“A Short Guide To A Long Life” by Dr. David Agus

A Short Guide To A Long Life by Dr. David Agus starts by sharing with us his frustration from seeing patients get old and develop the laundry list of Western ailments while looking for treatments. All would have been unnecessary if they had initiated a few simple lifestyle and habit changes early in life. A different diet and set of habits could have prevented the diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, obesity and the rest of the long list of preventable diseases that afflict modern man. Instead of trying to figure out how to pay for health care, we should reduce our need for health care altogether by forsaking cream puffs, super-sizing, driving instead of cycling, and all the other things we do to cause these preventable diseases. His book is a short guide on how to live a long, healthy life.

“Somehow the turnover keeps its hold on me.”

I personally keep saying “this is the last time I’ll have a cherry turnover with coffee after I eat a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast.” (Too much animal protein and sugar.) But somehow the turnover keeps its hold on me. Dr. Agus promises that we can live longer lives by following a few rules via his new cheat sheet requested by the readers of his previous book, The End Of Illness. It turns out there are 65 rules! Although he tells the reader you have to find what works for you, I am hoping this means I can still occasionally have my turnover and coffee.

Obviously, I can’t review all 65 recommendations, but they range from “Don’t eat processed foods, reduce your stress, have a glass of wine with dinner, practice good hygiene” to “stand up straight” (yes mom). Then these extend to “Speak strongly to the next generation, keep a to-do list.” I guess I could add “no pastry after every breakfast” to my own regimen, but somehow I always forget to review my to-do list when my cherry turnover addiction hits.

“In my case, I did come away with one habit-changing piece of advice.”

I’m sure the author doesn’t intend for his readers to follow all 65 rules. In my case, I did come away with one habit-changing piece of advice. Apparently, many studies have shown that taking vitamin supplements is correlated with an “increased risk of diseases such as cancer and produces little benefit to health.” (Google it if you want.) So I decided to ditch them. Not often does a book makes you change your behavior, but this one did, which I guess is the point of the book.

I walked away with one final rule: find the one(s) that speak to you and hope for the best.

More SevenPonds articles:

• Harvard Study Reveals Components of a Life Well Lived for Men. A Harvard study began 75 years ago reveals leading causes of death in men.
• Helen Nearing, co-author of the famous book The Good Life, reflects on aging and dying.
• Book Review: “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl. The Holocaust memoir takes a riveting look into the psychology of death camp prisoners and guards.