Customer Reviews

The Anti-Aging Plan: The Nutrient-Rich, Low-Calorie Way of Eating for a Longer Life--The Only Diet Scientifically Proven to Extend Your Healthy Years

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Anti Aging Plan is, in my opinion, the first book to read on the subject of Caloric Restriction (CR).

The basic idea of CR is that you can live much longer if you design a diet for yourself which is low in calories, but provides all of the necessary nutrition.

This book presents the essential facts, without getting bogged down in technical details. Anyone who wants to maximize their lifespan, or lose weight in a healthy way, can benefit from "The Anti Aging Plan."

Roy Walford's other book, "Beyond the 120 year diet" provides more technical data, which some people will want, but people to whom I've given copies of that book tend to be "blinded by the science."

Lisa Walford's book "The Longevity Diet" adds some interesting insights, but doesn't give enough information on it's own to get you started.

If you adopt the CR lifestyle, you'll certainly want to read all three. You'll also want to download the free software from [....] .

Personally, I've followed this diet plan for four years. I've lost 50 pounds, and improved my cholesterol from 240 to 151. It isn't easy, but it works.

I agree with another reviewer that the recipes in this book are a GREAT resource. I cannot however give this book 5 stars, because the scientific introduction is a bit too weak, and even stretches the facts a bit. Readers need realism not rose-coloured scientific preaching. The other reviewer recommends purchasing Beyond the 120 year diet as a companion book to get the scientific details, but there you get the same over-optimistic interpretation of the facts. I would recommend instead the new book by Lisa Walford and Brian Delaney, The Longevity Diet. If you read The Longevity Diet, you will get a realistic picture of the state of anti-ageing research, and you will get a lot of interesting personal stories from people on the diet offering extremely useful tips for staying on the diet - something Roy Walford seemed to think wasn't necessary. Then you can turn to the recipes in the Anti-Aging Plan!

This is a good book with a boatload of diet tips and recipes...half the book is recipes! It leaves out much of the scientific research supporting the diet, for this get a copy of "Beyond the 120 year Diet." Which I have to say is a fantastic book. Happy cooking and long living!

I have long been a believer in, and an advocate for, keeping daily calorie consumption down along with following an intelligent exercise program. I learned the rewards are better health, a youthfulness, more energy, greater vitality. When my metabolism started slowing down, I put on a few pounds and I didn't know how to take them off without jeopardizing my health. A piece of information was missing, and I didn't know what. I researched "calorie restriction" and found that there's a whole body of research-derived knowledge that takes the mystery out of it. The secret is Calorie Restriction with OPTIMAL NUTRITION. Eat fewer calories, but eat foods that are packed with the nutrients your body needs, in correct proportions. It requires conscious planning, determination, and the willingness to change your eating habits . . . but it is well worth it. I recommend 4 books. They are: "The Anti-Aging Plan" The Anti-Aging Plan: The Nutrient-Rich, Low-Calorie Way of Eating for a Longer Life--The Only Diet Scientifically Proven to Extend Your Healthy Years, "Beyond the 120 year Diet" Beyond the 120 Year Diet : How to Double Your Vital Years, "The Longevity Diet" The Longevity Diet: Discover Calorie Restriction--the Only Proven Way to Slow the Aging Process and Maintain Peak Vitality, and "The CR Way" The CR Way: Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life. Although the fundamental science in each book is the same, there are differences in each book. Using them all enables you to customize a diet that fits your schedule, way of life, and preferences. If there is a fountain of youth out there, this is it.

Dr. Walford was a pioneer in the field of extending life via caloric restriction. Any person who performs objective medical research can confirm that there have been many legitimate medical studies that have shown that caloric restriction is the only proven way to extend life in mammals. The evidence supporting this is compelling. The challenge is how to implement this concept in everyday life, particularly if you enjoy eating food, as this reviewer does. It may be difficult for the average active adult to follow a severely restricted diet for a prolonged period of time. However, Dr. Walford's book contains some good recipes, which may be sufficient to put his research and concepts into dietary reality for many people. Dr. Walford's book is a well-written book and worth reading. It is not a fad diet, by any means. It is possible to use the information in this book as a motivator to eat fewer calories and, just as important, to eat more nutritionally dense food (e.g., whole grains, fresh vegetables, beans) as one grows older and as one's metabolism slows down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. You can learn a lot by reading it. It is unfortunate that Dr. Walford died of Lou Gehrig's disease. I am sure he would have continued his valuable research, which he enjoyed sharing with others.

I purchased this book alongside 'The CR Way' and 'The Longevity Diet'. Both of the latter are much more recently published. I enjoyed reading the Anti-Aging Plan, but was surprised that after only 80 pages or so it transitions into Part 2, which is completely recipes (albeit much needed recipes). In addition, I felt that the book could have used a bit more technical backing in describing its summaries of research information. I understand that Dr. Walford wrote other books that contain this information, but I don't see why some of it couldn't have been included here. As for the remainder of the text, I believe Dr. Walford's enthusiasm and support of CR were both motivating and forward-thinking; unfortunately, however, many important elements of a CR diet are not discussed or are outdated, presumably due to the age of this book. For example, in the sections on Vitamins and Supplements, certain recommendations are made (C + E are good examples) that are more or less debunked by recent research presented in 'The Longevity Diet'. In addition, the later books focus on important topics such as Glucose, Insulin and IGF-1 and these are conspicuously absent from 'The Anti-Aging Plan'. In summary, I feel that this book represented an important step in moving CR to the public consciousness, but if you are new to the game, I recommend starting with 'The Longevity Diet' first.

Dr Walfords theories of calorie restriction seem to have merit and certainly warrant future study. However, I found that evidence presented in this book was poorly substantiated . A large amount of the evidence was based on non-human animal testing on species with short lifespans and fast metabolisms. While such tests are often effective, there are plenty of examples in which results of animal tests do not carry over to humans. I would want significantly more evidence prior to embarking on such a radical, unconventional lifestyle change as calorie restriction. What's more, calorie restriction carries heavy risk of malnourishment or severe caloric deficiency if not executed with the utmost care. While these risks are covered, I would have liked to have seen the authors do a better job of emphasizing them.
Dr Walford's claims remain highly controversial years after his death. While small primate studies have suggested that calorie restriction may have life-extending effects in hominids, there are a number of variables that need further study. One example is the fact that individuals following a dietary regimen of calorie restriction consume a much higher amount of fruits and vegetables compared to the general population. Such foods generally have strong disease-inhibiting effects and whole food diets have been proven time and time again to increase the likelihood of humans living longer, healthier lives. Secondly, individuals following Dr. Walfords plan tend to be both educated(they are after all reading scientific dietary books) and health conscious(why follow calorie restriction if not for your health?). Educated individuals earn higher incomes and statistically have better access to health care. Health conscious individuals are also more likely to address health systems and utilize that health care. Obviously, these factors contribute to overall life expectancy. It is thus difficult to determine how much actual caloric restriction plays into the extension of lifespan when compared to a healthy lifestyle.
I think Dr. Walford's theories hold merit, but human study is undoubtedly necessary to recommend drastic lifestyle change, especially in light of the associated risks. Such study is difficult considering the longer lifespan of humans and the relative newness in popularity of the late doctor's theories.

This is a very intriguing book and offers a lot of insight into how our bodies work and what is needed to make them work.

Didn't enjoy this book - it may suit other readers but having studied nutrition, I found the ideas a little hard to digest.

I ordered this book, along with the companion title "The Longevity Diet". I really wanted to learn more about high nutrition foods, and how to build a nutritious eating plan on a reduced calorie diet (800 -1200 calories). I was INCREDIBLY disappointed to learn, upon reciept, that the basic diet is built around 1,800 calories per day. At my height, build & goal weight, I would GAIN WEIGHT on this plan! I am returning these books... they are of absolutely no use to me.