Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying)

by Bill Gifford

Overview

From acclaimed journalist Bill Gifford comes a roaring journey into the world of anti-aging science in search of answers to a universal obsession: what can be done about getting old?

Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying)

Spring Chicken is a full-throttle, high-energy ride through the latest research, popular mythology, and ancient wisdom on mankind's oldest obsession: How can we live longer? And better? In his funny, self-deprecating voice, veteran reporter Bill Gifford takes readers on a fascinating journey through the science of aging, from the obvious signs like wrinkles and baldness right down into the innermost workings of cells. We visit cutting-edge labs where scientists are working to "hack" the aging process, like purging "senescent" cells from mice to reverse the effects of aging. He'll reveal why some people live past 100 without even trying, what has happened with resveratrol, the "red wine pill" that made headlines a few years ago, how your fat tissue is trying to kill you, and how it's possible to unlock longevity-promoting pathways that are programmed into our very genes. Gifford separates the wheat from the chaff as he exposes hoaxes and scams foisted upon an aging society, and arms readers with the best possible advice on what to do, what not to do, and what life-changing treatments may be right around the corner.

An intoxicating mixture of deep reporting, fascinating science, and prescriptive takeaway, Spring Chicken will reveal the extraordinary breakthroughs that may yet bring us eternal youth, while exposing dangerous deceptions that prey on the innocent and ignorant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594721161
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	02/17/2015
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	617,640
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Bill Gifford is a contributing editor for Outside magazine and has written on science, sports, and fitness for numerous publications, including Wired, Businessweek, Men's Health, Men's Journal, Slate, and The New Republic, among other publications. He has been features editor of Men's Journal and executive editor of Philadelphia magazine. He is also the author of Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer. He lives in New York City and central Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Elixir xi

Chapter 1 Brothers 1

Chapter 2 The Age of Aging 15

Chapter 3 The Fountain of Youthiness 41

Chapter 4 Yours Sincerely, Wasting Away 66

Chapter 5 How to Live to 108 Without Really Trying 82

Chapter 6 The Heart of the Problem 97

Chapter 7 Baldness as Metaphor 117

Chapter 8 The Lives of Our Cells 137

Chapter 9 Phil vs. Fat 156

Chapter 10 Pole Vaulting into Eternity 173

Chapter 11 Starving for Immortality 202

Chapter 12 What Doesn't Kill You 228

Chapter 13 Fast Forward 252

Chapter 14 Who Moved My Keys? 275

Epilogue: The Death of Death 291

Appendix: Things That Might Work 307

Acknowledgments 317

Notes & Sources 321

Further Reading 349

Index 353

Editorial Reviews

01/05/2015
Gifford, a correspondent for Outside magazine, confronts mortality and the ways in which people try to escape it, in this engaging study. “I wanted to know everything about aging, this universal but still little-understood process,” he states. To this end, Gifford interviews a wide range of sources, from respected scientists to the fringe figures involved with hormone therapies, radical diets, and herbal supplements. He uncovers surprising facts along the way, such as how the lifespans of naked mole rats defy expectations, or that the Laron little people of Ecuador don’t get cancer. Though he doesn’t skimp on the relevant science, the tone remains accessible, even humorous, as Gifford threads his own personal journey and experiences together. Some tangents seem a little far afield, like a discussion of an ill-fated experiment involving the enclosed artificial ecosystem Biosphere 2 in the early 1990s, yet everything ties back to the central question: why do some people fade away early, but a select few stay vital well past the century mark? Gifford does acknowledge that there is no cure for aging, but his core message—“Use it or lose it”—is a common-sense piece of advice anyone can find useful. Agent: Larry Weissman and Sascha Alper, Larry Weissman Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"You need this book. I grabbed it like a life preserver, and that's exactly what it is. Spring Chicken demolishes the worst hoaxes in anti-aging treatments-like crushed dog testicles, human growth hormone, and Suzanne Somers-and leaves you with the good news: by adopting a few easy-to-understand, easy-to-follow discoveries, you might just deactivate the time bombs in your fat cells and learn to follow in the springy, "successfully aging" footsteps of a 92-year-old pole vaulter."
-Christopher McDougall, New York Times bestselling author of Born to Run and Natural Born Heroes

"Spring Chicken is a masterful exploration of the fantasy and fact surrounding one of the most fundamental questions of humankind: why do we age?"
-David Perlmutter, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar-Your Brain's Silent Killers

"Spring Chicken is an utterly marvelous book - a guided tour of a fantastic, counterintuitive landscape (that happens to be your body), and also a whip-smart guide to living a longer and healthier life. With this book, Bill Gifford joins the ranks of Mary Roach and Bill Bryson as a science writer supreme, illuminating our world in a page-turning style that is as entertaining as it is enlightening."
-Daniel Coyle, New York Times bestselling author of The Talent Code


"Bill Gifford's terrific Spring Chicken gives us a riveting account of the most important change of the last century-the doubling of our lifespans-and an intimate vision of what it will take to not only keep that trend going, but keep ourselves healthy and vibrant as we age."
-Steven Johnson, New York Times bestseller of How We Got to Now

"Gifford skillfully navigates the many strands of aging research to create an entertaining narrative of the perils of getting old."
-Kirkus


"An enlightening book-and a terrific read."
-The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

02/15/2015
We are living longer, and some people would like to halt or reverse the aging process. Health, fitness, and science reporter Gifford (former executive editor, Philadelphia magazine; former features editor, Men's Health) takes readers on a journey through current research about aging. He begins with a look at the aging process, pondering why some people age more quickly than others. He also considers the cell, the basic unit of life, noting that it is programmed to age and die. The body's organs age and become less efficient as well. Quality nutrition and exercise help to maintain efficient body function and reduce health problems, but most of the antiaging treatments touted as cures do not work. Gifford notes research on Resveratrol, the "red wine pill," which turns out to be useless even though moderate consumption of red wine has positive effects on cardiovascular health. VERDICT Gifford's entertaining and informative book will give readers sound advice and inform them about current aging research.—Barbara Bibel, formerly Oakland P.L.

Library Journal

2014-12-15
Examination of the science behind humanity's obsession with aging and staving off death.The oldest recorded person was Madame Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122. She was not exactly an exemplar of good health either; she smoked until she was 117. By contrast, the oldest clam was 507. Can humans learn something about aging from clams? Is it possible to plan for a long life? Those are only some of the questions Outside correspondent Gifford (Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer, 2007) tackles in his exploration of not only the health industry's advancements—e.g., controversial hormone therapies—to prolong life expectancy and reduce the effects of aging, but also the cultural perspectives that underscore the evolutionary drive to live as long and comfortably as possible. The author points out the underlying contradiction that while life expectancy has climbed significantly in recent years, the overall health of the population is getting worse. This conundrum cannot easily be answered, but the ethical quandaries related to these medical advances lead to an alternative argument that there is simply no limit to human life. One particularly fringe idea is parabiosis, or surgically pairing a young body to an old one, thereby "distributing" the youth. Gifford chronicles other seemingly sci-fi techniques that are striving for legitimacy and expertly explains complex science in layman's terms. He also analyzes studies of Alzheimer's and other disorders and diseases that cause significant cognitive decline. Perplexing still is the fact that people age differently, and there is no predictor why some people live to be 100 in great physical and mental health while others suffer severe debilities at relatively younger ages. The only reasonable prescription for living a long and healthy life is, somewhat anticlimactically, simply exercising and eating right. Gifford skillfully navigates the many strands of aging research to create an entertaining narrative of the perils of getting old.

Kirkus Reviews