Important, valuable, useful book ... should have a different title
5 stars
When this book was recommended to me I was put off by the title. The author clears it up in the first chapter: the goal is to live as well as possible, not long as possible. Most people who live into their 70s, 80s or beyond have what he calls "a marginal" decade when their health, strengths, and mental focus decline. But -- unless you are unlucky genetically or from some trauma -- it does not have to be marginal at all. You do have to take responsibility for your health at your current age and "bank reserves" to utilize in your old age. Reserves of muscle, aerobic fitness, neurological pathways and social connections (in real life not online).
I think everyone should read this book, the younger the better
It is a primer for the subject matter, but a very good one. If you are starting off reading about modern longevity studies I'd have a tough time recommending anything else more.
Will it motivate you to put the info into action? That's on you. But if you are not the type to be easily motivated to make some simple changes to temporarily evade merging with the infinite...then probably not. Maybe instead think of it like this: it might give you a better probability of reading an obit for someone you weren't fond of.
Overall the book presents broad stroke information on longevity that looks at the usual areas: exercise, diet, sleep, and how to be proactive with health. He contrasts this "Medicine 3.0" approach with the existing "Medicine 2.0" approach. Overall the suggestions are solid and mostly align with standard medical advice. His exercise level suggestions are far more than what is usually recommended or shown to be effective in studies but he has rationale for it which makes sense and may pan out over the long term but there is no study data to confirm it. Nothing he suggests is outside the realm of safety.
The food discussion is a bit more problematic. Again the core is good bones however I think prior his Paleo/Keto bent shows here. He looks at it mostly through the carb/fat/protein macros lense. The way he presents it you would not be wrong to conclude that you …
Overall the book presents broad stroke information on longevity that looks at the usual areas: exercise, diet, sleep, and how to be proactive with health. He contrasts this "Medicine 3.0" approach with the existing "Medicine 2.0" approach. Overall the suggestions are solid and mostly align with standard medical advice. His exercise level suggestions are far more than what is usually recommended or shown to be effective in studies but he has rationale for it which makes sense and may pan out over the long term but there is no study data to confirm it. Nothing he suggests is outside the realm of safety.
The food discussion is a bit more problematic. Again the core is good bones however I think prior his Paleo/Keto bent shows here. He looks at it mostly through the carb/fat/protein macros lense. The way he presents it you would not be wrong to conclude that you pretty much must eat a lot of animal protein to stay healthy and the plant side of the equation is kind of moot. No epidimiological data holds this up. All of it shows that a plant dominant diet is a key part of long term health and longevity. Even the handful of studies that show that people who ate meat had better outcomes than vegetarians and vegans, the meat level consumed is way less than one serving a day (usually in the 2-3 ounces/60-90 grams level). While he has no problem telling people to just suck it up on exercise and sleep fronts on this front he minimizes this by essentially saying "eat a lot of meat three times a day" follow up with minimizing negative longevity effects of that advice with "just take a statin" and "not everyone's lipid profile is adversely affected by eating a lot of saturated fat". This is probably the weakest part of the book.
I was expecting more actionable information as well. This is more like a primer with a pitch for "Medicine 3.0" which is going to specialists for all these special tests, interactions, etc. I personally do do all those things but I have to pay a lot out of pocket for that. Would it be great if all of this was covered by standard medical insurance? Absolutely. It isn't. There are plenty of things that those that can't afford that sort of treatment could be doing, and most of it is following standard guidelines put out by government health organizations. Laying that out could have been helpful to readers who can't spend thousands of dollars a year out of pocket on these things.
Overall I learned almost nothing new in this book because I follow these topics intensely already. For someone who has never heard of these things it could be a helpful primer but I have concerns about people coming away with misimpressions on the diet side of things and perhaps even fatalism about the approachability of these things if "Medicine 3.0" is out of financial range for them.
Really useful, actionable, and perspective-shifting
5 stars
This book should pass the test of time, even if some of the specific treatments, routines and advice will likely be outdated in 5-20 years. The goal to live (and the methods to achieve) a rich and active life that you can enjoy in your 80s and 90s is something that most health books don't even consider.
The chapter about Peter's mental health made the book stand out amongst similar "here's how to be healthy" books.
