“Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity" Peter Attia MD with Bill Gifford
Updated: Nov 21
What? A book focused on how to achieve longevity and healthspan, vitality, until the very end. Attia presents the findings of the latest research, and shares how he applies it to his patients and to his own life.
Who? Peter Attia MD is a practising doctor, successful podcaster and upcoming superstar in the world of longevity, health and wellbeing.
Why? Healthy aging - healthspan rather than lifespan - is becoming a focal point for people's health conversations. Attia does a deep dive into metabolic health with an emphasis on the value of strength training. He covers areas that many others ignore, such as (for exercise) the importance of balance training; sleep and mental health are also covered.
So… There is much to enjoy and learnt from this book although we feel that at times his statements on diet are confusing. Attia dismisses the value of much of nutritional science and focuses on energy balance. He provides his reasons as to why.
Attia vehemently disagrees with the current daily protein intake recommendations and refers to eating Olympian amounts of protein, 2.2g per kg of bodyweight per day, "as a good place to start" for his "patients" without justifying why. Without massive dedication to strength training the benefit of protein intake greater than 1.6g per kg of bodyweight per day is almost negligible.
The role of the microbiome is almost completely ignored, with only one mention of the word in the book. Attia states that he eats 50g of fibre per day, without anything more said on the subject than that. Eating this quantity of fibre takes real dedication, we've tried it. In addition to his own daily intake of protein, it just seems unlikely. It would have been nice to have more detail on these issues and the book unfortunately loses something without it.
Look out for the publication on Amazon or see him in a highly engaging interview with Rich Roll here:
For many people the first step to health and longevity is to understand the necessity for self-care. Then to identify where to focus their efforts, the pillars of health. If you would like to have a conversation about where to invest your time and effort in health, we are here to help.
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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