month | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
NMN, 1 g a day | $60 to $120 | Early |
Resveratrol, 1 g a day | $20 to $40 | Weak |
Metformin (generic, prescription) | $5 to $15 | Early for aging; a prescriber decides |
TMG | $8 to $15 | Weak |
Vitamin D3 with K2 | $8 to $15 | Moderate, when low |
Spermidine | $30 to $60 | Early |
Fisetin and quercetin | $25 to $50 | Weak in people |
Low-dose aspirin, statin (prescription) | $5 to $15 | Medical decisions |
The supplements come to roughly $150 to $300 a month, most of it NMN. The parts with human evidence for a measurable purpose, vitamin D when a test shows it is low and the prescriptions his physician manages, cost under $20. If you want to try an NAD precursor, an oral one at a modest dose is the cheap, reversible way to run the experiment, and our guide to the 15 best longevity supplements in 2026 compares the compounds that do have human aging data.
The Takeaway: Separate the Scientist From the Shopping List
Take seriously the idea that aging is an active process that can be influenced; Sinclair's lab helped establish it. Follow the research with interest, including the reprogramming work, which is the most exciting thing in the field. Then notice that his personal stack is built from the parts of that research that have not yet made the jump to people. NMN raises a number. Resveratrol failed its human tests. Metformin's trial has not run. The senolytics are mouse results. The fundamentals that even the most cutting-edge scientists agree on, exercise, diet, sleep and a managed blood panel, are not on the list because they are not for sale, and they are still where the evidence is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What supplements does David Sinclair take?
As he has described them, NMN (about 1 g), resveratrol (about 1 g, with fat), metformin (a prescription, about 1 g, skipped on exercise days), TMG, vitamin D3 with K2, low-dose aspirin, a statin, and in some accounts spermidine, fisetin and quercetin. He presents them as personal choices rather than recommendations.
Does NMN slow aging?
No human trial shows that. NMN reliably raises blood NAD, improved muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women in one 10-week trial, and modestly improved walking distance in a 60-day trial. Those are markers and small functional changes, not a slower rate of aging.
Does resveratrol work in people?
Not so far. It is poorly absorbed, and in 783 older adults followed for nine years, resveratrol levels were unrelated to inflammation, heart disease, cancer or death. Most trials of blood pressure and insulin sensitivity are null or inconsistent.
Should I take metformin for longevity?
Only with a prescriber. The evidence is one cohort in which people with diabetes on metformin lived as long as people without diabetes, and a trial in healthy people that has not run. Metformin has side effects and blunts some exercise gains.
Is David Sinclair's research legitimate?
Yes. His lab's work on sirtuins, NAD and epigenetic reprogramming, including restoring vision in old mice, is real and published in leading journals. The caveat is that the dramatic results are in animals and cells, and his public claims have at times outrun them.
How much does David Sinclair's stack cost?
Roughly $150 to $300 a month, most of it NMN at 1 g a day. The items with human evidence for a measurable purpose cost under $20.
Sources
David Sinclair's own descriptions of his routine: Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To (2019), his Lifespan podcast (2022) and interviews, compared for this review. Background on Wikipedia.
Lu Y et al. Reprogramming to recover youthful epigenetic information and restore vision. Nature, 2020. Partial epigenetic reprogramming restored vision in old mice. PubMed
López-Otín C et al. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell, 2023. The 2023 hallmarks of aging. PubMed
Yoshino M et al. Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. Science, 2021. NMN and muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. PubMed
Yi L et al. The efficacy and safety of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in healthy middle-aged adults: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-dependent clinical trial. GeroScience, 2023. NMN at 300 to 900 mg for 60 days in 80 adults. PubMed
Igarashi M et al. Chronic nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation elevates blood nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels and alters muscle function in healthy older men. npj aging, 2022. NMN in healthy older men. PubMed
Martens CR et al. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD(+) in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nature communications, 2018. Nicotinamide riboside raised NAD about 60 percent. PubMed
Conze D et al. Safety and Metabolism of Long-term Administration of NIAGEN (Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride) in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial of Healthy Overweight Adults. Scientific reports, 2019. Long-term safety of nicotinamide riboside. PubMed
Semba RD et al. Resveratrol levels and all-cause mortality in older community-dwelling adults. JAMA internal medicine, 2014. Resveratrol levels and mortality in 783 older adults. PubMed
Bannister CA et al. Can people with type 2 diabetes live longer than those without? A comparison of mortality in people initiated with metformin or sulphonylurea monotherapy and matched, non-diabetic controls. Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2014. Metformin, sulphonylureas and survival compared with non-diabetic controls. PubMed
Barzilai N et al. Metformin as a Tool to Target Aging. Cell metabolism, 2016. The case for the TAME trial. PubMed
Kiechl S et al. Higher spermidine intake is linked to lower mortality: a prospective population-based study. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2018. Dietary spermidine and mortality in a cohort. PubMed
Schwarz C et al. Effects of Spermidine Supplementation on Cognition and Biomarkers in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA network open, 2022. A year of spermidine supplementation and cognition. PubMed
Yousefzadeh MJ et al. Fisetin is a senotherapeutic that extends health and lifespan. EBioMedicine, 2018. Fisetin in mice. PubMed
Manson JE et al. Vitamin D Supplements and Prevention of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease. The New England journal of medicine, 2019. VITAL: vitamin D in unselected adults. PubMed
Reverse Age Lab is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by David Sinclair. This review is independent commentary on publicly described routines and products.
