These books say heaven can wait
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Want to live forever? Better get busy. A new crop of books on aging says it’s possible to extend life dramatically by eating like a lab rabbit, exercising like a mountain goat and befriending your inner yogi. Dust off your reading glasses and dive in.
Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today
Sanjay Gupta, M.D.
The peripatetic and cute-as-a button Dr. Sanjay Gupta travels the world exploring the mystery of longevity. The neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent culls information from remarkable individuals, such as a hard-working 103-year-old fruit vendor in Okinawa, Japan, and an insurance executive who took up running at age 86 and went on to become a world-class sprinter.
Some of his advice is boilerplate -- eat better food and less of it, exercise regularly -- and some is rather interesting: stay away from a high fat, high copper diet (liver, shellfish, nuts), which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
He also looks at the effect of stress and happiness on life span (citing, for example, an oddball study finding that Oscar winners in lead and supporting roles live an average of 79.7 years, whereas losers live to 75.8) and discusses the latest research on hot button issues, such as real and perceived cancer risks associated with Teflon, plastics and artificial sweeteners.
All in all, it’s an entertaining, measured approach that doesn’t jump on any bandwagon or promise miracles. Let’s hear it for that.
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Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime
Aubrey de Grey, with Michael Rae
Biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey and science writer Michael Rae take a detailed look at techniques and technologies that, they say, may not only extend life but also could theoretically halt and reverse aging altogether. Needless to say, it’s an ambitious premise with a futuristic bent -- a little Gene Roddenberry or a little more Aldous Huxley, depending on your point of view.
The authors explore the nitty-gritty of how we age and posit an audacious blueprint for cheating the reaper, suggesting that biomedical technology may one day be harnessed to reverse physical aging by repairing damage that builds up in cells over time.
“Ending Aging” is for the most part written in a lively, logical and engaging way that almost helps you forgive phrases such as, “This would spread free radical damage into the incorporating cell, as the radicalized fats propagated their toxicity through the well-established chemical reactions that underlie the rancidity of fats.”
The authors have also included illustrative flow charts, some of which are helpful but others that are so complicated they’d give even engineering majors at Caltech a case of hives.
Unlike other offerings in the new crop of anti-aging books, “Ending Aging” isn’t an exhortation to change habits in order to live longer.
It’s a call to do whatever possible to generate interest in anti-aging research and advance the science.
This is not exactly beach reading, but for readers with a wonkish bent, it might be good bedtime fare.
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Count Down Your Age: Look, Feel, and Live Better Than You Ever Have Before
Frederic J. Vagnini, M.D., and Dave Bunnell
Dr. Frederic Vagnini, a cardiologist, and Dave Bunnell, founder of the health website LongLifeClub, present a step-by-step program to control weight, reduce stress and boost exercise. As a hook, they explain how these various activities will add years, listing specific numbers, to one’s life.
The book starts with an “Anti-Aging Test” to establish a baseline of general unhealthfulness before (of course) offering a program to whip the reader into shape.
There are sections devoted to improving the quality and duration of sleep, enhancing one’s sex life and reducing stress. There are mini-quizzes on such topics as one’s “humor quotient” and “Food Buying IQ” as well as copious boxed health tips (“Fiber Factoids,” “Please Buy Your Own Yoga Mat”). There are lists of tricks for eating less, eating better and exercising the body and brain.
Compared with the other offerings, “Count Down Your Age” is light reading, with no big surprises. Although probably too elementary for seasoned health book connoisseurs, it’s a good choice for those looking for a solid primer on healthful living.
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UltraLongevity: The Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You
Mark Liponis, M.D.
Dr. Mark Liponis, an internist by training and medical director of Canyon Ranch Health Resorts, posits that all of the conditions we consider part of aging -- such as arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, stroke, heart disease, poor brain functioning, weak lungs and diabetes -- are caused by an overactive immune system.
He details the immune system’s players (including the thymus, lymphatic system and B- and T-cells) -- and describes, in an engaging way, how this complex system works. (“At the cytokines’ bugle call, the macrophages are activated and, like a bloodhound tracking a scent, they sniff around for possible invaders or hotspots of engagement with the enemy.”
He also includes medical studies and personal histories supporting his theory, such as the case of “Cynthia,” whose chronic eye infection was cured when an underlying stomach bacterium (Helicobacter pylori) was treated.
Liponis goes on to describe how certain basic and not-so-basic functions (breathing, eating, sleeping and even dancing) affect the immune system, and how those functions can be boosted or regulated to help a person live longer.
The book’s intriguing hypothesis, accompanied by a lifestyle quiz aimed at teasing out the current state of the reader’s immune system, as well as descriptions of immune-calming foods (such as garlic, onions and tomatoes) and recipes, makes for a lively and engaging read.
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The Brain Trust Program: A Scientifically Based Three-Part Plan to: Improve Memory, Elevate Mood, Enhance Attention, Alleviate Migraine and Menopausal Symptoms, Boost Mental Energy
Larry McCleary, M.D.
Dr. Larry McCleary, a brain surgeon and former director of the Neuroscience Research Program at the Children’s Hospital in Denver, explains brain biochemistry in concise, easy-to-understand language that sets up his advice for staving off age-related cognitive decline.
After detailing factors that place us at increased risk of developing cognitive deficits, (such as chronic stress, diabetes or a family history of Alzheimer’s), he presents a three-step plan for preventing cognitive decline. The program includes a brain-friendly diet that’s long on omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish and seafood) as well as antioxidants (found in berries, spinach, avocados and even coffee, among others). He also recommends a number of nutritional supplements, including krill oil, B and D vitamins and magnesium.
But the most entertaining part of the book is its mental workout routine -- pages and pages of daily math exercises and memorization tests. The plan is based on research supporting the effectiveness of mental training in slowing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
In combination, these books provide plenty of fodder for the aging-averse -- information, exercises, case studies and recipes.
But even as they present cogent arguments for changing bad habits and striking a new path to longevity, they sometimes lose sight of the obvious: Radical results require radical change, and even after all that work, nobody cheats the reaper.
Not yet, at least.
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