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Living To 100: Lessons In Living To Your Maximum Potential At Any Age

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This was easily one of the best books I've ever read. The best part was this: there are no magic cures, no miracle herbs, no eternal elixers to living to a "ripe old age." This book paints a realistic picture of aging, namely: how old you lives will depend mostly on genetics, and the best we can do is maximize our genetic potential by doing a few smart, common-sense things. And then the authors give us those things. I have changed my life to incorporate what I can to maximize my potential, and I'll go from there. What else could you ask for?

This book taught me that living long is a function of many factors, namely one's physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. Some of the factors are totally out of our control such as the genes we are born with and the time period and location we are born into. Also, I learned that longevity and quality of life go hand in hand. For example, a person who smokes heavily all their life not only will die sooner but suffer less enjoyable health in the mean time. This book provides a profound understanding of the factors that determine our well-being and makes a great guide to improving our well-being. I also found it engaging to read. Few of us can make it to 100 or beyond, but by emulating those who have, we can live longer, better lives. It must be nice to live to see your great-grandchildren graduate college and get married and everything.

Also recommended: "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Dr. Stephen Covey, also a great guidebook for improvement.

Perls imparts wisdom for living to a ripe old age

Want to know how to live to a ripe old age? Dr. Thomas Perls' new book, ``Living to 100'' is about as good a guide as you are likely to find.

Perls, a geriatrician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has been studying centenarians for years. This book, written with Margery Hutter Silver and John F. Lauerman, summarizes Perls' work and offers tips on how anyone can increase his or her odds on making it to a very old age.

It turns out living to the century mark isn't as rare as one might think. There are currently more than 50,000 centenarians in the United States, three times the number 20 years ago. You will meet a number of them in this remarkable book.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Perls' centenarians is their astoundingly good health. Perls says he suspected these survivors would be a hardy bunch. But that turned out to be an understatement.

Take Tom Spear, who is profiled in the book, for example. He is still playing 18 holes of golf three times a week at the age of 102 and shooting 15 strokes under his age. He hits his 3-wood up to 180 yards! And he's not all that unusual among his centenarian peers. Perls' work with the New England Centenarian Study found that growing old doesn't necessarily mean growing sicker.

``Our eyes told us that the oldest old were sometimes among our healthiest patients,'' he writes. ``Perhaps rather than having survived disease, centenarians were more likely to have avoided the chronic and acute diseases associated with aging in order to live to 100.''

Good genes help, of course. Yes, most of his centenarians were born with genes that helped them reach the century mark. These genes may help them avoid the chronic diseases associated with aging.

But does this mean that until gene therapy is perfected it is useless to adopt healthy lifestyles that may help us live longer and healthier lives?

No, Perls concludes. Rather, he urges people to look into their family histories, determine whether their ancestors lived beyond average life expectancy, find the causes of death and disability and make intelligent choices about how they can delay or even prevent the diseases that killed or disabled their predecessors.

``People with an optimal combination of genes that affect aging can probably afford to relax and indulge themselves a bit,'' Perls writes.

`But those who have family histories of cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other afflictions should begin doing what they can now to compress inevitable illness into a small percentage of what could possibly be a long life.''

How?

By taking vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; performing mental exercises to keep the brain sharp; getting regular exercise; reducing stress; eating a healthy diet; not smoking; keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol under control; taking an aspirin a day; and, for women, considering estrogen replacement therapy.

The book gives specific recommendations for all of these items and more.

It also includes a test you can take to determine just how long you are likely to live.

Perls, however, derides those who claim to practice ``anti-aging''medicine. Those who boast unproven hormonal supplements and other expensive treatments to supposedly delay the aging process are nothing but hucksters, he says.

``All these quick fixes . . . are sold on the premise that they provide the benefits of a healthy lifestyle with none of the work,'' he writes. ``In fact, compressing morbidity may require some of us to make drastic changes in the way we live. Living to be a centenarian takes 100 years of effort.''

Jason Taylor is looking for some miracle diet to get him to 100 and it sounds like 150. If he read more than 10 pages of Living to 100 he would realize that there is no miracle diet (SURPRISE!). He proposes that they must have had an amazing diet of some sort to get to 100... when in fact what these authors/real scientists indicate is that genes play a very important role in getting to 100. Diet plays a key role for the majority of us who don't have the genes and therefore can't indulge. For us then some common sense guidelines and suggestions about antioxidant vitamins, exercise etc are outlined in the book.

I thought the book was incredibly well written, full of thought-provoking new ideas about aging and extremely credible.

Jason Taylor seems to work for NASA... he's out in space on this one to!

This book is fascinating due, in part, to the many anecdotes about actual centenarians. The sub-title, Living to your maximum potential at any age, is exactly what this book is about. While genes, lifestyle choices, diet, activity, etc, certainly can contribute to living to 100, the author shows that there is no sure-fire way to become a centenarian, but we all can take a lesson from those who have made it that far--live life and live it well. A very informative and fun read.

Wonderful Book. I just turned 50, and I am giving the book as birthday presents to all my friends who, like me, are reexamining their lives. Based on actual Centenarian studies these Harvard doctors/researchers have proven that life is what you make of it at any age. Drs. Perls and Silver dramatically disprove the common belief that after 50 it's all down hill. We are not powerless, or doomed to be dependent, sickly, demented, and incontinent..... there are powerful things we can do to stay healthy the vast majority of our lives, whether we live to 85 or 100. Great book with Concrete suggestions on how to grow older and be healthy in body, mind and spirit.

Harvard has lived up to it's name on this one! The book is terrifically well written with inspiring and helpful explorations of centenarians' lives. The centenarians make it easy for "85 years old in good health" to appear attainable by the rest of us. The book is realistic because the authors say that genes do matter and that most of us have the genes to get us to our mid- to late eighties... there are no promises to get to 100... only a relatively few can do that. But, to be centenarian-like and spend almost all your life in good health is the goal which makes a lot of sense to me. I don't want crazy promises of living to 120 or even 100. Just give me the most up-to-date information about "aging well,not staying young". You won't find human growth hormone in this book. A terrific book with a whole new vision of aging that's good for all of us, young and old alike! If you are looking for one book to inspire you, to get an expert and helpful critique of what to avoid and what to do, and how to be pro-aging, not anti-aging... this is the book for you!!

Very interesting book with a very positive, yet realistic, message to give about aging. Not all of may be able to or want to live to 100, but by practicing good health habits and a healthy attitude we can improve the quality of our old age rather than feeling it's all up to fate. I especially enjoyed the anecdotes about the centenarians the authors studied, and their varied experiences in their younger years -- which to us now are historical times!

Actually, the idea of living to 100 never seemed appealing to me -- until I read about these active, vital centenarians. Like the nun's study (Aging with Grace), this is a hopeful, optimistic book. Some make it to 100 -- others don't. But following the advice in this book will give you the best possible chance of making it with a sound mind and sound body.

A fun read, a "feel-good" book.

Phyllis Staff, Ph.D.
author, "How to Find Great Senior Housing"
and
"128 Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's and Other Dementias"

Finally, a realistic and empowering approach to aging --it's opportunities and possibilities. As an older person, I found myself saying "YES!" every page. These authors have nailed it on the head.