Category Archives: David Sinclair

There is no benefit to eating in a narrow window.

Thats according to Dr. Ethan Weiss, a diet researcher who spoke with The New York Times about a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which concluded that popular time-restricted diets have no tangible impact on weight loss. Researchers split 139 obese volunteers into two groups the people in one group were only allowed to eat between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., while the others were encouraged to eat at any time of the day. Each group observed the same calorie range: 1,200 to 1,500 a day for women, 1,500 to 1,800 a day for men.

By the end of the study (which lasted an entire year), both groups had lost an average of 14 to 18 pounds. There was no difference in weight-loss success, and no tangible disparity in secondary biometrics either. Results of analyses of waist circumferences, BMI, body fat, body lean mass, blood pressure, and metabolic risk factors were consistent with the results of the primary outcome, according to the study.

These findings might come as a bit of a shock to intermittent-fasting devotees, whove been instructed by YouTube influencers to skip breakfast, cut out nighttime snacking and stuff the entirety of ones consumption into an eight-hour window. To be clear, the authors arent saying that method isnt effective in promoting weight loss theyre just confirming the fact that it doesnt work any better than purposeful eating spaced out evenly throughout the day.

Ultimately, calorie restriction is the ace in the hole, not time restriction. Most of the scientific support for time-restricted eating was already somewhat flimsy (focusing on the concept that ones metabolism is most active during waking hours). This study reorients the focus to the importance of simply eating less.

Considering what we know about stringent diets far too often, they can trigger a what-the-hell effect, where the dieter steps out of line once, and then decides to dive headfirst into binge eating some conscious calorie restriction seems a better recipe for success than banning breakfast. Interestingly, Weiss who has done similar research as this new study out of Guangzhou, China actually used to observe time-restricted diet himself. Hes since abandoned it.

This study also calls to mind some wisdom from Harvard geneticist Dr. David Sinclair, who spoke to us about the shaky premise of time-specific intermittent fasting a couple years ago.

One other thing: people claim that there is an optimal intermittent fasting protocol. The truth is, we dont know what the optimal is, he said. Were still learning, and its individual. There are individual differences in all of usWe do know that if yourenever hungry, if youre eating three meals a day and snacking in between, thats the worst thing you can do. It switches off your bodys defenses. Some fasting is better than none.

While this study assessed calorie restriction through the paradigm of short-term weight loss, Dr. Sinclair runs a lab that obsesses over lifespan and longevity. Take it from the man who knows what it takes to live to 100 its crucial that you cut back on chomping. Just dont feel compelled to do so at exact hours of the day.

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Don't Listen to Intermittent Fasting Influencers, The Science Doesn't Back It Up - InsideHook

David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., A.O. is a Professor in the Department of Genetics and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School. He is best known for his work on understanding why we age and how to slow its effects. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1995. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at M.I.T. with Dr. Leonard Guarente where he co discovered a cause of aging for yeast as well as the role of Sir2 in epigenetic changes driven by genome instability. In 1999 he was recruited to Harvard Medical School where he has been teaching aging biology and translational medicine for aging for the past 16 years. His research has been primarily focused on the sirtuins, protein-modifying enzymes that respond to changing NAD+ levels and to caloric restriction (CR) with associated interests in chromatin, energy metabolism, mitochondria, learning and memory, neurodegeneration, and cancer. The Sinclair lab was the first one to identify a role for NAD+ biosynthesis in regulation of lifespan and first showed that sirtuins are involved in CR in mammals. They first identified small molecules that activate SIRT1 such as resveratrol and studied how they improve metabolic function using a combination of genetic, enzymological, biophysical and pharmacological approaches. They recently showed that natural and synthetic activators require SIRT1 to mediate the in vivo effects in muscle and identified a structured activation domain. They demonstrated that miscommunication between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes is a cause of age-related physiological decline and that relocalization of chromatin factors in response to DNA breaks may be a cause of aging.

Dr. Sinclair is co-founder of several biotechnology companies (Sirtris, Ovascience, Genocea, Cohbar, MetroBiotech, ArcBio, Liberty Biosecurity) and is on the boards of several others. He is also co-founder and co-chief editor of the journal Aging. His work is featured in five books, two documentary movies, 60 Minutes, Morgan Freemans Through the Wormhole and other media. He is an inventor on 35 patents and has received more than 25 awards and honors including the CSL Prize, The Australian Commonwealth Prize, Thompson Prize, Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Award, Charles Hood Fellowship, Leukemia Society Fellowship, Ludwig Scholarship, Harvard-Armenise Fellowship, American Association for Aging Research Fellowship, Nathan Shock Award from the National Institutes of Health, Ellison Medical Foundation Junior and Senior Scholar Awards, Merck Prize, Genzyme Outstanding Achievement in Biomedical Science Award, Bio-Innovator Award, David Murdock-Dole Lectureship, Fisher Honorary Lectureship, Les Lazarus Lectureship, Australian Medical Research Medal, The Frontiers in Aging and Regeneration Award, Top 100 Australian Innovators, and TIME magazines list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

David A. Sinclairs Past and Present Advisory roles, Board Positions, Funding Sources, Licensed Inventions, Investments, Funding, and Invited Talks.

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David Sinclair | The Sinclair Lab

Despite being 50 years of age, David looks much younger. Given that his focus is on tackling aging and he appears to exemplify this work its natural to ask whats his secret?

David doesnt give health recommendations or endorse brands, but he does share his personal supplementation:

Davids Daily Supplement Regimen:

After touching on Davids diet & exercise routines below, well look in detail at his use of NMN, resveratrol and metformin.

Davids Diet:

Davids Exercise routine:

Davids Lifestyle Choices:

David describes resveratrol and NMN as critical for the activation of sirtuin genes. Sirtuins play a key role in functions that help us to live longer particularly DNA repair.

He describes resveratrol as the accelerator pedal for the sirtuin genes (increasing their activation), and NMN as the fuel. Without the fuel, resveratrol wont be as effective.

The reason that resveratrol wont work effectively without NMN, is that sirtuin activation requires youthful NAD levels, but by 50 years old, David says, we have about half the level of NAD we had in our 20s. NAD being a molecule that is essential to energy production in our cells.

Graph showing NAD+ decrease with age via PLOS paper

So in effect, you take resveratrol to increase activation of the sirtuin genes, and NMN to ensure the sirtuins have enough energy to work properly.

Below well dig deeper into the 3 longevity supplements David takes; NMN, Resveratrol & Metformin.

First well look at the sirtuin activator David takes; Resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a molecule thats found (in small amounts) in the skin of foods like grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts.

If you remember the hype some years ago around red wine being healthy, part of that was due to it containing tiny amounts of resveratrol.

Unfortunately, all food sources contain tiny amounts, so we need a concentrated supplement in order to see benefits!

Resveratrol is though to act as a caloric restriction mimetic, which activates beneficial cellular pathways. Studies have pointed to benefits such as:

Whilst Davids resveratrol comes from excess product leftover from lab experiments, not all of us have this luxury! Therefore we are forced to look online.

If you pop resveratrol into an Amazon search, youll find a host of different options, many of (potentially) dubious quality.

The first thing to note is that we should be looking for trans-resveratrol, not cis-resveratrol.

From Davids studies, cis-Resveratrol did not activate the sirtuin enzyme, but trans-Resveratrol did.

Next, the purity of the trans-resveratrol is important, were looking for 98%+. David mentions this at 1:17:54 of his Ben Greenfield interview, noting that 50% purity can even give diarrhea, because theres other stuff that comes along with the molecule. He also confirms that Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese Knotweed) is a good source for the resveratrol.

To get closer to the quality that David is likely taking, we can look at research published by an old company of his; Sirtris (who were sold to GSK for $720 million). In this paper they were doing clinical tests on a formulation of resveratrol they call SRT501. Noting that:

Due to the poor aqueous solubility exhibited by resveratrol, digestive absorption is greatly influenced by drug dissolution rate. In an effort to increase absorption across the gastro-intestinal tract and thus systemically available parent compound, there has been considerable interest in the pharmaceutical manipulation of resveratrol. Decreasing the particle size of such chemicals can improve their rate of dissolution and thus their absorption. Therefore, the aim of this clinical study was to investigate whether consumption of SRT501, a micronized resveratrol formulation designed by Sirtris, a GSK Company is safe and generates measurable and pharmacologically active levels of parent agent in the circulation and in the liver.

Thats a wordy quote from the paper, but in essence, they were testing a micronized resveratrol formulation against a non-micronized version. Their study found that levels of resveratrol in the blood were 3.6x greater when using the micronized formulation, and other markers they were comparing also improved.

We see this with other molecules too; where reducing particle size increases bioavailability. For example with curcumin, whose absorption can be improved through micronization (for example Theracurmin). So this makes sense.

Micronized resveratrol options include:

Note: Whichever source of trans-resveratrol you take, according to David, you will increase its bio-availability if you take it with a fat source.

David takes it on an empty stomach in the morning, so mixes it with a bit of yogurt. However it should also be possible to take it with a meal containing fat.

David mentions in his interview with Rhonda Patrick a few nuances around the storage of resveratrol:

David takes his resveratrol in the morning, mixed into a spoon of homemade yogurt (using the Bravo starter culture), in order to increase its bio-availability.

His studies showed that without fat, resveratrol absorption was 5x lower. So consumption with yogurt (or another fat source) is important. David clarified on the recent podcast with Rhonda Patrick that the NMN doesnt need to be taken with a fat source he specifically mentions taking his NMN in capsules, downed with a glass of water in the morning.

Of course you dont need to make your own yogurt, a store bought version will work adequately. However, if youre interested to make your own version expand the box below to learn more.

David has described his yogurt making process as so:

David has specifically mentioned Bravo as the brand of yogurt culture he uses, for example at 1:12:28 of his interview on the Ben Greenfield podcast. Proponents of Bravo yogurt tout it as having a very high amount of gut friendly bacteria, when compared to other similar products. Bravo seems like a fairly expensive product to me, however, once nice trick with yogurts is that you can make a new batch using a small amount from the old batch. Removing the need to use fresh starter sachets again

In terms of further details on the yogurt making process, Ive summarized some of the key points below:

This YouTube video gives a nice (but slow-paced) example of the homemade yogurt making process.

We talked above about the sirtuin activator Resveratrol, now lets talk about NMN, which helps provides the fuel for the sirtuins to work.

NMN falls into a category of supplements, along with Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), referred to as NAD boosters which have become increasingly popular.

NAD is required for every cell of our body to help facilitate energy production. As discussed above, by age 50 you have about half as much NAD as at age 20!

The intention is that by supplementing precursors we can boost the cellular level of NAD closer to youthful levels.

Theres little to no doubt in the research community that we need to restore NAD function; but the jury is still out on what the best method will be. Currently David has his eggs in the basket of NMN.

Davids NMN powder comes from excess product left over from lab experiments. This is good to know, but doesnt help us when it comes to sourcing some. Below we will look at various possible buying options.

Potential considerations when buying include:

Assuming all the above are ok, the last crucial question is:

What Ive done below is put some of the more highly reviewed options (within USA) into a table, calculated the approximate price per gram, and added links to any 3rd party analysis certificates the companies display.

The above table provides a start, but for a detailed analysis table see this post, which also includes options for UK buyers.

Price per gramThe average price per gram appears around $4-$6. For products noticeably cheaper, it would be worth exercising caution around their authenticity.

Capsulating the PowdersWith the bulk powder versions of NMN above, you could put them into capsules yourself at home, using a capsule filling machine.

This emulates the method David uses to take his NMN; in capsules swallowed with a glass of water.

Using size 00 capsules, it takes 3 capsules to capsulate 1g of NMN. Depending on how tightly you fill them you may be a marginally over or under 1g, but it wont be by much. With enough powder, most machines can fill 100 capsules per time which would be 33 days (~1 month) supply.

TestingThere are two main types of tests companies will do. The first is third party testing on the purity of their NMN. The second is contaminant testing, for things such as heavy metals. Its a positive indicator if they can provide both.

Nicotinamide Riboside is a precursor to NAD, similar to NMN. David states in his book that his lab finds:

That being said, he isnt against NR, hes just more optimistic on NMN being the better molecule for raising NAD in the long run. He notes in a blog post on NMN & NR that:

The brand leader in sales of Nicotinamide Riboside is Chromadexs Niagen (pictured above). Amongst Chromadexs scientific advisors is Charles Brenner, who first discovered NR, and showed it could extend the life of yeast cells.

Niagens recommended serving size is 300mg (1 capsule) which may be less efficient at raising NAD levels than 1g of NMN.

If we compare NR & NMN at a price per gram, theyre more similar than I expected. Niagen works out approximately $5.22/gram, and NMN is around $5-$6/gram depending on brand.

In Davids recent interview with Rhonda Patrick, he discussed details around storage, saying:

Since David explained this Ive come to learn that Nicotinamide Riboside, when it its chloride form; Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride (as sold by Niagen), is in a stabilized form. This means that it doesnt need to be kept cold to have an adequate shelf life. More on that below

Looking at the data online around stabilized NR, I found:

What I gather from that, is that NR in its chloride form is stabilized. But like most edible products, cooling it does slow down the degradation that occurs over time. However for most people, the product isnt intended to sit on the shelf for a long time, and thus it will be consumed before the degradation becomes a problem.

There has been some concern in the field that consuming NR or NMN could decrease the bodys methyl groups and lead to health problems. The dropdown section below looks in detail at that issue.

So methylation itself, which utilizes methyl groups (CH), is an essential process for a host of critical functions in the body, including regulation of gene expression and the removal of waste products.

Consuming Niacin derivatives (which includes NR and NMN) will require the body to use up methyl groups in order to later degrade and excrete them. There has been some discussion and concern that by increasing the amount of methylation the body needs to do (through supplementation of NR/NMN), we might deplete the body of methyl groups needed to carry out essential processes.

David discussed this in his podcast with Paul Saladino (see 44mins mark), acknowledging that Niacin derivates (including NR/NMN) require methylation for excretion, but asserting that at this stage the idea of methyl depletion is anecdotal, and not something that has been shown in any NR/NMN studies.

Initially (circa 2019) David mentioned taking a supplement called betaine, also known as trimethylglycine. Then he moved to taking a combination of methyl folate plus methyl B12. This was all in an abundance of caution, rather than due to any new research that backed up the risk of methyl depletion.

After taking the B12/Folate supplement for a few months, in February 2020 David got some blood tests done, and found his B12 levels were double the recommended maximum so he stopped taking it (source: Davids Facebook post). He hasnt mentioned replacing it with anything since.

As Dr Brenner points out below, monitoring homocysteine levels (via blood test) is a proxy for methylation issues.

Methyl groups are primarily derived from nutrients in the diet, including; methionine (amino acid), folate (vitamin B9), choline, betaine, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and cobalamin (vitamin B12). For foods rich in these, see table 1 in this research paper.

A further source to add to this discussion is the research done by Chromadex. They hold a patent on nicotinamide riboside production, and make Niagen. In a tweet thread by their chief scientific adviser Charles Brenner, he explains that Chromadex took the potential risk of NR depleting methyl groups seriously. To test this they performed a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial administering 100, 300, or 1,000mg of NR over 56 days (study link). They used homocysteine levels as a proxy for methylation disturbance, and found no change to homocysteine in any of the dosage groups, including up to 1,000mg (see this image). If there was a shortage of methyl groups, they would have expected to homocysteine levels rise. Its worth noting the study used NR, not NMN.

In summary, current evidence for this issue is lacking, and as far as I can tell, David Sinclair is no longer taking any supplements to tackle potential methyl group depletion. However, if you wanted to be super careful, Dr Charles Brenner (an NAD researcher) mentions elevated homocysteine in the blood can be a sign of lower methyl status so one could get a blood test to check that.

Metformin is actually a relatively old drug, first discussed in medical literature in 1922, and studied in humans in the 1950s. It is derived from a plant called the French Lilac. Its primary use in medicine is for the treatment of diabetes, thanks to its ability to decrease blood glucose levels in patients.

Because Metformin has been used for years, and has an established track record of safety, this makes it more attractive as a longevity drug. Molecules that are discovered today will need years of testing before they can even come close to rival the amount of data and patient years accumulated by metformin.

Its thought the longevity benefits are at least in part derived from activation of the AMPK cellular pathway. This has a host of knock-on effects (visualized below), some of which are involved in beneficial processes like mediating inflammation and increasing autophagy (cellular cleanup).

Metformin is a prescription drug, and thus needs to be acquired through a doctors prescription, at least in most countries. It isnt (yet) considered a drug that can help improve healthspan or lifespan, and so you may need to find a forward thinking doctor if you want it prescribed for general health. Typically doctors only prescribe Metformin for blood sugar control issues (type 2 diabetes).

Typically Metformin is taken daily both by diabetics, and by people using it for healthspan extension. However, on the latest interview with Joe Rogan, they discussed a 2018 paper which showed metformin inhibits mitochondrial adaptations to aerobic exercise training. David explained that this makes sense, and its exactly metformins inhibition of mitochondrial function that leads to some of the health benefits. Specifically, they cause the cell to think its in a nutrient restricted state, and it turns on pathways typically reserved for times of scarcity. The function of these pathways is hypothesized to lead to better healthspan outcomes.

When not exercising, which is most days for David, he opts to take 0.5g of metformin in the morning and 0.5g in the evening (for source, see 1:16:45 of his Ivy Lecture, which supersedes what he said in his book). Then on exercise days, he opts not to take it at all. For similar reasons he also skips resveratrol on exercise days (source: see last paragraph of section 1 Get Moving on Davids blog post).

This is viable for David who exercises vigorously in the order of 1-2x per week, but for someone training often, this might be impractical. At which point it would come down to a decision whether the benefits of metformin/resveratrol outweigh the (potential) small impact on recovery.

In a Reddit AMA (link) David was asked whether he would take Berberine if he didnt have access to Metformin. He responds by saying he would likely take Berberine.

Berberine is interesting to many people because it has similar properties to metformin, but it doesnt require a doctors prescription. In common with metformin, it has the ability to:

Berberine dosage in treating diabetes is not entirely dissimilar to Metformin. For example in this study, the patients took 500mg of Berberine 3x per day. Then in this study they took 850mg of Metformin 3x per day. We know with David he takes 500mg of Metformin 2x per day.

Both compounds can induce gastrointestinal distress, so its common to start off on lower dosages, and gradually increase to the desired amount. This gives the gut a chance to adapt, and allows the user to back off the dosage if gastrointestinal distress is reached.

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David Sinclair Supplements List Deep Dive - Updated 2021

A woman whose nasty skin infection was most likely picked up during a swim in the sea on Aucklands North Shore believes it is unacceptable that people cannot go swimming without fear of getting sick.

Devonport resident Vanessa Ingraham developed a staph and E coli infection on her legs about four weeks ago.

Her doctor believes she may have caught the infection from swimming at Narrowneck Beach shortly after shaving her legs.

Ingraham, who moved to New Zealand from the Bahamas seven years ago, said she didnt know about Aucklands stormwater issues until she got the infection.

READ MORE:* Illegal sewage pipes lead to faecal contamination at Auckland beach* The Detail: How safe are Auckland's beaches from pollution?* More than 50 Auckland beaches declared no-swim zones* Human waste the leading contaminant at Auckland beaches, DNA tests show

Vanessa Ingraham/Supplied

Devonport resident Vanessa Ingraham, who is from the Bahamas, says it is unacceptable that people cannot go swimming at Auckland beaches without fear of getting sick.

During heavy rain, water that is contaminated with animal faeces, oil, rubbish, metals and rubber from tyres is often flushed through the stormwater network and onto beaches, a Watercare spokeswoman said.

Aucklands wastewater network is also known to overflow during heavy rain, which causes sewage to spill out from manholes, gully traps, pump stations and engineered overflow points into properties, waterways and the sea.

The Auckland Councils Swimsafe website, which provides real-time forecasts of beach water quality, recommends people avoid swimming for 48 hours following heavy rainfall.

You have to check to see if its safe to swim? This is a foreign concept, Ingraham said.

Vanessa Ingraham/Supplied

Vanessa Ingrahams doctor believes she contracted a staph and E coli infection after swimming at Narrowneck Beach not long after she shaved her legs.

Ingraham, a wellness consultant, swims in the sea daily even in winter to reap the health benefits of swimming in cold water.

According to a 2020 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, regular cold-water swimming may reduce inflammation and symptoms of depression, increase metabolism and improve resilience to stress.

All the things in our life are quite stressful, but we can deal better with mental stress when subjecting ourselves to physical distress, Ingraham said.

She believed it was unacceptable that the water network issue was causing damage to the environment.

Vanessa Ingraham/Supplied

Vanessa Ingraham, who swims in the sea daily, was not aware of the recommendation to check for health risks on Safeswim prior to getting her skin infection.

We can never be healthy in an environment thats making us sick.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) public health medicine specialist Dr David Sinclair told Stuff that staph and E coli infections were common and could originate from a range of sources.

Because of this, its difficult to identify the source of a particular persons illness and, more generally, how many people may have become ill after swimming at Auckland beaches.

It is expected that 2 per cent of people who swim at a beach marked on Safeswim with a red flag, indicating high risk of illness from swimming, will get sick, with either skin, ear or respiratory infections or with diarrhoea and vomiting.

SAFESWIM/Supplied

More than 50 Auckland beaches were marked on Swimsafe as unsafe for swimming following heavy rain in January.

Sinclair added that ARPHS was not aware of any deaths linked to beach water quality.

Watercare was not aware of any wastewater overflows at Narrowneck Beach in the past year, the spokeswoman said.

Work is under way to reduce wet-weather overflows, with $349.5 million spent on the wastewater network in the past year.

Over the next 20 years, we will be spending close to $11 billion on our wastewater system to reduce wet-weather overflows, improve the quality of beaches and waterways, improve wastewater treatment processes and cater for Aucklands growth.

People are asked to check that their stormwater downpipes are not incorrectly connected to the drain used for their wastewater (kitchen, laundry and toilet).

Anyone who falls ill with symptoms of respiratory, gastroenteritis, ear, eye or skin infections within three days of swimming may have a waterborne illness and is advised to visit their doctor or phone Healthline on 0800 611 116.

The rest is here:
Woman's 'nasty' skin infection most likely caused by swimming in sea after shaving legs - Stuff.co.nz

The United Nations Association of Greater Milwaukee invites you to "Hunger in Milwaukee and the World: What We Can Do About It"

A Virtual Zoom Program Featuring a Panel Discussion with Lady Lee Thompson, David Sinclair, & Maureen Fitzgerald Saturday February 13th, 2021 from 10 AM 11:30 AM

Free & Open to the Public

Advance registration is required. To register, go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vc-ippjsqGN0DiBvtHRhzj17v4myT7r0f.After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting. For more information: Contact Jerry Rousseau at jerroldbrousseau@gmail.com (email) or 414.228.9282 (phone).

Hunger stalks Milwaukee and the World and is getting worse with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the UN World Food Programme, 135 million people suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change, and economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to double that number putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger. The following panel of local and international experts and activists will share what is important to know about hunger in Milwaukee and the World and what local and global organizations are doing to diminish food insecurity. You will hear specifics about how Milwaukee and distant places like Yemen are facing a desperate food insecurity crisis. We look forward to your questions and comments following the panel discussion.

Lady Lee Thompson is a 2020-2021 UNA-USA Global Goals Ambassador promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Inclusive Economic Growth, Full and Productive Employment, and Decent Work for All. She is a global advocate for womens self-sufficiency, African diaspora inclusion, youth & womens empowerment, agricultural skill transfer, investment matchmaking for minority business enterprises, gender equality, and responding to the impact of COVID-19 on food security.

David Sinclair is a local community advocate for low-income families on Milwaukees North Side. He is the Project Program Coordinator for the Cream City Credible Messenger Program at WestCare Foundation and manages the food pantries located at WestCare Foundation and Jeremiah Missionary Baptist Church.

Maureen Fitzgerald is the owner of Maureen Fitzgerald Consulting, a public policy and advocacy resource for nonprofits and governmental agencies. She worked as the Director of Advocacy at Hunger Task Force for the last 11 years. Prior to that she practiced criminal defense law in Milwaukee. She is a graduate of Marquette & Marquette University Law School.

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Hunger in Milwaukee and the World: What We Can Do About It - Wisconsin Public Radio News

Older consumers are a benefit to the economy rather than a drain on resources, according to new research.

The over 50s will spend 63p in every 1 in the UK by 2040 rising from 54p in the 1 in 2018.

And the money is spent across the board rather than on specific goods and services,

However, think-tank the International Longevity Centre (ILC) believes the country could benefit even more if the government looked at lifting barriers to spending by older people.

The ILC reportMaximising the longevity dividendreveals spending by the over 50s has dominated the UK economy since 2013 and will rise over the coming decades, from 54% (319 billion) of total consumer spending in 2018 to 63% by 2040 (550 billion).

According to the report, lifting barriers to spending by the over 75s could add 2% (47 billion) to GDP a year by 2040 and supporting the over 50s to remain in the workforce could add an another 1.3% to GDP a year by 2040.

David Sinclair, Director of the ILC, said: As the population ages there are enormous economic opportunities, but these are currently being neglected.

There are enormous gains to be made by individual businesses and for the economy if we can unlock the spending and earning power of older adults.

But too many people face barriers to working and spending in later life issues like inaccessible high streets, poorly designed products, and age discriminatory attitudes require a serious response.

Weve become accustomed to hearing our ageing population talked about as a bad thing but the reality is it could be an opportunity.

However, we wont realise this longevity dividend through blind optimism about ageing. Instead, we need concerted action to tackle the barriers to spending and working in later life.

We need action to make sure our extra years are healthy years, we need accessible high streets and workplaces that are free from age discrimination and we need continued action to ensure that people have access to decent pensions in later life.

Realising the longevity dividend will require decisive action of the kind weve yet to see from either business or government. For all the talk of baby boomers dominating politics, weve yet to see a serious response to the opportunities and this needs to change.

Further related information and articles can be found following the links below

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Over 50s Spending Spree Boosts Economy By Billions - Money International