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Longevity Made Simple: How to Add 20 Good Years to Your Life: Lessons from Decades of Research

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By George Fulmore

In retirement, there would seem to be a link between our health and our longevity. The healthier we are, the longer we probably will live. The trick, of course, is 1) trying to figure out the best advice for our individual situation, and 2) trying to follow that advice, while still enjoying ourselves in retirement.

"Longevity Made Simple," by Flanigan and Swayer, (2007, Williams Clark Publishing), I found to be a book that gives a good, up-to-date overview on how to live as healthy and as long as we can.

The thesis of the book is that we are genetically capable of living to about 85 years of age, but that the choices we make in what we eat and how we take care of ourselves can add or subtract years, even decades, from that age.

The basis advice involves:
1) Lower cholesterol
2) Lower Blood Pressure
3) Avoid Tobacco
4) Eat a diet rich in fish, fruit and vegetables
5) Get exercise
6) Maintain a healthy weight
7) Prevent accidents
8) Drink alcohol (daily in small amounts)
9) Take aspirin
10) Take a multivitamin

Heart disease, cancer and strokes are the cause of nearly 60 percent of Americans deaths. By keeping our cholesterol level below 182 mg/dL, our blood pressure under 120 mmHg, and not smoking or having diabetes, we can greatly reduce our risk of heart disease or stroke. Not smoking, of course, significantly reduces the risk of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer for both men and women in the United States, according to the book. For other types of cancer, early detection dramatically increases the likelihood of survival.

The authors also suggest that other tests be done on a regular basis, including Cholesterol (lipid) panel, Advanced lipid testing, Coronary Artery Calcium Testing, Blood tests for the presence of inflammation, Electrocardiograms and Treadmill Stress tests. They say that coffee, with its "high level of antioxidants," is actually quite healthy to drink in moderation. And they site the recent study that found that exercise and fitness are more important than body weight, plus they note that there is no longer evidence that a type-A personality is directly linked with a higher risk of heart attack.

There is much more than in the book, which, again, I think gives a good, high-level overview of improving ones health and longevity in retirement. I recommend it.

Reading this book gives one the feeling your doctor is sharing everything they can with you...in one visit.

Unfortunately, only later in our life do we tend to get more serious about our health. Even later is never too late, and you can make a difference and you can educate the young now. Absorb it.

Through extensive scientific research, professional experience, the authors, both doctors, have teamed up for a thorough user-friendly book targeting longevity, providing YOU with the choices for a longer better life. And what's more, everything is explained in layman's term. Layout is designed with gray-shaded sidebars to quickly view and digest those very important topics. Lightweight and easy to carry, this is a great book to refer to during those quiet moments.

Understanding the Threats
You will get clear facts on the 10 threats to your health and its risk factors, from the number one killer, heart disease to the number 10, Septicemia. Do you know what septicemia is??

Then, you can assess your own profile. And here, completely understand those HDL LDL cholesterol levels and triglicerydes which you have never understood before.

Happiness...is it in you?
I especially like chapter on your mental health, a critical factor in our lives.

Exercise - "the real fountain of youth"
Don't try to live without it! I cannot stress how much in this book refers to the importance of exercise and how favorable it is to ward off many aspects of diseases.

Facts on Diets of long-lived people, Excellent Food Choices and Menus
Included is fact-based info on diets of various cultures, you are given a simple list of superfoods, learn about fish, nuts, and bad foods. Several menus are included.

Another chapter deals with our medications and/or supplements. Learn what statins are, and the dos and don'ts of your vitamins, etc. Great information!

As I mentioned, make this handy well researched and referenced book your bible for a long healthy life. Carry it with you. Give it as a gift!! Rizzo

Longevity Made Simple by Richard Flanigan M.D. and Kate Flanigan Sawyer MD, MPH, has a subtitle, `How to Add 20 Good Years to Your Life.' This book is not a diet book or is it an exercise book. It is longevity book that explains in simple language what science tells us about living long, healthy lives.

The book consists of eleven chapters plus an appendix with simple recipes. Some topics covered in the book are how long should we live? Eighty-five if we are in good health. The top 10 causes of death in the U.S. Did you know the 10th leading cause of death is Septicemia? Find out what that is in Chapter 2.

Also included is a personal risk profile. It explains what is good and bad cholesterol. Along with BMI charts, a good predictor of health risk is your abdomen size, that's your waist size. It also states the limits for men and women.

Which is better, to be Fit and Fat or Sedentary and Lean? The Cooper Institute, using data from the Aerobics Center Longitude Study answers that question. The minimum amount of exercise is listed and some cautions on over-exercising.

Health foods are also covered. There is a list of Super foods that help to reduce oxidative stress, reduce inflammation, improve the elasticity of the arteries, and improve blood pressure. Heard of plant Stanols and Sterols? These lower serum cholesterol naturally.

Tea or coffee, which is healthier? Seems like both are. Tea contains antioxidants and coffee is associated with a lower risk of diabetes. Also explained are vitamin supplements and some common medications like statins for cholesterol and different type of high blood pressure medicines. A whole chapter is devoted to common health tests, such as EKG, ultrasounds for heart and arteries, and cancer screening tests to name a few.

Rounding out the book is 10 health tips that are practical and do-able. Several of the suggestions I have already started on, such as eating several veggie meals a week and changing my exercise routine.

With charts, graphs, and lists and concise explanations, the Flanigans have made the medical science easy to understand. They write with just enough science to provide meaning and with common language to make it understandable. The amount of data inside makes this a very good quick reference book to have on hand.

Here is what another reviewer summarized this book as suggesting you should do:
The basis advice involves:
1) Lower cholesterol
2) Lower Blood Pressure
3) Avoid Tobacco
4) Eat a diet rich in fish, fruit and vegetables
5) Get exercise
6) Maintain a healthy weight
7) Prevent accidents
8) Drink alcohol (daily in small amounts)
9) Take aspirin
10) Take a multivitamin

Here is what's wrong with this advice:
1) eat a fish rich diet = wrong. This will increase your exposure to mercury and PCB's (polychlorinated biphenols) both of which are very strong cancer causing ingredients.
2) drink alcohol. The actual research shows you are better off drinking no alcohol, IF (and only if) you are eating a very healthy nutrient rich diet. If you want to keep eating a very poor diet (as 90+% of Americans do), then alcohol may actually have some protective benefits.
3) take aspirin = wrong ! Studies show increased pancreatic cancer rates in persons taking aspirin daily, and you don't need aspirin, if you are eating a very healthy high nutrient diet.
4) take a multivitamin = wrong ! Most multivitamins contain either Vitamin A or Beta Carotene, both of which increase your kidney's excretion of calcium from the body and thus contribute to osteoporosis. They also frequently contain folic acid in a form or proportion to other ingredients which now has some preliminary evidence that that may contribute to increased rates of prostate cancer in men. (This does not mean that you should not get folate from your diet (it's found in all leafy green vegetables, in fact, it means you should get it from leafy greens, not from vitamin pills.) Again, that is early preliminary evidence and may not be proven solidly after more research, but it did cause at least one nutritional doctor to change his multivitamin pill formula to leave out folic acid until more research is in!

If you want to know how to live and what to eat to live longer and healthier, you should avoid this book, and instead read the following three books:
1) The China Study The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. He was the lead researcher on the world's biggest ever study on human nutrition, which included literally hundreds of Thousands of data gatherers who obtained dietary and eating habits on literally dozens of Millions of Chinese people scattered over thousands of towns and villages and was able to see patterns of who lived longer and how their dietary habits differed from those who didn't live as long.
2) Eat to Live Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a former Olympic athlete who became a Family Physician specializing in preventative medicine, who has studies tens of thousands of research articles in medical journals and nutritional journals and synthesized the best scientific compilation of what's known to be good for you and what's bad for you into the book Eat to Live, which has over a thousand references to scientific journal articles footnoted so you can look up his sources and find out for yourself how accurate his information is. and. .
3) Healthy at 100 Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World's Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples by John Robbins, the heir to the millions from the Baskin-Robbins ice cream fortune, who turned down his inheritance after he discovered how damaging to the public health his family's ice cream business was. In this book he has actually traveled around the world and studied the 5 places on Earth where it is routine for large proportions of the populations he studied to live to over 100 years old, and wherein the elderly are not decrepit and sickly like they are in our society. In his studies he has found that they all follow similar patterns, viz. they eat mostly plant based diets, get a lot of exercise, and remain active until they die. They also don't eat processed foods, nor do they eat lots of meat, nor do they eat dairy. In fact, they rarely eat any dairy at all.
If you read these three books you will know how to eat healthy and live to over 100 without having to use alcohol, and without any need at all for aspirin.
Best Wishes for your continued health. PS If you can only afford one book, I'd make it Eat to Live, as it has all the scientific references you can check out to verify the accuracy of the info given.

Imagine spending a few hours with 2 world class medical experts who will provide a lifelong preventive plan---your best chance to live longer and most importantly, in good health...how much is THAT worth?

By clearly describing life's major health challenges along with logical and authoritative strategies to prevent illness, this book could easily save your life. Or perhaps, allow you to spend more time with your adult grandchildren.

Hard for me to imagine a more valuable contribution to the medical advice literature.

This book was recommended by my brother's cardiac rehab person, and the book is the clearest, most actionable description of the lifestyle to follow. I have read many books on eating healthy, a heart-healthy diet, and a diabetic diet and this is by far the most understandable and actionable. My reaction was, "I can do this!" rather than being mired in detail that is difficult to apply. I highly recommend this book.

This book is wonderful! It is quick and easy to read. All of the information is well organized and to the point, which makes it a valuable reference tool. Many other books are way too long, repetitive, and use language that is difficult to understand if you don't have a degree in medecine.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn how to live a healthier life!

As I get a little older and become more aware of my time remaining on this planet health becomes much more important than it used to be. This book is so easy to read, the suggestions so easy to follow and contents so well organized that I love picking it up and rereading it - there are some very nice recipes included as well.

I have bought several copies this year to give to my friends for Christmas. They will enjoy a book that doesn't beat you up for some bad habits but just gently moves you in the right direction to feeling better.

Longevity Made Simple: How to Add 20 Good Years to Your Life: Lessons from Decades of Research
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Flanigan and Flanigan Sawyer (Richard's daughter) offer not only the health threats but strategies readers can use to lead happier, healthier, longer lives. From these doctors you get both scientific research and professional experience. There are 15 pages of notes, a complete index, and 17 pages of recipes. The thesis of the book is that we are genetically capable of living to about 85 years of age. It is, however, the choices we make in what we eat and how we take care of ourselves that add or subtract years, even decades, from that age. Their basic advice involves: 1) Lower cholesterol, 2) Lower Blood Pressure, 3) Avoid Tobacco, 4) Eat a diet rich in fish, fruit and vegetables, 5) Get exercise, 6) Maintain a healthy weight, 7) Prevent accidents, 8) Drink alcohol (daily in small amounts), 9) Take aspirin, and 10) Take a multivitamin. This book should become your bible for living a long, healthy life. It is a great guide, a wonderful reference book, and makes a terrific gift.

I started an excercize program soon after reading this marvelous book. The authors are very credible and provide easy to digest information about how we can safeguard our health by lowering our risk for heart disease and cancer. Very well done!White Coat Wisdom: Extraordinary doctors talk about what they do, how they got there and why medicine is so much more than a job