Customer Reviews

Forever Young: The Science of Nutrigenomics for Glowing, Wrinkle-Free Skin and Radiant Health at Every Age

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First, I really like this book. It's full of excellent information that, when you think about it, just makes sense. I am glad I got the book and would recommend it to anyone (I am waiting for my second copy to give away as I write this).

That said, as a 37 year old man looking to lose about 45 pounds, the book has also been a little frustrating. First, I realize that women are the target market here, but it would be nice to have a few pages directed at the guys out there. Second, and more importantly, I really needed to see a simple summary and a clear regimen stated somewhere. Every chapter is full of excellent information, but I feel as if I have to pick and choose and piece it together myself in order to make it (hopefully) work for me.

I was glad to see there was a relatively clear guide to making the Meal Replacement Drink, but even then, it could have been clearer. After spending some time describing the benefits of egg white albumin, the recipe says, "I suggest 6 ounces of the protein source in liquid form or as labeled if it is in powdered form." Powdered form? I assume he recommended 6 ounces of egg whites as the liquid source, but now I have to figure out what "powdered form" means and if I was correct about the egg whites. I am sure some research will help me here, but it would have been nice to just be told plain and simple. Add to that, the six ounce recommendation is for a "women approximately five feet, four inches tall with moderate activity..." What about a guy about 5'11" with less than moderate activity? In the same recipe, he says to mix 1 teaspoon of non-Dutch cocoa with stevia and *a little water*, what is "a little water?" Again, I realize this might be a "to taste" thing, but I would have liked a place to start.

There is a great section talking about glutathione and the topical solution that solves the problem of adequate transport. I am very excited to try this, but I can't figure out where it is. I am now thinking that it is not out yet. I may be mistaken though. I'm still trying to figure it out. I watched the PBS special where he talked a lot about the wonder of this topical and I assumed it was available. Just not sure yet.

The recipes look very good - and that is coming from someone with terrible sensory issues and food aversions. There are a few tweaks I will have to make, but I have also been encouraged to "just eat it" with most of the ingredients. While I am not into Yoga, the section is very well done and about as engaging as it could be. The poses, etc. are all explained well and I will glad to see a few "programs" listed, at least two of which I am looking forward to trying.

Ultimately, I think I will have to call one of their counselors and see if they can help me. I am weak and tired and anxious to try this. The claims to not only help you lose weight but improve mood and overall health are very motivating for me. That said, I do not want to end up wondering if I am doing it right. That is terribly frustrating. Sometimes I felt as if the author was assuming I knew something already.

I would have given the book 5-stars had it, 1) provided at least a little guidance for a man reading this, 2) provided a "cheat sheet" of sorts plainly stating proper summarized regimens for both the diet and the supplement usage. I think that most of the information I need is in there, somewhere. I just wish I didn't have to work so hard to bring it all together.

One last thing: while Dr. Perricone does offer up his own products in here, I never felt as if he was forcing me to get his stuff. He also suggests a variety of other venders (though he may have relationships with them too, I don't know), and many of the supplements, etc. he recommends can be purchased just about anywhere. I really wish his weight management supplement pack was not $200 a month. : ( Budgeting it one thing, not having the money to budget after buying all the organic food, supplements, and all that is another. Not saying it is not worth it, just saying I may never be able to know. ; )

All that said, GET THE BOOK! I really am enjoying it. I received it yesterday and am already going through it a second time.

Dr Perricone finally recommends getting sun exposure in moderation. It's not that he was wrong about UV rays damaging effect on the skin. He and other dermatologists have come to the conclusion that the benefits of vitamin D that your skin produces with sunlight outweighs the negative effects of UV rays. If you take his advice and take astaxanthin or AstaREAL, you will limit the UV damage. Dr Perricone devotes 10 pages of the book to this superb antioxidant. He explains how it provides protection from UV rays and also how it protects against oxidative damage during and after exercise. I thought he would provide information in this section about krill oil as a source of astaxanthin, but instead he writes about his beloved salmon.

The beginning of the book discusses the basic causes of cellular dysfunction, mainly free radicals and inflammation. Dr Perricone presents a few of his novel ideas about delivering glutathione to the inside of the cell and consequently protecting the mitochondria against free radical damage. He covers a new class of mitochondrial antioxidants called SS peptides that are able to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane. He also discusses supplements that most nutrition savvy readers already know about such as; acetyl l-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetylcysteine and Co-Q10. Unfortunately, he does not give any information about CoQ-Quinol.

Chapter 2 Nutrigenomics, is a combination of nutrition and genomics. He explains how antioxidants and phytonutrients can positively effect gene expression. This means that what you eat before your children are conceived can actually effect their genetics. Also included in this chapter are 3 old superfoods; cinnamon, turmeric, and watercress. Other foods given in-depth coverage are; cocoa, chia seeds. and of course salmon. Finally a book that recommends cocoa! According to food chemist Chang Lee, it has 3x more antioxidants than green tea. I mix 1 tsp of Navitas cocoa powder with my coffee. 1/3 g fat and 0 sugar and it's cheap!

Chapter 3 is about losing fat and preserving muscle. Dr Perricone presents his Metabolic Miracle diet which is designed to burn fat and preserve muscle. The idea is to slow the process of age-related muscle loss. Also in this chapter are a few paragraphs on growth hormone and DHEA. He is not a fan of exogenous GH and he cites some negative side effects in a study, although he does not give the details. He is more optimistic about growth hormone-releasing hormones. Not mentioned in this book is a promising new drug called MK-677. Since GH and testosterone levels drop significantly with age, I feel that this section warranted more information. This is more than a quality of life issue because the myocardium in the heart is composed of muscle. Keep in mind that Dr Perricone is out of his area of expertise here. Dr Di Pasquale and Dr Michael Colgan are the authors I go to for information on anabolic hormones and muscular nutrition.

Chapter 4 is about the repair and rejuvenation of the skin. Dr Perricone explains his ionic suspension carrier sysem that is capable of delivering charged particles to the skin. By delivering vital nutrients to the skin in an ionic form, Dr Perricone's proprietary system increases glycosaminoglycan production by 150%. Microcurrent treatment is another topical treatment for skin that is covered in great detail. He includes nutritional information that is especially important for the skin on the following topics; vitamins B3, C, D, astaxanthin, Green Magma, mushrooms, and of course salmon. I was pleasantly surprised at the price of astaxanthin at Amazon and other sites, less than $10 for 60 caps.

Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to bone health and he gives a wealth of information on calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamins K1 and K2. Since these minerals and vitamins are important for everyone, this chapter is not just for women or the elderly.

Chapter 6 is a short chapter about menopause. He emphasizes the importance of phytoestrogens and discusses soy, flaxseeds, and chia seeds. Dr Perricone cites an interesting study on fish oil for treating hot flashes.

Chapter 7 is all about yoga. This chapter contains 40 pages of yoga diagrams. I would rather have seen these pages devoted to something else. I take a sauna to relax and according to some studies is a way of detoxifying. According to our government, sauna therapy increases BH4 synthesis and heat shock protein hsp90. Maybe I'll practice yoga in the sauna and get the benefits of both.

U.S library of Medicine:
"There is a large and rapidly increasing number of diseases that are associated with BH4 depletion and these may be candidates for sauna therapy. Such diseases as hypertension, vascular endothelial dysfunction, multiple chemical sensitivity and heart failure are thought to be helped by sauna therapy and chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia may also be helped and there are others that may be good candidates for sauna therapy."

Chapter 8 covers foods to improve libido, various recipes, and you guessed it, salmon.

Final Thoughts:

If you want to improve your skin or learn the theory behind how phytonutrients work, this book is for you. If you are just looking for a diet book you may be a little disappointed.

Will you live beyond the maximum life span of 120 by eating these superfoods? No, we are not there yet. But, you will dramatically improve your chances of living beyond the average life span. Here is the evidence:

Kuna Indians traditionally drink 3-4 cups of cocoa per day. For Kuna Indians, high blood pressure and heart disease are rare.

In India where they consume large amounts of curry containing turmeric they have the lowest Alzheimer's rate in the world.

In Japan where they consume large amounts of green tea they have one of lowest cancer rates even though 1 out of 3 people smokes. BTW, green and white teas are antimutagens in addition to being antioxidants.

In Greenland where the Eskimos eat their traditional fish diet, type 2 diabetes is almost nonexistent. Among those that have converted to a western diet the rate has sky rocketed.

Nicholas Perricone, MD is a pioneer in anti-aging medicine, and is consistently on the cutting-edge when it comes to our understanding of nutrition and inflammation and their effects on skin, health, metabolism, and weight loss. "Forever Young" is a terrific book, and in a readable, practical way, Dr. Perricone has tackled the the science of nutrigenomics -- big long medical word alert!! Basically, nutrigenomics is looking at how nutrition affects our DNA and genes, and ultimately, our health. While everyone else is messing with creams, plastic surgery, hormones, and Botox -- Dr. Perricone is talking about how beautiful skin and a healthy body always start from the inside out. If you're over 40, "Forever Young" is required reading....and much more affordable than a jar of department store wrinkle cream! -- Mary Shomon, Thyroid Patient Advocate & Author

This latest book by Dr. Perricone lives up to it's title. I've read several of his other books and followed his diet suggestions for about 4 years. His products are expensive, but they work as promised. The information in this book, like his other books is easy to understand and apply to your daily life. Following his advice not only makes your skin look years younger, but really does improve your overall health, helps to keep your blood sugar stable and thereby helps to keep your weight stable. I had oily skin and acne my whole adult life until I started following Dr. Perricone's diet suggestions. I'm now 62 years old and get compliments on my skin on a regular basis. People are shocked when they find out how old I am. I have no wrinkles and my skin even looks good without makeup. This was not the case 5 years ago! I've made Dr. Perricone's suggestions part of my daily life so that I can look and feel good well past 100!

There is a lot of useful information in Dr. Perricones book "Forever Young". It's a shame that a non-inflamatory diet is not common knowlege in this country. Eating a healthier diet would definitely take a great load off of the dependancy on medications in our country, but until there is a great change in the conventional medical approach of treating symptoms instead of searching for the root cause of a medical issue, most people will just continue to take a pill and believe that's all they can do.
Forever Young gives examples of what you can do to take control of your life and possibly have a more fulfilled "quality" of life.

Dr. Perricone's theory of inflammation as the source of weight gain and retention worked out well for me. I lost nearly a full size in 10 days! Friends who did the diet along with me lost 6 and 7 pounds. Previously, I never lost more than three pounds in a week's dieting.

The 10 day metabolic diet gives a menu and suggested supplements to aid weight loss and keep blood sugar on an even keel. Dr. Perricone writes he designed the diet to ensure comfortable success, and he succeeded.

I came to learn about this book through a seven page article in Life Extension Magazine. I enjoy a great health and my recent check up only indicated that I was low on vitamin D. Thus I began adding a heavy dose of vitamin D to my diet and also became interested in learning more about vitamin D deficiency and its symptoms. This research led me to learn far more about nutrition than I had expected.

Reading Dr. Perricone's article on Improving Bone Health in Life Extension Magazine was a great introduction to the book: For Ever Young. In this article alone, I found several pieces of simple but important information on the role of vitamin D, K1, K2, calcium, magnesium and their interdependence on our overall health, while citing credible research data. If we only use the data in this article alone and use it to improve our overall health, wouldn't that be a huge reward for the small price of the book?

In my recent checkup, I asked my doctor if she could direct me toward some natural sources of vitamin D. She looked at me with apathy and said, "I don't know anything about the natural stuff, but I can give you a prescription for a strong dose of vitamin D." My point is that not too many doctors are trained or educated in natural sources of remedies or prevention of diseases, but very glib in prescribing drugs. And sometimes drugs that are antagonists to one another.

I like to use one simple example of the book as a point to impress upon its usefulness regarding a very common health issue such as the benefits of taking vitamin K2 for bone density and protection against osteoporosis, while Coumadine, a blood thinning drug counteracts against K2, causing long term adverse health effects for the patient. And if you need to take a blood thinner and are taking vitamin K2 as well, then being armed with this data you can call your doctor and question him for practicing bad medicine.

We all need to take the bull by the horn, take personal responsibility, get reasonably educated about good health and fitness, so that we can keep a sharp eye on how to stay healthy or how we are being treated by our doctors; and this book is a simple, comprehensive, informative body of credible and well researched data as a reference book. The title " For Ever Young" I don't think is implying that if you read this book you are going to look and feel like when you were 20 at the age of 90. Using common sense, it is a playful exaggeration, meaning that by using the information you can enjoy a vigorous healthy youthful life at any age but particularly, an opportunity to spend the last several years of your life in good condition. The book is a great investment in your overall health, I think.

You are what you eat - who doesn't already know this? There is absolutely nothing new in this book that is not available for free EVERYWHERE else on the internet. This book has been written a million times before by other "celebrity" doctors who don't practice medicine for a living, but publish books.
If you can wade through all of the clinical mumbo jumbo here, then you are a clinical technician or a doctor yourself, but the average person will not understand a word of it, only the results of the studies are of any importance. While references to the clinical studies are important to anyone who DOES want to get deeper into the subject, it does nothing here but fill up pages. The relevant, useful information here could have been condensed into a pamphlet, for free.
A previous review pointed out that details on how to implement this "program" are sparse and hard to follow. This is quite true. Where he could have been more precise on how to implement this on a day to day basis, he wastes our time on all of the arcane clinical junk.
I am quite certain that all of the foods he recommends are worthwhile, all these foods and their positive qualities have been known for 20-30 years. What is new here?
Beyond Salmon and watercress, most of the foods recommended here have to be specially ordered or found online somewhere. More importantly, these foods are not on the menu at any restaurant that I can afford to go to. So this is not going to be cheap, and I suspect, will not suit the majority of people's taste.
Follow Madonna's diet? Good God, give me a break - her supposed youthful looks have a much to do with cosmetic surgery as with an anti-aging program.
In the end, this book is a joke, as it contains nothing new.
If you are interested in anti-aging or healthy foods, I am willing to bet that you already have this book on your bookshelf, many times over. Don't waste your money on this book.
I want my money back.
Forever Young?
Forever Rich, for the doctor

This book is very informative (sometimes, repetative) regarding foods, diet and how it affects the skin &it's appearance. Good receipes too!!!

I pre-ordered Dr. Perricone's newest book, Forever Young, because I've found his other books to be very resourceful and informative. After reading the book i decided to apply some of his recommendations before submitting this review. I am happy to report that the new diet plan he recommends provides excellent results! I will admit that i was a bit apprehensive about using egg whites in my smoothie recipe but i was determined to give it a try. I'm happy to report that it was tasteless and the shake really kept my appetite suppressed! In the first week i lost six pounds which is an excellent incentive to continue on the plan! I like the fact that Dr. Perricone promotes healthy foods and supplements as a way of attaining youth rather than relying on products that could be costly. Anyone can live a younger, healthier lifestyle and turn back the clock by eating the right foods. I would recommend this book to anyone in search of a healthier life style and appearance!