12 Books About Longevity That Will Change How You Think About Aging
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While that might be easier said than done, if you’re looking for a step-by-step guide or manual on how to create a life focused on longevity, we’ve rounded up just a few of the best books about that are well worth the read.
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‘Lifespan’ by David A. Sinclair, PhD, with Matthew D. LaPlante
Image Credit: Amazon Harvard geneticist, David Sinclair, is a leading world authority on genetics and longevity, and in Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To, he reveals a bold new theory for why we age. As he writes: “Aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable.” Dr. Sinclair tells his story by presenting groundbreaking research, much of it conducted by his own lab, on how we can slow down and potentially even reverse aging, thanks to his work with sirtuin genes. He argues that we can not only achieve longevity, but also improve our vitality through emerging technologies and lifestyle changes—such as intermittent fasting, cold exposure, exercising with the right intensity and eating less meat.
‘Lifespan’
$19.89$30.0034% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘Radical Longevity’ by Ann Louise Gittleman PhD CNS
Image Credit: Amazon Author Ann Louise Gittleman champions “a paradigm shift in which your biology is not your biography.” If you’re looking to breakdown the science behind what ages women physically and how to reverse it, Gittleman has the answers. Radical Longevity: The Powerful Plan to Sharpen Your Brain, Strengthen Your Body, and Reverse the Symptoms of Aging includes how to correct and reverse the effects of aging with targeted foods, critical lifestyle tweaks, as well as peptides, vitamins, and minerals that allow you to live a fuller, longer life. She even dives into revitalizing your sex drive at any age.
‘Radical Longevity’
$17.99on Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘Outlive’ by Peter Attia, MD With Bill Gifford
Image Credit: Amazon Author and physician, Peter Attia uses his medical background to provide readers with practical advice on how to optimize exercise, nutrition, sleep and emotional and mental health for maximum longevity. In Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, his approach focuses on stepping away from mainstream medicine that treats diseases like heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes, and instead emphasizes the importance of prevention of these diseases by providing practical strategies so you can live your life to the fullest.
‘Outlive’
$18.99$32.0041% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘The Telomere Effect’ by Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, and Elissa Epel, PhD
Image Credit: Amazon Common sense says that exercise, diet, and sleep can influence aging, but there’s real science behind why this is. In The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn breaks down her discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that protects us from aging by lengthening the telomeres on the ends of our DNA that shorten with age. With psychologist Elissa Epel, Blackburn shares the ways that our environment and thoughts can influence these telomeres, showing that we can slow down aging through diet, exercise, sleep quality, and stress management.
‘The Telomere Effect’
$18.89$41.0054% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘Women Rowing North’ by Mary Pipher
Image Credit: Amazon Drawing on her own experience as a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist and cultural anthropologist, author Mary Pipher explores the ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the unique challenges they face as they age. In Women Rowing North, she focuses on enjoying the journey of growing older and learning from all the lessons along the way. As she writes, “If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent.”
‘Women Rowing North’
$16.95$27.0037% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘The Miracle of Aging and Longevity’ by Maria Ian
Image Credit: Amazon After author Maria Ian lost her best friend and battled her own self-proclaimed medical failures, she set out to understand how to age with dignity. Her spiritual approach to health and wellness is centered around shifting your energy to focus on action, healing, and self-care above procrastination. In The Miracle of Aging and Longevity: The Energy Roadmap to Transition and Embrace Midlife for Women and Men, you’ll find a simple 3-step morning routine, self-care tips, nutrition, and diet strategies and tips on how to embrace healing for aging.
‘The Miracle of Aging and Longevity’
$10.37$13.2021% Offon Amazon.com
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‘Ikigai’ by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
Image Credit: Amazon Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life poses a simple but radical question: What is your reason for being? Or as the Japanese call it, your ikigai. Weaving in narratives and interviews with Japanese centenarians along with studies, history, quotes and even a brief Tai Chi lesson, this book offers big advice on how to live a long, happy and meaningful life from the minds of those who have done it.
‘Ikigai’ by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
$12.99$24.0046% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ by Dr. Julie Smith
Image Credit: Amazon This diary-esque book is filled with practical solutions from clinical psychologist Julie Smith on how to strengthen and maintain your mental health, even in the most trying of times. As we age, the way we cope with anxiety and criticism, build self-confidence and find motivation can change. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Everyday Tools for Life’s Ups & Downs tackles everyday issues and reminds readers that mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being, even as we grow older. The digestible book is filled with short entries that make it easy to find specific information and guidance.
‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’
$16.19$27.9942% Offon Amazon.com
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‘The Longevity Book’ by Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bark
Image Credit: Amazon Actress Cameron Diaz followed up her #1 New York Times bestseller, The Body Book, with a personal and practical guide about growing older and all that it entails. She opens the book with a frank discussion about an often taboo topic: the aging female body. In The Longevity Book: The Science of Aging, the Biology of Strength, and the Privilege of Time, she shares scientific research on how and why we age, explores what history, biology, neuroscience, and the women’s health movement can teach us about maintaining optimal health as we transition to midlife.
‘The Longevity Book’
$19.55on Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age’ by Dr. Steven R Gundry, MD
Image Credit: Amazon At this point we all know how important gut health is, but surgeon Steven R. Gundry, who has been treating mature patients for decades, found that gut health, and the ‘oldest’ parts of us – the microorganisms that live within our bodies – are one of the keys to longevity. In The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age, he offers an action plan to prevent and reverse disease as well as simple hacks to help anyone look and feel younger by healing and nourishing from within. From actionable advice on diet to cognitive health to skin care to fitness, he provides tools to help prevent and even reverse disease.
‘The Longevity Paradox’
$13.74$28.9953% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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‘How Not to Age’ by Michael Greger
Image Credit: Amazon Physicians have long treated aging as an illness, but getting older does not have to mean getting more sick. Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of centenarians and residents of “blue zone” regions where people live the longest, Dr. Greger, physician and nutritionist, presents simple, accessible, and evidence-based methods in How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older. His goal: to preserve the body’s functions that keep you feeling youthful, both physically and mentally through diet changes and exercise.
‘How Not to Age’
$35.99$39.9910% Offon Amazon.com
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‘French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging With Style & Attitude’ by Mireille Guiliano
Image Credit: Amazon If diving into the science of living a long life is not for you, Guiliano shares her secrets and strategies for aging with wit, humor and a dash of attitude in French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging With Style & Attitude. Through her own stories and personal anecdotes, she divulges French women’s most guarded secrets about looking and feeling great, while providing tips and strategies to feel your best in your skin. And as the title would suggest, there’s no surgery involved, just a heavy prescription for good laughs and great friends.
‘French Women Don’t Get Facelifts’
$17.79$36.0051% Offon Amazon.com
Buy now
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