Can a pill slow aging? Sinclair's optimism versus Attia's skepticism
September 27, 2026 · 17 min read
Sinclair frames aging as a treatable disease and is bullish on resetting cellular age, while Attia's reviews of metformin and NAD boosters find the evidence much weaker than the hype. Seeing both views side by side helps readers judge whether expensive longevity compounds are worth their money yet.
The rules, numbers and steps worth keeping in front of you.
- Sinclair: aging is a treatable disease caused by lost epigenetic information.
- Sinclair personally takes NMN, resveratrol and metformin, pulsed around fasting and exercise; he says this is not a recommendation.
- Sinclair's top advice: skip a meal a day.
- Attia: the NAD-booster case rests on a chain of leaps of faith.
- Independent mouse testing found no benefit for resveratrol, NR or metformin.
- What did work in that program: rapamycin, canagliflozin, acarbose, and 17-alpha estradiol in males.
- Attia on NAD supplements for lifespan: the answer appears to be no.
- NAD infusions cost $300 to $1,000; Attia says two hours of exercise does more.
- A large Danish study found no survival advantage from metformin for diabetics versus healthy people.
- Metformin can blunt muscle gains; Attia still prescribes it for insulin resistance.
- Attia: don't confuse statistical significance with clinical significance.
- Attia: biological age tests are noisy; a low score doesn't prove added years.
- Both: behavior first, and antioxidant megadoses failed.
- See a physician before taking metformin, rapamycin or any prescription drug for longevity.
This is the short form. The full insight has every expert's reasoning, their own words and the sources.