Age Less – by Sandra Parsons

Depending on which edition of the book you’re looking at, you might see “Daily Mail Wellness Book of the Year!”, which we must assume has nothing to do with fact that the author is the Daily Mail’s literary editor.

However, we’re here to review the book, not the marketing, so let’s have at it:

You may be wondering how well backed-up the claim in the subtitle (“I reduced my biological age from 60 to 20”) is.

• On the one hand, the source for this claim is: she says so.
• On the other hand, when it comes to talking about what kind of test this was: she does not say.

All she tells us is that it was “one of the most accurate tests available” and that the results were “I was 60 on the outside and 20 on the inside”.

We then read about how she smoked and drank and ate junk food for most of her life, but that now she doesn’t smoke anymore (she still drinks and eats junk food).

Her 3-step “reset plan” is:

1. Eat 10% less
2. Move more
3. Rest more

With regard to how to achieve that 10% less eating, she suggests to do as she does, for example choosing a smaller portion of McDonald’s fries, or three chocolate chip cookies.

In terms of scientific rigor, for the most part this book lives up to the standards that might reasonably be expected from the Daily Mail (a tabloid newspaper), and while beyond that there are some studies cited, more often we have an argument-from-authority presentation, more often than not referencing Dr. David Sinclair, mostly about caloric restriction.

Bottom line: this book does contain some good advice in broad terms (move more, rest more, reduce inflammation), some terrible advice in specific terms, and all in all, it might be better to just read a book by Dr. Sinclair instead*.

In the unlikely event this review has inspired you to want this book, you can find it here!

*For example, see our review of this book that we strongly prefer: Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don’t Have To – by Dr. David Sinclair