The body is the most fascinating machine ever created, and nobody talks about it in ways that are as illuminating and compelling as Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz do. In YOU: The Owner's Manual they showed us how bodies work in general, and in In YOU: On a Diet, they explained how bodies lose weight and stay fit; both books have sold in the millions. Now, in In YOU: Staying Young, the doctors are going to talk to you about what happens as your body ages. As with their previous books, they've conducted tireless research and will introduce fascinating and crucial information in an unforgettable way.
Most people think of the aging of our bodies the same way we think of the aging of our cars: The older we get, it's inevitable that we're going to break down-it could be in just a few ways or it could be in dozens of ways. Most of us hold this notion that once we reach 40 or so, we begin the slow and steady decline of our minds, our eyes, our ears, our joints, our arteries, our libido, and every other system that affects the quality of life (and how long we live it) .
But according to Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz, that's a mistake.
Aging isn't a decline of our systems. It's actually very purposeful. The very systems and biological processes that age us are actually designed to help us when we're a little bit younger. So what's our role as part of the aging population? To learn how those systems work, so we can reprogram them to work the way they did when we were younger. Your goal should be: Die young at any age. That means you live a high quality of life (with everything from working joints to working genitals) until the day you die. Because the doctors' real goal isn't just to make you live longer; it's to allow you to maintain vibrancy throughout your entire life.
The authors will tantalize readers with completely novel concepts---they're not just going to tell you that all you have to do is eat well and sleep lots. They'll explain how our bodies have evolved to ensure 50 years of high quality life, but those same mechanisms can be counterproductive as you age (it's the concept of biologic necessity, rather than just an accident; a biological process that helps you cope better when young unfortunately does opposite as you age). They'll do this by using the metaphor of a city to explain how the body works. Just like your body ages, a city does, too-especially if decisions are made that negatively impact the health of the city, or if too many resources and investments are used in the wrong areas and too few resources are used in the right areas. A once vibrant body can deteriorate if you don't take care of it. But if you revitalize, maintain, and implement new ideas, you'll keep your body at its finest. This allows you to live gracefully and passionately with a fundamentally older infrastructure.
Some examples you'll see throughout the book: Your arteries are like roadways that can be clogged, blocked, or worn down after years of abuse. Your brain is like the energy grid that supplies power to the entire city-and can be knocked out here and there if you let neurological branches fall on your power lines (keys, anyone?). Your skin, in many ways, is like a city's parks and green space-contributing to the overall sense of beauty and vibrancy. Your fat? Yep, landfill.
But really, the ultimate goal isn't just to keep your biological city from turning into a ghost town-to keep you from dying. The goal is to make your body top the "best city to live in" list. It's to make it vibrant, hip, to give it lots of resources and manage them well, and, perhaps most of all, to give it the ability to reinvent itself in the face of changing times.
The book will be full of signature YOU methods to convey the story, including YOU Tests, YOU Tips, and visual and verbal metaphors to bring the science alive; it will be heavily illustrated in the same playful, irreverent style as the previous books. Each section of the book will introduce a theory for why we age, with a quick intro into the science that will be followed by chapters of the health issues that primarily fall under each specific theory of aging.
As always, the doctors' passion for spreading awareness and promoting good health will shine through and make this a funny, educational, essential book.
In their newest in the You series, physicians Oz and Roizen and a supporting cast of contributors explain why the body ages and how readers can become "anatomical puppeteers," mastering their genes, bad habits, environmental pollution and stress while igniting the body's ability to stay fit, strong and healthy. According to the authors, avoiding such major causes of death as cancer and heart disease increases life expectancy by only just under a decade. With their talent for creating vivid, humorous images (amplified by cartoon drawings), they describe 14 "major agers" and how readers can use what is known about telomeres (which look like the plastic ends of shoelaces), mitochondria (the body's energy powerhouses) and other components of body functioning to repair and rejuvenate cells. While the hefty amount of detailed information might seem overwhelming, the suggestions in the authors' "tool box" are straightforward and, frequently, simple: walking a half hour each day; consistently getting enough sleep; relieving stress with yoga, meditation and chi gong; removing toxins from the home; and avoiding accidents, for example. Perhaps most simple-and surprising-is their claim that one of the best predictors of aging is your perception of your own health. With the facts and tools laid out here, readers will be able to articulate, challenge and change those perceptions through positive action. (Oct.)
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