Given the nature of my job, I read a lot of non-fiction books. The more books I read, the more I discover that there is a lot of ‘Old wine in new bottles’ out there. Don’t get me wrong! It’s still great and exciting stuff, but the more books I read, the more it takes to really ‘wow me’. This week I read a book that blew my mind. It’s called LifeSpan, and it’s written by David Sinclair.
The book has the subtitle ‘Why we Age, and why we don’t have to’ and takes us to the frontlines of the cutting-edge research on aging done by David Sinclair and his team.
– Work that investigates how we can slow down, or even reverse, aging.
:” I believe that aging is a disease. I believe it is treatable. I believe we can treat it within our lifetimes. And in doing so, I believe, everything we know about human health will be fundamentally changed.” (David Sinclair: Lifespan – Why we age and why we don’t have to)
At once, a roadmap for taking charge of our own health destiny and a bold new vision for the future of humankind, Lifespan will forever change the way we think about aging.
Through a page-turning narrative, Dr. Sinclair invites us into the process of scientific discovery and reveals the emerging technologies and simple lifestyle changes that can help us live longer and stay healthier.
Here is our take on the highlights from the book:
Highlight #1 We all have to die… at some point!
A key point in Lifespan is that we must stop blindly accepting aging as an undisputable process where the quality of our lives and our physical comfort slowly – but surely – diminishes as we grow older.
Instead, Sinclair suggests that we start viewing aging as a treatable disease
#2 Happy and Healthy – all the way!
Even though modern medicine can extend our lives far longer than it could a century ago, we are still a long way from discovering the path to a qualitative old age.
The good news is that scientists worldwide are well on their way to discover medicine and technology that can delay, rewind, or even reverse the aging process. Amazing stuff but unfortunately – for now – not all something available to the broader public! Luckily Lifespan also introduces us to several straightforward lifestyle changes that can improve our lifespans and quality of life.
Here is a quick list of things you can start doing already today:
- Reduce your daily calorie intake (without causing malnutrition).
- Practice Intermittent fasting
- Limit your consumption of animal-based foods
- Exercise Frequently – particularly through High-intensive Interval Training.
- And finally, Expose your body to cold temperatures regularly.
#3 Ethics, morals, and critical questions.
As promising as the research on aging is, all these possibilities also present ethical questions. Ponder this:
- If medical technologies to extend lifespans become widely available, will people be forced to use them? And who will pay the hospital bills should you choose to age naturally?
- And what about the environmental considerations? Over 7 billion people already populate the planet: consuming resources and generating enormous waste. Is it even ethical to be tweaking ourselves to increase longevity?
With so many modalities of prolonging life in development, the time to wrestle with these and other ethical questions is now! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
You can check out our animated summary where we explore each highlight in greater detail video here: https://youtu.be/qrsx6SBLA1c
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Take care and see you soon.
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