Review of Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being [DECKLE EDGE] (Hardcover)

This review is written by a former hospital administrator of just under 2 decades. I have been studying health and nutrition for more than decade. I became very interested in alternative medicine when a family member was diagnosed with kidney cancer and the allopathic doctors (traditional MD's) could give no reason for the tumor.

If you have not read one of Dr. Weil's books before, I think you will enjoy his writing style.His tone is very conversational, you feel as though you are talking to a friend while you are reading his books, this one included.Dr. Weil has a gift for taking a dry and complicated subject and explaining it in a manner that anyone can understand.The purpose of this book is NOT to stop aging, but rather to prevent or minimize the impact of age-related disease, to learn how to live long and well, and to age gracefully.

He subdivides his book as follows:

PART ONE:The Science and Philosophy of Healthy Aging
1.Immortality
2.Shangri-Las and Fountains of Youth
3.Antiaging Medicine
4.Why We Age
5.The Denial of Aging
6.The Value of Aging
7.Interlude:Jenny

PART TWO:How to Age Gracefully
8. Body I:The Ounce of Prevention
9. Body II:The Anti-inflammatory Diet
10. Body III:Supplements
11.Body IV:Physical Activity
12.Body V:Rest and Sleep
13.Body VI:Touch and Sex
14.Mind I:Stress
15.Mind II:Thoughts, Emotions, and Attitudes
16.Mind III:Memory
17.Spirit I:Unchanging Essence
18.Spirit II:Legacy

A TWELEVE PROGRAM FOR HEALTHY AGING
Appendix A:The Anti-inflammatory Diet
Appendix B:Suggested Readings, Resources and Supplies

The doctor does a wonderful job of explaining why and how we age.Even without an educational background in the sciences I was able to comprehend advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and how they cross link (form abnormal bonds) to adjacent protein strands leading to inflammatory and autoimmune responses.If you have been reading much about nutrition or health lately you know that inflammation is the new "hot topic" in medicine linked to almost everything.According to Cardiologists inflammation is more important in determining heart health than cholesterol.After reading Dr. Weil's explanation of inflammatory response this concept now makes much more sense to me.

Dr. Weil explains in great detail which nutrients the body requires to function properly and how to incorporate them into your life.He also goes into much detail about dietary suggestions.These are pretty much what you would expect, but he does a thorough job of explaining why he is making these recommendations, which I personally find very helpful.

The doctor also goes into great detail regarding his recommendations for physical activity and how this should change as we age.The concept of a pool disinfected without chlorine was new to me, and one that I was very happy to know is an option.

If you want to age gracefully, but feel as though you need more information, this is a wonderful book on the subject.I highly recommend this book to baby boomers looking for information on how to minimize or eliminate the impact of disease in our lives as we grow older.



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