The Big Idea: live long and prosper by eating well, exercising regularly, and sleeping well.
Chapter 1
Aging is a treatable disease.
Functional medicine looks at the body as an ecosystem; diseases are complex but often have identical root causes. Conventional medicine treats the body as a collection of organ; often only symptoms are treated, not root causes.
Lessons from the Blue Zones of Sardinia, Italy and Ikaria, Greece. Live close to nature. Love deeply. Eat simple foods. Move naturally. Laugh and rest.
The average person spends 20 percent of their life in poor health, suffering from chronic disease.
90% of the $4.1 trillion spent in the United States annually is spent on preventable chronic diseases.
Yamanaka factors might one day be able to reverse aging in humans, by creating induced pluripotent stem cells on command.
Chapter 2
Most diseases of aging are caused by imbalances in one of the body’s seven physiological systems.
Functional medicine takes a more long-term, root-cause-centric, and holistic approach to chronic diseases. Conventional medicine takes a more short-term, symptom-centric, and reductive approach to chronic diseases.
Chapter 3
Your genes are not your destiny. Genes load the gun. Habits and environment pull the trigger.
Chapter 4
Over tens of thousands of years, human physiology evolved in an environment of scarcity. The abundance of food is new to us.
The single most important recommendation in the book is to reduce or eliminate sugar and refined starch from your diet.
Do your best to avoid DNA damage by eliminating processed foods, limiting toxins and radiation.
Lengthen your telomeres by following the Young Forever plan.
Clean up damaged protein by autophagy induced by fasting.
Senolytics (phytochemicals from plants) help clean up inflammation causing zombie cells (senescent cells.)
Activate mitochondrial repair systems by following the Young Forever program.
Eliminate inflammation caused by a leaky gut by following the Young Forever program.
Reduce inflammation by eating well, avoiding inflammatory chemical, and sleeping well.
Chapter 5
Longevity is about eliminating or reducing harmful components (ultraprocessed diet, toxins, infections, microbiome imbalances, gut-damaging medication, allergens, loneliness) and increasing or adding beneficial components (whole foods, fiber, phytonutrients, optimal hormone levels, clean air and water, exercise, sleep, love, purpose)
Type 2 diabetes was rare in early 1800’s.
Our ancient ancestors lived without environmental toxins and were constantly moving (foraging, hunting, avoiding predators, seeking shelters.)
Exercise is a simple activity that can reverse most of the hallmarks of aging.
Blue Zones are famous for their tightly knit fabric of social connections.
Unresolved trauma can accelerate aging. Consider therapy, yoga, psychedelic therapy.
Sleep is when the glymphatic system cleans up metabolic waste that accumulates in the brain.
Bad bacteria in the gut can lead to a leaky gut, which can lead to inflammation and chronic disease. Beware of too much gluten.
Chemical, carcinogens, and heavy metals contribute to many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, autoimmunity, infertility, autism, and more.
Chapter 6
The best type of protein is animal protein.
Diet is the biggest driver of cardiovascular disease.
Low testosterone is associated with sleep apnea.
Get your phytochemicals from colorful plant foods.
Chapter 7
For a deeper dive, read The Pegan Diet or Food.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Avoid gluten, starch, sugar, additives, acid blockers, NSAIDs.
Collagen helps your microbiome. Consume bone broth and Japanese kudzu.
Get omega-3 from small wild fish.
Stick to extra virgin olive oil.
Anti-inflammatory: turmeric, ginger, rosemary, mushrooms.
Stay away from trans fats and oxidized oils, including frying oil.
Good: ketones, coconut oil and MCT oil.
Plenty of water, garlic, onions, curcumin, green tea for detoxification.
Eliminate sugar and starch as much as possible.
Too many raw kale smoothies can trigger low thyroid.
Ketogenic diets help improve cognition in Alzheimer’s patients.
Belly fat can cause high blood pressure.
Carbs are not actually essential nutrients.
Animal protein is the best protein.
Phytochemicals are highest in wild plants. Buy as organic as possible.
We used to think antioxidants in plants drove health, but now we know it’s phytochemicals.
Urolithin A, found in pomegranates, berries, and walnut, is another promising longevity molecule.
Older people who exercise should consume 1.5 to 2.0 g protein per kg of body weight. If you underconsume protein, the protein is used for energy instead of making muscle.
Consume protein within an hour after exercise.
Vegans cannot get this volume of protein from a plant-based diets, so need should supplement with protein and with BCAAs.
Chapter 8
Diet and exercise are the key to longevity.
Chapter 9
Find a sense of purpose and meaning.
Read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker to learn how important sleep is.
Altruism, being of service, is one of the most powerful roads to meaning and happiness.
Chapter 10
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Tools recommended: time-restricted eating, fasting, HIIT, strength training, cold plunges, saunas, breath work, hypoxia, hyperbaric oxygen, ozone therapy, red light therapy, phytochemicals.
Chapter 11
Advanced longevity tools: stem cells, exosomes, peptides, natural killer cells, plasmaphoresis, regenerative medicine clinics.
Chapter 12
- Young Forever Quizzes
- Baseline panel.
- Wearable (Oura, Whoop, Fitbit, Apple Watch.)
- Test for biological age and consider advanced screening through Galieri, Prenuvo, and Cleerly.
- Young Forever Diet.
- Young Forever Supplements.
- Healthy Aging Shakes
- Young Forever Lifestyle (exercise, sleep, mind, body, spirit, hormesis.)
- Advanced longevity tools and regenerative medicine.
Chapter 13
Get a comprehensive longevity blood panel.
Conduct genetic testing.
Get a wearable (Oura, Whoop, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin).
Consider a continuous blood glucose monitor.
Take the Young Forever Quizzes
Get a DEXA scan to assess bone density and body composition.
MyMycoLab tests for IgE and IgG antibodies to mold toxins.
MRI for fatty liver.
Heavy metal testing.
Nutrient deficiency tests.
DNA methylation tests with TruDiagnostic.
Inflammation test with iAge.
Total body MRI with Prenuvo.
Heart scan with Cleerly.
Chapter 14
Let food be your medicine.
More: plants, healthy fats, nuts, seeds, regenerative agriculture, organic, pasture raised eggs, low mercury fish, lentils or other beans, whole grains, extra virgin olive oil
Good, but less: fruits, meat, GMO, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics treated food
Less: whole grain flour, gluten, sugar, seed oils, grain oils, dairy
Phytochemicals are superfoods: spinach, kale, turnip greens, dandelion greens, collards, mustard greens, tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, papaya, cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, blueberries, raspberries, purple potatoes, blackberries, cherries, currants, black tea, green tea, oolong, white tea, dark chocolate, onion, dill, arugula, watercress, black-eyed peas, chili peppers, strawberries, apples, parsley, celery, oranges, thyme, oregano, basil, lemons, soybeans, tofu, natto, legumes, coffee, red grapes, red wine, mushrooms, olives, olive oil, algae, fatty fish, salmon, sardines, fish oil, krill oil, MCT oil, coconut oil
Time restricted eating (16 hour fast.)
Intermittent fasting (3 day fast.)
Ketogenic diet
Healthy Aging Shake: whey protein, mitopure, creatine, gut food, mushroom powder, macadamia milk, berries.
Chapter 15
Core: D3, omega-3, multivitamin and mineral, homocysteine supreme, magnesium glycinate/citrate, probiotics
Advanced: NMN or NR, fisetin, quercetin, pterostilbene (sirtuin activator), curcumin, EGCG from green tea, glucoraphanin (sulfurophane precursor), urolithin A
Sarcopenia: BCAA, creatine
Optional: RegenerLife, Acetyl-L-carnitine, N-acetylcysteine, PQQ, alpha-lipoic acid
Not yet recommended for longevity: metformin, rapamycin
Chapter 16
Cardio: HIIT, optimize VO2 max, walk, treadmill desk, sports, group exercise
Strength: 3 days a week, TB12, any strength training program
Flexibility and mobility: yoga
Mind and spirit: meditation, breath work, walks in nature, daily journal, make time for friends
Sleep: consistent bed time, dark quiet bedroom, electronic devices away from bed, no blue light before bed, avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed, no late meals, no late exercise, hot Epsom salt bath, aromatherapy bath with lavendar oil, massage, stretch, herbal therapies, magnesium citrate/glycinate, melatonin, meditation, binaural beats relaxation
Purpose: growth mindset, vision statement, altruism, passions, community, friends, reading, self-love, self-care
Cardio, strength, flexibility
Hot and cold therapy
Phytochemicals aka plant hormesis
Advanced: hyberbaric oxygen, hypoxia, ozone, red light
Chapter 17
Personalized recommendations for imbalances identified in the Young Forever Quizzes
Chapter 18
Diet: Pegan diet, Healthy Aging Shakes after exercise
Exercise: 5 days cardio (including HIIT), 3 days strength with TB12, 2 days yoga
Sleep: 8 hours a night, magnesium glycinate, eyeshades, ear plugs, Oura ring, Eight Sleep
Stress: daily meditation, daily breath work, nature, friends, family, monthly massage
Hormesis: time restricted eating, sauna, cold plunge, red light therapy, blue blocker glasses, ozone therapy weekly, hyperbaric oxygen annually, Cellgym hypoxia training
Supplements: Vitamin D Supreme, Dutch Harbor Omega, Pure Encapsulations multi, Homocysteine Supreme, Magnesium glycinate, Gut Food, NMN, Fisetin, HTB Rejuvenate, Pterostilbene, Curcumin with Bioprene, Epigallocatechin gallate, OncoPLEX, Mitopure, Amino Acid Complex by Thorne, Creatine
Advanced: peptides, stem cells, exosomes, natural killer cells, plasmaphoresis