Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

Topol (Deep Medicine), a molecular medicine professor at Scripps Research, presents an exhaustive and occasionally exhausting resource for understanding the factors that shape how people age. Delving into how certain lifestyle choices tax one’s health over time, he cites research showing that eating ultra-processed foods increases risk of heart disease, that regular exercise decreases the likelihood of developing cancer, and that getting less than six hours of sleep per night raises one’s chances of getting dementia by 30%. He explains the science behind dangerous chronic conditions, describing, for instance, how uncontrolled high blood pressure leads to the buildup of plaque inside arteries that can eventually result in a heart attack. “Stopping our bodies from attacking themselves” is crucial to achieving longevity, Topol argues, discussing how one University of Calgary researcher recently found a way to deactivate inflammatory antigens with iron oxide nanoparticles. Elsewhere, Topol examines how a decline in cells’ ability to clear faulty proteins contributes to neurodegeneration, and how music has shown promise treating Parkinson’s disease in elderly patients. The expansive collation of studies features the most up-to-date science on aging, but the dry presentation and technical language are a drag (“A discovery in inflammatory bowel disease of intraepithelial lymphocytes with specific T cell receptor antigens tied to loss of self-recognition is one path to developing immune tolerance”). It’s a mixed bag. Agent: Katinka Matson, Brockman, Inc. (May)