I am reading a lot and listening to audiobooks, and I am interested in recommendations for high-quality books in the area of aging and longevity. Let’s use this thread to share book recommendations.
My latest positive experience: “How Not to Age” by Michael Greger (link to the book on Goodreads). It provides an excellent consolidation of information on AMPK, mTOR, AGEs, IGF-1, and much more, with references to underlying studies. Enjoyed the reading already twice in order to tweak my interventions
I think “Microbial Burden (a major cause of age related disease) and what we can do to fight back” by Michael Lustgarten is the best that I have read. He has his own crazy theory that you don’t see anywhere else. Uses papers from a few decades ago and teaches you things you did not know. Brilliant.
I learned a lot from Dr Greger’s book as well as his videos. One caveat: he approaches nutrition from the perspective of a vegan and disregards everything else. As a result he presents clinical studies that support his bias and ignores trials that show that consuming animal protein is not harmful. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but in economics this is known as confirmation bias.
@SilentWatcher Good idea. But be careful about what you accept into your mind as “fact”. The science is emerging and the incentive is to publish something. You can find “scientific studies” that support any conclusion you (or the Influencer) wants. And economic incentives matter.
Keep learning. Be careful about irreversible decisions. Trust your body, mostly. Don’t do too many things all at once. Try to use chemicals last, and only as a bridge to health (if possible).
Feynman said (i think): have an open mind but not so open your brain falls out.
Edit: that said, try stuff and see what works for you.
Buddha said (per the internet):
“ Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.”
I listened to outlive which was great (but I’ve followed him for years and didn’t learn all that much, but still loved it)
I listened to Greger’s earlier book How Not To Die… I loved that and really enjoy him… I gain weight when I pay attention to him because I feel I need to consume extra veggies and berries! I agree with @Uppereast69 that he is biased, but I do believe he is extremely ethical and nothing he does seems to be a money grab, which is rare in this space. If I read his other book, do you think I might still get a lot out of his How Not To Age? Maybe he explains things on a level that might make it all sink in more??? Science just looks like a bunch of fuzz to me on the page.
And no one seems to talk about Valter Longo much. I read his book The Longevity Diet which taught me a lot. My impression is not many people agree with him, but that is just my guess based on the pro meat crowd? He seems incredibly credible to me.
The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight, by Dr. Satchin Panda.
The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight, by Valter Longo.
Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, Cengage textbook.
I have put these in order from easiest reading to deepest. All of these can be commonly found used on Amazon for good prices. The textbook is a great reference if you do not want to read it through.
Wow, great recommendations so far (thank you!), some already well known, some new (I will definitely read some of them). Here is summary for community so far:
Book Recommendations on Aging and Longevity
“How Not to Age” by Michael Greger
me: Excellent consolidation of information with study references, but biased as mentioned by @Uppereast69 and @Beth
Read “The Hungry Brain” by Guyenet a few years ago. Exceptional and best book I know of concerning weight gain and loss in our species. Very readable and accessible to a lay reader like myself. I was startled at just how so many varieties of foods, easily accessible, so overcomes our natural inclinations to maintain normal weight. Or just how keeping a candy bowl out of reach by 10’ versus 5’ can have such an impact on behavior.
Interesting evolutionary story around the role of fructose and how insulin resistance was helpful for the preservation of our species during bare and harsh winters.
I am a longevity medicine physician and am board certified in Regenerative medicine, and Lifestyle medicine. All of Dr Greger’s books are excellent. My only criticism of “How not to Age” is his complete dismissal of longevity medicine interventions beyond nutrition and exercise. In fact his remarks were beyond dismissive. I recommend this book to patients with that caveat. There is excellent data as this audience recognizes with rapamycin, but also with Fatty 15, metformin, spermidine etc.
Jason Fung’s “The Cancer Code”-- best explanation I have read of why cancer starts, and essentially, what cancer is.
And, on the topic of treating cancer “How to Starve Cancer. . . .” by Jane McClelland. Consistent with Fung and many others who view cancer as fundamentally a metabolic disease— sometimes instigated by mutation or other insult to the cell, but metabolic in its progression.
