Ageing, in the recent years, is being looked at as a disease – which can potentially be cured or at least the associated risks mitigated. The author refers to this as “Healthspan” – good health for much longer. This is a very detailed book offering a wide range of possibilities one can look at for increasing our healthspan.
The book starts with the possible reasons for aging. While the symptoms are evident – lower immunity, muscle loss, predisposition to illnesses, the underlying reasons are not entirely clear, but many possible reasons are being studied. The importance of diet, exercise and sleep are all covered, as one would expect. Where this book goes further than most other health books is the detailed coverage of drugs, supplements & procedures. This includes impact of NAD boosters, AC11 supplements, resveratrol, cat’s claw, red yeast rice, blood sugar lowering drugs such as metformin, peptides, rapamycin, nitric oxide and others. There is detailed coverage of stem cell therapy and the conditions it can help in. Since it is a new field, many stem cell treatments are still not FDA approved in the US, though more options are available in a few countries. There is also information on procedures such as cryotherapy, hormone replacement therapy, gene editing & others, and use of AI as we have more health data available.
The range this book covers is extensive. That, however, makes adopting a routine based on the information in this book complex considering the bewildering range of possibilities. Many of the referred drugs are prescription drugs, can have side effects, are expensive, and in some cases the long-term impact is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, it is interesting to learn the possibilities now available to increase our healthspan. This book would have been enhanced had it contained more information on foods and impacts.
The audiobook narration by L J Ganser was good. I had previously read “Lifespan” by David Sinclair which covers a similar topic. Both, that book, and this one, are good, have some overlaps, as well as some complimentary material. I recommend both as important reading.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
Thanks to Netgalley, Tantor audio and the author for a free review copy of the audiobook.