Healthy at 100: How you can--at any age-- dramatically increase your life span and your health span

This book has made such an impact on me that I am buying a copy for a friend. I personally have lost 20 lbs. in 2 months following the regimen, but it is so important to point out a few things: 1. This book is not about "losing weight"; it's about living a lifestyle. As myself and friends often discuss, there is really not a lot of advantage in doing something unsustainable, such as is the case with all of these fad diets, diet pills, HCG, and all the other "I want it now / I want a lot of results for not much effort" approach that most Americans attempt to take. 2. Just because you maintain a healthy-looking appearance does not mean that you are healthy. A poignant illustration mentioned in the book is that of Jim Fixx, a famous proponent of running some 25 years ago that died of a heart attack at 51 (while running) - at least one of his coronary arteries was revealed to have 95%+ blockage from his horrible eating habits. On a similar note, just yesterday I received the news that the ex-husband of my wife's friend had a heart attack at 41. He maintained a fairly slim frame but ate like a horse (on a diet that included a lot of meat and fried foods, desserts, etc). In yet other stories we hear of runners dropping dead at marathons on a regular basis that are seemingly "a picture of health". How healthy are these people really? Have they had any checkups besides a routine physical? What about a full cardiology exam that includes things like ejection fraction, possibly atrophy of heart muscle tissue, saturation and blockage levels of coronary arteries, and others? Any genetic testing?One feature that displaces this away from other health-oriented books is its focus on an overall sense of spirituality, love, and the fostering and maintenance of strong, loving relationships. It is comprehensive and holistic. Humanity does not live in a vacuum. You can present all the latest technical data available in order to run your body optimally, and while adhering tothat data is sure to make you healthier and less susceptible to disease etc., we simply are at our cores social creatures, and needto interact with others frequently in ways that support each other. Multiple studies, as referenced in the book, have been done that show that in some ways, a strong network of loving relationships can overcome even an assortment of detriments combined (job stress, smoking, high blood pressure). A phrase in particular that struck me and left me speechless was "if you prepare a lunch for your spouse, etc. include a love note with the lunch". This exact thing my wife did for me for years and I have never seen that mentioned anywhere else!Other portions of the book completely took me by surprise, such as the marked increase in Japan's life expectancy in only 20 years after WWII, when General MacArthur reconstructed the country's wealth, corporate and landowner structures and essentially "leveled the playing field", dissolving the family dynasties that ran the large corporations, capping maximum pay for business executives, and massively redistributing wealth. Wealth inequality, especially here in the U.S., is taking a huge toll on the populace not only for the obvious reasons, but for health-related reasons.Robbins has done extensive research on medical studies and has a massive bibilography to support his approach. The book has a large bank of reference, but is not excessively technical and should be easily understood by the average person. He has done a great job in that regard to accessibility. Highly, highly recommended.Update: After 6 months eating this way, and referencing this book and The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, I went from 217 down to 182 (I am 6' 1"). My BP is averaging around 110/70 (from before always being around 132/100), my trigylcerides are 58 and total cholesterol is 128. Excellent numbers. I am no longer tired in the afternoons, am not hungry between meals, and maintain a good volume of energy throughout the day. I generally feel much better than before. Thanks so much John Robbins and T. Colin Campbell for your tremendous efforts to inform us all of proper diet, and cutting through the immense sea of misinformation out there.Update: 06.15.13 - After well over a year and still maintaining this type of eating regimen, my trigylcerides are 54 and my total cholesterol is 145. My doctor said that he has hardly seen numbers like that without taking medication (that is a sad thing). My weight has been kept between 167-176 for months and months. I still feel great and have a lot of energy. If you are tired of diet gimmicks and want a true path to success, this is it. Also, for great recipes that fit into this lifestyle I would recommend Rip Esselstyn's highly renowned book "My Beef With Meat". John Robbins, you are my Dalai Lama. I sing your praises everywhere I go.

I recently read and reviewed Dean Ornish's Spectrum and gave it top honors. Spectrum convinced my wife and I to become vegetarians about 6 weeks ago. I then read Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live. Even better written. I finished reading John Robbin's Healthy at 100. Wow! I would rank Healthy at 100 even higher than the other two. So why is Robbin's book so wonderful? Because it speaks both to your mind AND to your heart. Other reviewers have aptly described the essence of the evidence. I will focus the reaction that John Robbins draws from the reader.All three books give scientific evidence for the superiority of a vegan lifestyle. All three are superbly documented. Fuhrman's book concentrates on the vegan diet and importance of exercise, while Ornish's adds much on the value of meditation and social involvement. All four are important to prevent or turn around diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and at least some cancers. But John Robbins is simply inspiring. His focus seems more philosophical and heart-felt. This author can just plain tell a story like no other. I found myself tearing up repeated while reading his book. Robbins is able to drive his points home in an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual way.Healthy at 100 begins with detailing four old societies in which members not uncommonly live 100 or more years. These people retain their health and activity levels to an asounding degree. No heart disease, no diabetes, no hypertension, no cancer, and NO GLASSSES! We were taught in medical school that presbyopia is a normal part of aging. Well, it ain't necessarily so. Robbins emphasizes that the elderly command great respect in those societies. Kids fight over who gets to have grandfather live with them. I didn't realize such places exist. Where the modern world has polluted the society, such as is the case in Okinawa, the decendents of these 100+ year olds have adopted the lots of meat/high fat diet. Now, it is not uncommon for grandparents to attend their grandchild's funeral.Well, I hope this is enough to wet your appetite. I found Healthy at 100 to be a deeply moving and thought provoking book. I can't wait to read more John Robbins!

It's been a long time since I read something that is impacting me both emotionally and intillectually in all kinds of positive ways. It is shattering old and rigid beliefs I held about aging. My goodness, I never knew I had a case of mental premature riga mortis. It's gone for good now. John is a scientific researcher as well as a highly spiritual and open hearted man. He is also a fantastic, eloquent writer, in my humble opinion. In this book he takes you on a tour of four different cultures where the people commonly live to a very old age in vibrant health, and puts together what they all have in common. I am 59, but now feel like I am in middle age thanks to this book! Thank you!

Excellent reading. Interesting if somewhat slow start but by the time I got to Part 2 I couldn't put it down, it has completely changed some of the food that I eat, I had already started on a healthier food regime a year or so back but this takes it to another level. A must read. I am in the process if buying more copies for friends. If you are interested in health and life buy it.

I am into nutrition and really do believe that what you eat has a massive impact on your health and modifying my diet has helped me relieve joint pain, achieve better asthma control, reduce cholesterol, lose weight without feeling hungry and improve my immunity system. This book is good as it looks at long lived healthy populations around the world and analyses what they are doing right with their diets and other aspects of their lives.

Really excellent book, extremely inspiring. I will definitely be buying more of this author's work. At 60 years old I suddenly have the potential to be looking at at least another 30 to 40 years if I put the ideas into practise!!!

This is a good place to start for anyone interested in better health. Well written and entertaining as well. John Robbins gives a great overview of healthy living from an historic global perspective, then points the way forward for implentating the lessons in our modern lives. Excellent book!

Fascinating read that I couldn't put down. So much to learn from other cultures and this book leads the reader to the various studies that show the health habits of the truely aged.