The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life
This easy-to-follow, comprehensive book outlines a lifestyle plan that integrates the principles of nutrition, diet, exercise, brain health and relationships that can help you not only live a long life but also a healthier more fulfilling life.

The Path to Longevity is a summary of more than 20 years of research, clinical practice and Professor Luigi Fontana’s accumulated knowledge on healthy longevity, using an evidence-based approach. Rather than trying to treat sick people with medicine, Professor Luigi Fontana set out to discover how we can avoid the chronic illnesses in our society, and live long, healthy lives.
1133603552
The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life
This easy-to-follow, comprehensive book outlines a lifestyle plan that integrates the principles of nutrition, diet, exercise, brain health and relationships that can help you not only live a long life but also a healthier more fulfilling life.

The Path to Longevity is a summary of more than 20 years of research, clinical practice and Professor Luigi Fontana’s accumulated knowledge on healthy longevity, using an evidence-based approach. Rather than trying to treat sick people with medicine, Professor Luigi Fontana set out to discover how we can avoid the chronic illnesses in our society, and live long, healthy lives.
25.99 In Stock
The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

by Luigi Fontana
The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

by Luigi Fontana

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$25.99 
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Overview

This easy-to-follow, comprehensive book outlines a lifestyle plan that integrates the principles of nutrition, diet, exercise, brain health and relationships that can help you not only live a long life but also a healthier more fulfilling life.

The Path to Longevity is a summary of more than 20 years of research, clinical practice and Professor Luigi Fontana’s accumulated knowledge on healthy longevity, using an evidence-based approach. Rather than trying to treat sick people with medicine, Professor Luigi Fontana set out to discover how we can avoid the chronic illnesses in our society, and live long, healthy lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781743795965
Publisher: Hardie Grant
Publication date: 05/05/2020
Pages: 336
Product dimensions: 7.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Professor Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D. is a highly skilled medical clinician who is recognized as the leading world expert on longevity. He is a Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Brescia in Italy and was for many years Research Professor at Washington University, one of the four most highly regarded medical universities in the USA. Professor Fontana recently was invited to join the University of Sydney as Chair of Translational Metabolic Health. Credited with conducting the foundational research that gave rise to the 5:2 diet, Professor Fontana’s revolutionary work is leading the world on longevity and the factors involved in living a long and healthy life.

Table of Contents

About the author xi

Preface xiii

Where this all began xiv

Information is power xvi

Part I The Beginning of Wisdom 1

Chapter 1 Are You Ready to Enjoy Your Life? 2

Are you ready to embark on the miraculous voyage that is your life? 3

What do you really know about your health? 4

Who is in charge? 5

Who are you? 5

Listen and learn 5

Be your own light: self-awareness is key 6

Chapter 2 Healthy Centenarians: The Quest for Healthy Longevity 7

Secrets shares by world's most long-living populations 8

Okinawa: 'land of the immortals' 8

Sardinia and South Italy: Kingdom of Methuselahs 12

Is vegetarianism the main secret to a long healthy life? 13

Facts, not myths on vegetarian diets: the results of the scientific studies 14

The Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians 15

Is the hunter-gatherer lifestyle the answer for a long and healthy life? 17

Do elite athletes hold the key to longevity? 17

Chapter 3 Healthspan and the Mechanisms of Ageing 20

Why do we age? 20

Death is unavoidable, but a life of prolonged ill-health is not 21

Can we prevent ageing? 22

Is ageing inextricably linked with disease? 22

Why do people develop chronic diseases not linked to ageing itself? 24

Chronic illnesses have common causes 24

Why we need to focus first on a better lifestyle? 25

The Framingham Heart Study 26

How cancer develops? 26

Excess body fat and cancer risk 28

Part II Nourishing Your Body 29

Chapter 4 The Science of Healthy Nutrition 30

Belly fat: the enemy within 31

Why is it important to have a normal BMI? 33

Is BMI the best index to measure body fatness? 35

The importance of monitoring our body weight 35

Watch your waist, not just your weight 36

Simple ways to assess whether you have abdominal obesity 37

What is a healthy waist circumference? 37

Let's take action to reduce our waist circumference 38

What will happen with a reduction in waist circumference? 39

How fast should you lose weight? 40

How can you stop putting the weight back on? 40

Beyond weight loss: successful ageing 41

Chapter 5 Longevity Effects of Restricting Calories and Fasting 42

Calorie restriction in rodents: the fountain of youth 42

Calorie restriction in monkeys: age record-breakers 43

Does calorie restriction work in humans? 45

Too much calorie restriction can be dangerous 47

Ways to control calories, without counting 47

The importance of replacing 'junk' with healthy plant-based foods 48

Leave the table when you are 80 per cent full 49

Intermittent fasting 50

Our studies on the effects of fasting 50

Different to the 5:2 diet 51

Benefits of 'healthy' fasting 51

Time-restricted fasting: the 16:8 diet 52

Dangers of frequent eating. Don't snack. Feast! 53

Eat your food slowly 53

Chapter 6 Healthy Children 55

Epigenetics and future generations: life takes notes on our genes 55

Before creation: preconception health for strong kids 57

Why health and lifestyle in pregnancy matter 57

Healthy birth: how delivery mode and early nutrition can shape the newborn's health 59

Healthy eating for breastfeeding 60

If possible, breastfeed your baby, it will improve your health as well 62

Balancing nutrition in our growing children through puberty 63

Chapter 7 Diet Quality Matters 65

How much protein should we eat? 66

Does eating more protein increase muscle mass? 67

High-protein diets promote disease and ageing 69

The quality of protein is more important than quantity 70

Animal protein 70

Plant protein 71

Fat: is dietary fat our real enemy? 72

Not all fat is created equal 73

Carbs: healthy versus unhealthy carbohydrates 74

Fibre 76

Part III From the Mediterranean to the Healthy Longevity Diet 81

Chapter 8 The Mediterranean Diet: Where Taste Meets Health 82

The 'discovery' of the Mediterranean diet 84

Health effects of the Mediterranean diet: how solid is the scientific evidence? 85

Mechanisms behind the benefits of the Mediterranean diet 87

Reduced oxidative and inflammatory damage 88

Gut health 89

Chapter 9 Move to the Modern Healthy Longevity Diet 91

The importance of healthy food diversity 93

The modern healthy longevity food pyramid explained 93

Vegetables: the staple food of the modern diet 94

Wild edible weeds: a well of nutrients 100

Herbs and spices: maximising flavour 101

Whole grains and legumes: combining energy, fibre and proteins 106

The wonders of nuts and seeds 119

Fruit is the best dessert to nourish the skin 125

Fish: substitute meat with fish for the good of your heart 127

Extra-virgin olive oil: the healthiest condiment 129

What should be drink? 130

How much should we drink? 132

Chapter 10 Foods to Eliminate or Drastically Reduce 133

Why are ultra-processed foods bad for you? 134

Sugars: not so sweet results 135

Soft drinks and sodas 135

Salt: sneaky sodium 136

Meat: is it good or bad for your health? 139

Eat whole foods, not supplements 143

Part IV Physical Exercise as a Daily Medicine 145

Chapter 11 Maximising Health Through Physical Exercise 146

Physical inactivity: the biggest public health problem of the 21st century 147

The 2,500-year history of sports medicine 148

Chapter 12 Beneficial Effects of Aerobic Exercise 150

Burning calories with endurance exercise 151

Aerobic exercise and type 2 diabetes 154

Endurance-exercise training improves cardiovascular health 154

Aerobic exercise helps to reduce cancer risk 155

Exercise training protects memory and prevents brain fog 156

Chapter 13 Starting of Improving Aerobic-Exercise Training 157

Training intensity 157

Training duration and volume 160

Training frequency 160

High-intensity interval training: how and when? 161

Use it, lose it 163

How much exercise is too much? 164

Chapter 14 Fourtifying Muscles and Bones: The Science of Strength Training 166

Intensity, frequency repetitions and rest periods 168

Make a start with 15 minutes of a body strength training program at home 169

Chapter 15 Posture, Balance and Flexibility: The Essential Exercises 173

Pain and joint degeneration 173

Why good posture is vital 174

What is the correct posture? 175

Chapter 16 Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi and Martial Arts: East Meets West 178

Tai chi 178

Yoga 179

Slow, deep breathing: a powerful tool to fight stress and anxiety 184

Part V Prevention 189

Chapter 17 Take Preventative Action to Stay Healthy 190

Smoking kills you and harms your loved ones 190

Sun exposure and vitamin D: how, when, where and why? 192

Alcohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly 195

Brush your teeth regularly: gum disease causes systemic inflammation 197

Chapter 18 The Importance of Health Screening 199

What tests do we need and when? 200

Screening for cancer 201

Beyond active surveillance and watchful waiting 204

Part VI Our Minds 207

Chapter 19 Nourish Your Mind and Train Your Brain 208

Improving our brain function: cognitive training 209

Brain plasticity can improve into old age 210

Fasting and endurance exercise boost effects of cognitive training 212

Preventing cognitive decline 212

A healthy diet helps to prevent cognitive decline 213

Physical exercise can help prevent dementia 214

Quality sleep lowers the risk for dementia 215

The importance of strong social relationships 215

Chapter 20 Rest and Sleep Quality 216

What science tells us happens when we fall asleep 217

Benefits of sleep 218

Slow-wave sleep disruption promotes dementia 219

How many hours should we sleep? 220

How to improve your sleep quality 221

Chapter 21 Mindfulness Meditation: Learning to Live in the Present 223

Mindfulness exercises: the art of now 224

Mindfulness combats 'constantly thinking disorder' 224

Inner serenity time: how to begin 225

Ten benefits of mindfulness meditation 226

How negative emotions affect our wellbeing 228

What is your level of mindfulness? 231

Mindfulness exercises 232

Mindfulness is a precious instrument to boost creativity 233

Chapter 22 Family, Happiness and a Future Without Fear 235

The importance of family, friends and community 235

Knowing ourselves: the way to do is being 236

The stream of life 237

Maximising our potential: living according to our own nature 237

Beyond the sensory: freedom from cultural illusions 238

Intuition: the highest form of intelligence 239

Happiness: a plant to nurture? 242

Six interventions to develop and increase your happiness 244

Of life and death 246

Transforming yourself one step at a time 247

Part VII Our World 251

Chapter 23 A Healthy Sustainable Environment to Live in 252

Chapter 24 Pollution is Making us Sick 255

No 'normal' concentrations of particulate matter exist 255

Where do these fine particles come from? 256

Livestock and environmental pollution 257

Global heating 259

Chapter 25 Securing the Future 260

Chapter 26 My Message to the Reader 263

Appendix What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Track Your Progress 265

Measuring markers of systemic health 266

Measuring markers of cardiovascular health 267

'Bad' cholesterol 268

'Good' cholesterol 270

Blood glucose and other markers of optimal glucose metabolism 271

Blood pressure 273

Maximal oxygen consumption and fitness 274

Monitoring progress - other tests 275

References/bibliography 276

Acknowledgements 318

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