• Get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, says the American Heart Association
• There are over 10,000 minutes per week, says the pocket calculator

Is 150/10,000 really the goal here? Really?

For Caroline Williams, the answer is no.

In this book that’s practically a manifesto, she outlines the case that:

• Humans evolved to move
• Industrialization and capitalism scuppered that
• We now spend far too long each day without movement

Furthermore, for Williams this isn’t just an anthropological observation, it’s a problem to be solved, because:

• Our lack of movement is crippling us—literally
• Our stagnation affects not just our bodies, but also our minds
  • (again literally—there’s a direct correlation with mental health)
• We urgently need to fix this

So, what now, do we need to move in to the gym and become full-time athletes to clock up enough hours of movement? No.

Williams convincingly argues the case (using data from supercentenarian “blue zones” around the world) that even non-exertive movement is sufficient. In other words, you don’t have to be running; walking is great. You don’t have to be lifting weights; doing the housework or gardening will suffice.

From that foundational axiom, she calls on us to find ways to build our life around movement… rather than production-efficiency and/or convenience. She gives plenty of tips for such too!

Bottom line: some books are “I couldn’t put it down!” books. This one’s more of a “I got the urge to get up and get moving!” book.

Get your get-up-and-go up and going with “Move”—order yours from Amazon today!

It sure would be great if we could eat all that we wanted, and remain healthy without putting on weight.

That’s the main intent of Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book, with some caveats:

• His diet plan gives unlimited amounts of some foods, while restricting others
• With a focus on nutrient density, he puts beans and legumes into the “eat as much as you want” category, and grains (including whole grains) into the “restrict” category

This latter is understandable for a weight-loss diet (as the book’s subtitle promises). The question then is: will it be sustainable?

Current scientific consensus holds for “whole grains are good and an important part of diet”. It does seem fair that beans and legumes should be able to replace grains, for grains’ carbohydrates and fiber.

However, now comes the double-edged aspect: beans and legumes contain more protein than grains. So, we’ll feel fuller sooner, and stay fuller for longer. This means we’ll probably lose weight, and keep losing weight. Or at least: losing fat. Muscle mass will stay or go depending on what you’re doing with your muscles.

If you want to keep your body fat percentage at a certain level and not go below it, you may well need to reintroduce grains to your diet, which isn’t something that Dr. Fuhrman covers in this book.

Bottom line: this is a good, science-based approach for healthily losing weight (specifically, fat) and keeping it off. It might be a little too good at this for some people though.

Click here to check out Eat To Live and decide what point you want to stop losing weight at!

Another book with “The New Science” in its subtitle, so, is this one a new science?

Yes and no; some findings are new, many are not, what really sets this book apart from many of its genre though is that rather than focusing on fighting aging, it focuses on retaining youth. While this may seem like one and the same thing, there is a substantive difference beyond the ideological, which is: while anti-aging research focuses on what causes people to suffer age-related decline and fights each of those things, Dr. Longo’s research focuses on what is predominant in youthful bodies, cells, DNA, and looks to have more of that. Looking in a slightly different place means finding slightly different things, and knowledge is power indeed.

Dr. Longo bases his research and focus on his “5 pillars of longevity”. We’ll not keep them a mystery; they are:

1. Juventology research
2. Epidemiology
3. Clinical studies
4. Centenarian studies
5. Study of complex systems

The first there (juventology research) may sound like needless jargon, but it is the counterpoint of the field of gerontology, and is otherwise something that didn’t have an established name.

You may wonder why “clinical studies” gets a separate item when the others already include studies; this is because many studies when it comes to aging and related topics are population-based studies, cohort studies, observational studies, or (as is often the case) multiple of the above at once.

Of course, all this discussion of academia is not itself practical information for the reader (unless we happen to work in the field), but it is interesting and does give confidence in the conclusions upon which the practical parts of the book are based.

And what are they? As the title suggests, it’s about diet, and specifically, it’s about Dr. Longo’s “fast-mimicking diet”, which boasts the benefits of intermittent fasting without intermittent fasting. This hinges, of course, on avoiding metabolic overload, which can be achieved with a fairly simple diet governed by the principles outlined in this book, based on the research referenced.

In the category of subjective criticism, there is quite a bit of fluff, much of it self-indulgently autobiographical and very complimentary, but its presence does not take anything away from the excellent content contained in the book.

Bottom line: if you’d like a fresh perspective on regaining/retaining youthfulness, then this is a great book to read.

Click here to check out The Longevity Diet, and stay younger!