How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Greger is an eye-opening and comprehensive book packed with a wealth of information on how diet and lifestyle choices can prevent many leading causes of death. Similar to his later work How Not to Age, this book dives deep into the science behind nutrition and its impact on long-term health.

How Not to Die is an engaging and informative read, offering practical advice based on solid research. However, as with How Not to Age, the sheer volume of content can be overwhelming. While the audiobook is interesting and well-narrated, I found that a written format may be easier to navigate, especially for anyone wanting to reference specific sections or look back on detailed studies.

This book is ideal for readers looking for science-backed recommendations to improve their overall well-being. The inclusion of actionable tips makes it not only informative but also a useful guide for those wanting to take immediate steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC

I am considering purchasing this in written form. It is long and needs to be digested in phases. The audio was difficult to hear at times.

This comprehensive book was very detailed. Some times it was just too much Information & overwhelming.
Great ideas that one can do if they’d like to make a difference in how they age. Definitely not a book on living forever but for living your healthiest life for the duration. I read both the book and listened to the audiobook version. I didn’t care for the narrator in the audiobook version, although I realize it’s the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

Great exploration and ideas for how to age more gracefully. Lots of info packed into this title that can be easily implemented

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be a very informational book. The majority of suggestions that Greger makes are easy to implement changes if a person would want to make the changes.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How Not to Age by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM, presents a comprehensive exploration of strategies to promote healthy aging. Dr. Greger, known for evidence-based health guidance, offers insights into nutrition, lifestyle choices, and scientific findings aimed at fostering vitality and longevity. How Not to Age appears promising for those seeking informed approaches to aging gracefully and maintaining overall well-being.
The length of 'How Not to Age' by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM, took me by surprise—I hadn't anticipated its extensive duration. However, this oversight on my part for not checking beforehand shouldn't overshadow the value of the book's in-depth exploration of strategies for healthy aging.

This book was really overwhelming with the amount of details it had and also the references to the author’s prior work. While I find this subject fascinating, I’m not really sure I’m the target audience for this book (even though I read 50+ books a year) because to me a book this length is just too much. That being said, I’m not sure who this book is meant for. The information and research seems great but it needs to be shortened to make it digestible.

Not a book on immortality but on aging better, more healthfully, promoting results that have been put to the test in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.

I didn't realize how important it is to have a placebo group as part of a study until this book. In a section about aging joints and knee-replacement surgery — if I'm remembering right — surgeons were arrogant about how placebo-control groups were not needed to show the benefits of knee surgery, but when such surgeries were finally put to the test, placebos (sham surgeries) had as good a results as actual surgeries.

In another section about keeping your teeth healthy for your full life, he mentions how an association of American pediatric doctors had held the position that sugary sodas caused tooth decay until it got a $1 million donation from Coca-Cola and then changed its view to be that the link has not been proven.

This is not really the type of book you'll want to read straight through (although I did). It's more of a reference book where you might look up things like: how do I minimize wrinkles, how do I keep from losing my hearing as I get older, what about sex when you're older, what about varicose veins, what about ginkgo biloba, and what can be done to avoid dementia?

Any supplement, medical treatment, exercise fad or diet you've heard of that's supposed to help with living longer, living healthier longer or addressing a symptom of aging is covered here. He's quick in and out on each narrow topic, citing what's been subject to rigorous study, what's been shown to be harmful, what works, and how much it's likely to work compared with alternatives. Because his publisher put a limit on the number of pages he could have, seemingly every page references a video he's created with more details — but he always gives the headlines so you don't need to watch the videos unless you're extra interested in a particular topic.

I found this book far more actionable — things I could put to immediate use in my daily life — than Peter Attia's recent "Outlive.". I've added wheat germ to my daily smoothie, stopped daily cleanings of my ears with cotton swabs (they can damage little hairs in the ear that convey sound and cannot be resurrected once gone) and added an emollient lotion to my post-shower routine, to name just three of many things he's influenced my behavior on.

If you geek out on nutrition and health, you'll love this. It might be too overwhelming for those with a casual interest — of course, it's a great book to dabble in, flipping to different topics that sound interesting and diving in.

Audiobook note: I never would've read the whole book without the audio version. All the medical and nutrition language would've worn down my reading-mind. As with all his books, the author never passes up the opportunity to deliver a pun, an alliteration or a dad joke and he reads the somewhat technical language like he's channeling Capt. Kirk — all of which makes what would otherwise be dry reading much more palatable. That said, I needed the ebook version, too, so I could highlight the hundreds of passages I wanted to remember.

#netgalley

I was impressed by how detailed, specific, and comprehensive this book was. As a result, I admit that the book did feel quite long — I spaced out from time-to-time while listening. That said, I feel my takeaways are immediately actionable regarding the implementation of potential lifestyle choices, which can be hard for a researcher to foster when synthesizing such a vast quantity of research.

Overall, great read that inspires me to ‘How Not to Die’ soon.

I also love that it was read by the author!

i loved how not to die but this one was a struggle to get through! it was very repetitive and dry, just not as informative AND interesting like the other one was. such a bummer.

A great exploration into the power of nutrition. The author pushes back on the cop-out Dr. advice of merely loosing weight. Dr. Gregor asks us to make actually dietary changes for our health and happiness.

I really appreciated this book. Great advice and good well researched info. Some stuff I already knew but some things I didn’t. It was an extremely long listen, but a good one! Huge thanks to Netgalley and the audiobook publisher for allowing me to listen and review this book.

How not to Age is an incredibly detailed, well-researched, albeit super long book about our dietary choices and the impact they have on our lives. There is so much information, potentially a blessing an a curse for readers, but it does give a lot to think about. I don't know that the heavy hand of veganism is going to work for everyone but even if you don't convert your entire diet, I imagine the book will guide some small steps to do better.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this gifted copy in exchange for a review.

I've been following Dr. Greger ever since I read How Not to Die in 2015. I've always been interested in diet and nutrition and found his research on how to eat to prevent a premature death very interesting. His subsequent books, including the latest, How Not to Age, are packed with valuable information.

●I listened to the audiobook, a departure from my usual choice for Dr. Greger's books. I really missed the ability to highlight for future reference. I've since bought a hard copy so that I can tab/highlight like I have done in all the previous books.

●The premise of the book is that nutrition is the foundation for healthy aging/longevity and our
dietary choices play a crucial role in preventing chronic diseases associated with aging. Your DNA is not necessarily your destiny.

●Dr Greger provides us with sciencetific evidence we need to proactively take control of our health and vitality to achieve optimal longevity.

●The physical book is over 600 pages I recommend taking your time going through all the chapters and giving yourself some time to think about what you've learned after each. All the information can seem overwhelming if you try to read it like a novel instead of a reference book.

●For me, this book and Dr Greger's other books are all part of my preventative healthcare routine, just like getting my annual physical is every year. I haven't made all the changes he's recommended, but I have made some and I believe these changes will keep me healthier longer. Every little bit helps.

🎧The pace of Dr. Greger's narration was easy to follow and I felt well-acquainted with it because I'd seen many of his videos online.

This was an insightful and educational audiobook.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley, for this advance copy.

I found this a fascinating audiobook that taught me so much about the science of nutrition and lifestyle factors that help us age well.

I’ve become a fan of Dr. Greger and his no-nonsense approach to health. All proceeds from his books go to charity! I’ve enjoyed his other books so I snapped up his newest. This one is even more detailed and be warned! It clocks in at almost 28 hours of listening. I listened while I ran, walked and houseworked so it went quickly, and believe me, I now have Dr. Greger’s voice imprinted into my consciousness (he narrates his book with endearing enthusiasm).

Part 1 introduces the most promising anti-aging pathways in the body and how to modify them.

Part 2 sets out his optimal anti-aging regimen. Only 25% of our fate is genetic inheritance, and this gets into some issues of epigenetics. “Genes load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.”

Part 3 focuses on each body system and examines the science around how to preserve each one. For example, Preserving Your Immune System talks everything from diet, to supplements, to vaccination. Preserving Your Dignity includes “How to Die a Good Death”. This isn’t a book about how to remain young and never die, it’s about how to live with health and dignity as long as you can (health span) before dying as good a death as possible.

Part 4 elucidates Dr. Greger’s Anti-Aging Eight, eight factors that serve as a summary of what came before. There’s a lot of science talk in this part, but he is patient and explains it well, and the book has accompanying information if you want more detail on his website.

If all of this makes you pause and feel a bit excited to get into the details and science, I think you’ll like How Not to Age. I’m glad to have listened to the audiobook, but there’s so much information that having the physical book on hand will be useful to flip through at leisure. Another worthy addition to the Dr. Greger universe of healthy living.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy for review.

How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older
By and narrated by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM

My husband and I have followed Michael Greger for years and his work was instrumental in getting my husband to raise his fruit/veggie intake from maybe 2 or 3 servings a day to at least 10 servings a day. I've always eaten healthy foods but now my husband surpasses me with his nutritional meals. We've already preordered the Kindle edition of this book and I was thrilled to get to listen to the audiobook edition of the book.

Greger has so much to say and not enough allotted pages to say it so while he discusses his latest research, the substance of his notes/bibliography/data can be followed through links to his website. At least I think that is how it works since I don't have the written words in front of me with the audiobook. He does give us the addresses during the narration although I didn't stop to check out the links since I wanted to keep listening to what Greger was saying. There is so much here that I feel like I've just touched the surface of information and look forward to going back and digging deeper into the information and notes.

Greger is an enthusiastic nerd about his work and I don't mean that as an insult. My husband and I discuss health and fitness everyday, we eat healthy and we work out daily. It is information like this that helps to keep us focused and on the right track, knowing there are not always clear answers when it comes to health issues and not everything works for every person. Our goal is to be as informed as possible and Greger's book is the kind of work that inspires us to keep on a healthy track and also do research ourselves, when we have questions on nutrition, aging, and taking better care of ourselves.

I enjoy Greger's narration especially because I know his voice so well (having watched so many of his videos over the years). The book can't be digested in a few days, we'll be going over in in the next few months and discussing it, making adjustments where we see fit and coming back to it as time goes on. There is so much here and it can seem overwhelming except it doesn't have to be taken in all at once. We'll be using it as a reference for our continued healthy lifestyle, knowing Greger is never finished with his research and sharing.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio/Flatiron Books NetGalley for this ARC.

*Deep Breath* Hold me back..seriously someone please come and calm me down. If you are looking to develop disordered eating, fear of food and anxiety about all the processes in your body then this is the book for you.
There is no doubt that Dr. Michael Greger has done years and years of research to compile his books, I have read his previous 2 books, each being in different stages of my life. I am sad to say his first book, How Not To Die made me fear that if I didn't eat according to his strict guidelines I would end up lazy, passed out on my coach with twinkies everywhere and a diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease and cancer (okay I am exaggerating my actual response, but you get the point)

Now some years later, I can sit here with my hamburger greased fingers and write this review from a much different (freer-er/happier / stronger) perspective.

Shall we begin?

The length of this book is incredibly long, I believe 25 hours of audio, ~ 900 pages and it can all be boiled down to his reverberating message : Eat a whole food plant based diet, no animal products and very few processed foods. Honestly I believe every chapter ended with some version of that.

Dr Greger addresses particular aspects of aging including memory loss, joint function, health conditions, cancer, arthritis etc in great detail and applaud all the work he seems to have put into this. For the average lay reader it is heavy on the medical jargon and quite a bit of medical lingo that I started to drown out. The book became very tedious and unless you have a certain passion as I believe most of Dr. Greger (and his goonies: Dr. Essenstyn, Dr Campbell, Rip, Barnard etc) do this book just feels like it will be preached to the choir if you will. Validating their strong belief that plants= good, animals= bad. You could almost use this book as the hammer to bang it into your head-literally have you seen how thick it is?
He is very strict about saying things like "Even after just 1 meal of animal protein will lead to........." Fill in the blank with whatever scare tactic he is discussing in that chapter. In my mind I am thinking the average American lives ~74 years (give or take) and if they are eating the average American diet thats a pretty decent life for sure, and they are getting t enjoy hamburgers, bacon and grilled cheese. Now please hear me the Average American Diet is alarmingly not good! We are not getting enough fruits and vegetables and whole grains, for sure. However if you are reasonable and stay active, eat your fruits and veggies (DAILY) and don't over do the "bad" (I hate using that term but I am so tired of big words thank you Dr. G) stuff you can still enjoy life. Food is meant to be enjoyed (not one extreme or the other) I think Dr G sucks the pleasure out of eating because he makes recommednations like you should be eating 5-6 prunes, broccoli sprouts to get sulpheraphane (Y'all if you want to know what gym socks taste lie....just get you some of those), sip Hiscus tea and eat black cumin.
So let me ask you....when was the last time you saw these obscure food items in your local grocery store? Or thought oooo I can't wait to wake up in the morning and eat my 5-6 prunes and drink my hibiscus tea while walking on my desk treadmil as my steel cut oats prepared with water (no salt or sugar) so I can go have a massive bowel movement? I think I prefer my mornings of XL cup of coffee and the freedom to have some bacon and eggs if I want, or cereal, or Aunt Jemima Pancakes (not pancakes made from flacs (still missing a certain key on my keyboard) seeds, bulger, applesauce and oats)
I will leave you with one more piece of evidence:

Dr Greger spouts off about how meat causes inflammation, but then he gives you some hope. Venison causes very little inflammation...so you get alll happy and ready to have a bambi burger then he hits you with "BUT" *Key in his demeaning judgemental voice* You could potentially get lead poisoning from the bullet that was used to kill the deer......

Do I honestly need to say anything else beside that? No.


((I do want to see people, be resonable,eat a well rounded diet, eat 5-6 servings of veggies, get your whole grains, stick to lean proteins,,,,but enjoy your food! Don't worry about such nit picky facts

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy listen of Dr. Greger's How Not To Age. I was neither influenced or paid for my honest review.

What an intense book, with so much valuable information!

Dr. Greger looks at study after study to provide us with the best information to help us determine the best way to prevent aging. There is so much information it is almost information overload. It is a great resource though with chapters dedicated to various aging concerns such as high blood pressure, hearing or hair loss, and almost anything else you can think of.

As an audiobook it is read by the author and the narration is great and quite humourous, though he admits himself there is sometimes TMI regarding the personal information he shares. In my opinion, it would be better listened to alongside a hard copy of the book so that you can refer to and flag parts for rereading. It is also something to listen to and read chapter by chapter, slowly to absorb and implement over time, a long time!
There is no doubt Dr. Greger intends to give a lot of information to help us better live our lives. This is my first book by him and I will go back and read his past books but with the idea that I will take a year to read, absorb, and to put in place any actions I think I should.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Did not finish. I am sorry. This is really not something I do with NetGalley ARCs. I typically make sure to read through until the end, even if I am not enjoying it, but I can't listen to this audiobook any longer. The author's inflection and sometimes condescending tone while narrating is very difficult to listen to.

If this were an 8-hour audiobook, I would persevere. I wish I had known this was 25 hours before I requested it. I read the description again, and I do not see that information listed anywhere.

I love books about fighting aging, so this should have been right up my alley, but the tone and the sheer amount of information and the very scholarly way it is presented is best suited for other researchers or medical professionals and not an armchair anti-aging enthusiast such as myself.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.